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Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - British Virgin Islands

Articles 1 to 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide a detailed report on the application of the Convention in the light of the new Labour Code which entered into force in October 2010. The Committee understands that raising the minimum wage, which remains unchanged at the level fixed in 1999, is a long-standing issue and that following the adoption of the new Labour Code, minimum wage levels were expected to be adjusted especially in the light of the rapidly rising cost of basic commodities. The Committee also understands that, in 2010, the Ministry of Labour announced the setting up of a committee for the urgent review of minimum wages and that a study on the cost of living has already been conducted but remains unpublished. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any further developments in the process of readjusting the minimum wage through genuine and effective tripartite consultations, as prescribed by the Convention, and to transmit a copy of any new minimum wage order once it has been adopted.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for example, the approximate number of workers paid at the minimum wage rate, statistics on the evolution of the minimum wage in relation to fluctuations of the inflation rate, inspection results indicating the number of infringements reported and the penalties imposed, and copies of official publications or research papers concerning wage policy and the operation of the minimum wage system.

Finally, the Committee wishes to recall that, based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40), the ILO Governing Body has decided that Convention No. 26 is among those instruments which may no longer be fully up to date but remain relevant in certain respects. The Committee therefore suggests that the Government should consider the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which marks certain advances compared to older instruments on minimum wage fixing, for instance, as regards its broader scope of application, the requirement for a comprehensive minimum wage system, and the enumeration of the criteria for the determination of minimum wage levels. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.