Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Sudan (Ratification: 1957)

Article 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage-fixing machinery. Method of operation and consultations with the social partners. The Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention for years to the need to modify section 4 of the Wages and Conditions of Employment Tribunals Act of 1976, which does not provide for equal representation of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the composition of wages tribunals. The Committee notes, in this respect, that the legislation which is referenced in the Government’s latest report does not, in fact, appear to provide for any such guarantees of equal representation. Thus, the Government states that section 5 of the Minimum Standard of Wages Act of 1974 mandates the formation of a committee comprising employers’ and workers’ representatives and the Government. However, the Committee notes that there is no such mention of a tripartite committee in the Minimum Standard of Wages Act, which actually authorizes the Commissioner of Labour, or anyone acting on his behalf, to solely decide any disputes concerning the minimum wage. The Government also refers to the 1997 Labour Code, in particular section 106, which purports to ensure the participation of the social partners on an equal basis in the minimum wage-fixing process. The Committee observes, however, that no such provision appears under section 106, which regulates conciliation procedures for labour disputes and merely permits the two parties to a dispute to submit, by themselves or through their representatives, an application to the competent authority to settle the dispute amicably. In addition, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the High Council for Wages reviews minimum wage levels on an annual basis and formulates recommendations for the increase of the minimum wage rate in the public and the private sectors according to the cost of living. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to take all appropriate measures to ensure in law and in practice that employers’ and workers’ organizations are associated with the operation of the minimum wage-fixing process in equal numbers and on equal terms, as prescribed by the Convention. The Committee also asks the Government to provide full particulars on the composition, mandate, and effective operation of the High Council for Wages, and to transmit a copy of the legal instrument(s) establishing the minimum wage rate(s) currently in force.