Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1997, published 86th ILC session (1998)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Sri Lanka (Ratification: 1975)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation concerning the following points:

In its earlier comments, the Committee noted the observations made by the United Plantation Workers' Union, the Democratic Workers' Congress, the Landa Jathika Estate Workers' Union and the Ceylon Workers' Congress concerning the application of Article 4 of the Convention in the plantations sector (in particular in the tea-growing and manufacturing trade, rubber-growing and manufacturing trade and coconut growing and manufacturing trade). It noted the Government's indication of the necessity for an elaborate analysis of wage structure in the plantations sector, and hoped that, following the analysis, the minimum wage fixing machinery would be maintained and implemented in the plantations sector. The Committee notes the Government's indication in the report that the wages of the workers in the plantation sector are determined by the Wages Board, after consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations, on the basis of the basic minimum wages with added allowance based on the cost of living index. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the above-mentioned analysis of the wage structure in the plantations sector has actually been undertaken and, if so, whether the results have been taken into consideration in the minimum wage fixing. It also requests the Government to communicate a copy of the Wages Board decisions fixing the minimum wages in the plantation sector.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.