Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Guinea (Ratification: 1959)

Article 1 of the Convention. Introduction of a minimum wage. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the draft new Labour Code, section 241.7 of which provides for the fixing by decree, after an opinion from the Labour and Social Legislation Advisory Committee (a tripartite body comprising, under the terms of section 515.3 of the draft Code, eight representatives of the employers and eight representatives of the workers from the private and the semi-private sectors), of a guaranteed inter-occupational minimum wage (SMIG). It notes that negotiations are currently in progress with a view to determining the amount of the SMIG and understands that the adoption of a decree to this end is one of the priorities for the trade union movement of Guinea. The Committee hopes that the negotiations in progress will soon be concluded and that the Government will take into account, when fixing the rate of the SMIG, the need to ensure a decent standard of living for workers and the economic situation of the country, and that the amount of the minimum wage will be adjusted regularly in accordance with changes in indicators such as the rate of inflation. Finally, in order to ensure the effectiveness of the regulations to be adopted on the SMIG, the Committee would emphasize the importance of measures intended to publicize the amount of the minimum wage in force and monitor the application of these regulations in practice, particularly through the activities of the labour inspectorate. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in the process of adoption of the decree fixing the amount of the SMIG, sending a copy of the prior opinion issued by the Labour and Social Legislation Advisory Committee once it is available, and send all available information on the measures which will be implemented to ensure the effective application of this decree.

The Committee further notes the documents attached to the Government’s report containing the collective agreement and the wage scale for the construction, public works and civil engineering sectors, and also the wage scale negotiated for the Novotel/GHI company. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on national or sectoral collective agreements fixing minimum wage rates.

Finally, the Committee wishes to take this opportunity to remind the Government that, on the basis of the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body considered that Convention No. 26 was one of the instruments which were no longer up to date, even though they were still relevant in certain respects (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). The Committee therefore suggests that the Government contemplate the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which represents a degree of progress in comparison with Convention No. 26, for example, by providing for a wider scope, the setting up of a general minimum wage system and the adoption of certain criteria for determining minimum wage levels. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard.