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

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. In its previous comment the Committee drew the Government’s attention to the fact that the periodic adjustment of the minimum wage rate, as a social protection measure aimed at ensuring a satisfactory living standard for workers and their families, should be accompanied by supervisory measures and penalties enabling the effective application of legislation on minimum wages to be guaranteed in practice. In this regard the Committee notes that a tripartite committee responsible for monitoring the guaranteed interoccupational minimum wage (SMIG) has been set up and its operating procedures have been determined by Ministerial Order No. 12/CAB/MIN/ETPS/08/2009 of 5 February 2009. As the Committee understands it, the tripartite committee is facing persistent difficulties in ensuring application of the SMIG (fixed at 1,680 Congolese francs per day since May 2008) and that many private and public enterprises refuse to pay their employees the SMIG as fixed by law. Recalling that the primary aim of the Convention is to ensure a decent standard of living for low-paid workers and their families, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the operation and resources of the committee responsible for monitoring the SMIG and on any other measures taken or contemplated to ensure full observance of the minimum wage rates in force, including inspection results showing the number of infringements observed and the penalties imposed.