Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Brazil (Ratification: 1983)

1. The Committee notes with interest Act No. 7789 of 3 July 1989 which establishes a new minimum wage and the periodical readjustment thereof, and repeals Legislative Decree No. 2351 of 7 August 1987 which established a minimum reference wage and the national minimum wage (piso nacional de salarios). The Committee also notes the information on the work of the Labour Inspectorate in connection with the application of this Convention.

2. The Committee recalls that in its previous comments it pointed out that, in conformity with the provisions of Article 4 of the Convention, the Government has the obligation to consult the representative organisations of employers and workers concerned in connection with the establishment, operation and modification of minimum wage-fixing machinery. In view of the fact that a new Act on minimum wages has been adopted, that, according to information provided by the Government in one of its earlier reports, the National Wage Policy Council is no longer active, and that this was the body through which occupational organisations could be consulted, and bearing in mind the comments of a number of trade union organisations concerning the present Convention and Convention No. 26 - to which the Committee has referred in previous comments - the Committee asks the Government to state whether the organisations of workers and employers concerned were consulted on the adoption of the new Act concerning minimum wages and to indicate the existing procedures for such consultations.

3. Furthermore, the Committee recalls that in its previous comments it noted that, in accordance with the general wage policy and the provisions of the new Constitution, the various occupational categories negotiate the minimum reference wages. It asked the Government to provide information on the practical effect given to the Convention, particularly with regard to the number and categories of workers whose wages are fixed through collective bargaining (Article 2(2) of the Convention). The Committee hopes that the Government will provide this information with its next report.