Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Zimbabwe (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee takes due note of the information contained in the Government’s report.

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that minimum wage levels are essentially fixed within the framework of National Employment Councils (NECs), which cover all sectors of the economy, and that the consultation consists in discussing with competent authorities issues such as job evaluation and wage setting. The Committee would be grateful if the Government could provide supplementary information on the mandate and functioning of employment councils and further specify the composition and role of employment boards, especially in the light of section 62(1)(a) of the Labour Relations Act (Chapter 28:01) which provides that an employment council may not take any steps in respect of any matter which has been referred to an employment board, unless the Minister requests the employment council to do so. In addition, the employment boards do not appear to guarantee the representation of the employers’ and employees’ interests on equal terms, as required under this Article of the Convention. In view of the wide discretion of the Minister of Labour in appointing the members of the employment boards under section 66(2) of the Labour Relations Act, the Committee considers it important to recall that the composition of the various advisory bodies, which are associated in the operation of the national minimum wage fixing machinery, must respect in all circumstances the principle of participation in equal numbers and on equal terms of the representatives of employers and workers concerned. Moreover, the Committee requests the Government to provide all available data regarding minimum wage rates in force and also to transmit copies of statutory instruments or collective agreements fixing such rates.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Further to its previous comment on this point, the Committee is obliged to reiterate its request for full information concerning the practical application of the Convention. While noting the Government’s indication that statistical information is hard to collect and that a labour administration data bank is now being established, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will soon be in a position to provide all required information on the effect given in practice to the Convention, including, for instance, the minimum wage rates in force by sector and occupational category, statistics on the number of workers covered by relevant legislation, inspection reports containing information on the number and nature of violations observed and penalties imposed, and any other particulars bearing on the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery.