Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Latvia (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. In its previous comments the Committee has noted that, according to sections 97 and 98 of the Labour Code, when the responsibility of the employee for the non-fulfilment of the work quotas or the non-compliance of production to quality standards is not involved, the monthly remuneration should not be lower than the minimum remuneration. However, the Committee has also noted that under section 98 the employee shall not be paid if the production for which he or she is responsible does not meet the quality standards completely and that in case of partial responsibility of the employee, he or she shall be paid in accordance with lower tariffs. The Committee therefore has requested the Government to provide information on the application of the abovementioned provisions of sections 97 and 98 and to communicate information on the procedural mechanisms that enable the employee involved in the latter case to recover sums due in respect of the minimum wage. The Committee regrets that the report of the Government does not contain any response on these matters. The Committee hopes once more that the Government will provide the requested information with its next report.

Article 3. The Committee notes that the Government recognizes in its report that "the minimum wage falls considerably behind the cost of living calculated by the Central Board of Statistics", and that "in the period of time from 1990 to 1998 the rise of consumer prices (inflation) has been almost twice as rapid as the rise of work payment". The Committee takes note of the indication of the Government that the labour legislation has not given full effect to this provision of the Convention due to the limited possibilities of the national budget. The Committee recalls that according to the Convention: "The elements to be taken into consideration in determining the level of minimum wages shall, so far as possible and appropriate in relation to national practice and conditions, include: (a) the needs of workers and their families, taking into account the general level of wages in the country, the cost of living, social security benefits, and the relative living standards of other social groups; (b) economic factors, including the requirements of economic development, levels of productivity, and the desirability of attaining and maintaining a high level of employment". The Committee firmly hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future to give full effect to the Convention on these points.

Article 4. The Committee notes that the report does not contain any response to its previous request on the composition of the Tripartite Consultation Board or on how the direct and equal participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations or employers’ and workers’ representatives is ensured in the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee therefore hopes once more that the Government will communicate the information requested with its next report.