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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Côte d'Ivoire (Ratification: 1960)

Article 12 of the Convention. Payment of wages at regular intervals. Further to its previous comments concerning persistent problems with the timely payment of wages, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that even though there are currently no wage arrears in the public and semi-public sector, the situation in the private sector is different with an increasing number of enterprises experiencing difficulties with the regular payment of wages. The Government adds that according to labour inspection reports, infringements of the labour legislation related to the timely payment of wages are observed more and more frequently due to the socio-political crisis in the country but also because of the lack of legal sanctions. In this connection, the Government indicates that one of the major innovations of the new draft Labour Code currently under examination would be the introduction of penal sanctions against employers who would fail to pay wages on time and in full.

The Committee understands, however, that considerable amounts of wage debts persist in the public sector. It notes, for instance, that in April 2011, a first loan of €200 million was granted by France, aimed at paying accumulated wage arrears to public employees while another loan of €150 million is expected to follow. The Committee also notes that in June 2011, it was announced that unpaid wages owed to postal workers totalled 865 million CFA francs (approximately €1.3 million). The Committee accordingly asks the Government to provide an updated account on the current wage arrears situation detailing the number of workers concerned, the principal sectors affected, the average delay in the payment of wages, the total amount of unpaid wages and the measures taken or envisaged in order to contain and progressively eliminate such practices which clearly contravene both the letter and the spirit of the Convention. The Committee also asks the Government to keep the Office informed of any further developments concerning the revision of the labour legislation and the introduction of dissuasive sanctions for the delayed payment or non-payment of wages.