Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Congo (Ratification: 1960)

Article 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage-fixing machinery. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it requested the Government to provide a copy of Decree No. 2006-89 of 9 March 2006 and to specify the rate of the guaranteed minimum wage in agriculture (SMAG). In the absence of any relevant information in the Government’s report, the Committee is bound to reiterate its request for specific information on the rates of the guaranteed minimum interoccupational wage (SMIG) and the SMAG that are currently in force and a copy of Decree No. 2006-89 of 9 March 2006. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of branch collective agreements determining the rates of the minimum wages as revised following the adoption of the Decree.

Furthermore, with regard to the operation of the National Labour Advisory Commission, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide any information on the studies or statistics which provided a basis for the National Commission for the latest adjustment of the SMIG in 2006. However, in light of the information provided by the Government in its previous reports, the Committee understands that, in the absence of updated economic data, particularly on the price index, allowing the adoption of a pertinent method for fixing minimum wages, the National Labour Advisory Commission determines the minimum wage rate with direct reference to the lowest wages in the public service. In this respect, the Committee wishes to recall that, as the objective of the Convention is to ensure a wage to workers and their families which enables them to maintain their purchasing power at a decent level, the minimum wage-fixing machinery should take into account social and economic considerations, including the real needs of workers and their families, the general level of wages in the country and fluctuations in the price index. It therefore hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to provide updated information concerning such data with a view to the establishment of minimum wage-fixing machinery that guarantees workers a decent minimum wage rate that is compatible with the objectives of the Convention.

Furthermore, the Committee understands that an adjustment of 25 per cent of salaries in the public service was envisaged as from 1 January 2011. The Committee requests the Government to specify whether this adjustment was indeed introduced and, if so, to indicate whether, in accordance with the minimum wage-fixing machinery currently applied by the National Labour Advisory Commission, measures are envisaged to adjust minimum wages in the private sector accordingly.

Article 4. System of supervision and sanctions. Further to its previous comment on this point, the Committee notes that the Government has not provided information on the system of supervision and sanctions guaranteeing compliance with the minimum wage legislation. It recalls that, under the terms of Article 4 of the Convention, this system is intended to ensure that the employers and workers covered by the legislation are informed of the minimum rates of wages in force so as to guarantee that the wages actually paid are not lower than these rates, and to ensure that workers who have not benefited from the rates that are in force are entitled to recover by judicial or other legal proceedings the amounts due. The Committee wishes to emphasize that the fixing of decent minimum wage rates does not necessarily imply that the legislation respecting such wages is applied in practice. Only the establishment of an appropriate system of supervision and sanctions makes it possible to guarantee compliance with the legislation and accordingly to ensure a decent living standard for all workers and their families. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the legislative or other provisions which give effect to Article 4 of the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide, where possible, extracts from the reports of the inspection services indicating the number and nature of any violations reported and the sanctions applied.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including statistics on the number of workers remunerated at the rate of the SMIG and the SMAG. Finally, the Committee once again requests the Government to examine the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), and to keep the Office informed of any decision adopted or envisaged in this respect.