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

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - El Salvador (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee notes the Government’s report. It also notes the comments made by the Inter-union Commission of El Salvador (CATS-CTD-CGT-CTS-CSTS-CUTS) of 12 September 2002 and the Government’s reply.

Articles 1, paragraph 1, and 4 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Regulations on the organization, functions and operation of the National Minimum Wage Council repealing the previous Regulation of 2 April 1981. Furthermore, the Committee notes the comments of the Inter-union Commission indicating that organizations of agricultural workers were not consulted on the methods used to fix minimum wages, and that the National Minimum Wage Council has not indicated at a national level the methods used to determine minimum wages in agriculture. The trade union organization also contends that the agricultural sector is undergoing a serious crisis, aggravated by the dramatic fall in coffee and sugar prices and the migration of workers abroad. The Government, apart from mentioning the implementation of the Rural Employment Reactivation Programme, provides no information on these comments. The Committee requests the Government to supply this information in its next report.

The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s report and section 159 of the Labour Code, the National Minimum Wage Council shall review minimum wage rates at least once every three years. The Committee notes, however, the Government’s indication that the current minimum wage rates are those fixed under Decrees Nos. 46 and 47, both dating from 22 April 1998, for seasonal agricultural workers employed in the coffee, cotton and sugar cane harvests and workers in the animal husbandry sector. The Inter-union Commission contends in its observations that minimum wages have been frozen for the past four years. Under these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report whether the time frame for the revision of minimum wage rates is respected in practice and, if not, to indicate the measures envisaged to correct this situation.

Article 2, paragraph 1. The Committee notes the observations made by the Inter-union Commission that the Government has the intention to set up rural maquilas in which wage rates will be half the rates of minimum wages in urban areas, allegedly to make rural enterprises more competitive. The Committee notes that the Government made no comments on this issue and, therefore, it requests it to comment on the veracity or otherwise of this information and recalls that, in accordance with this Article of the Convention, minimum wages have the force of law and may not be subject to abatement.

Furthermore, the Committee notes Decree No. 37 of 23 May 2003, which fixes minimum wages in the commercial, industrial, service, textile and apparel sectors. This Decree establishes that, in the textile and apparel sector, an apprentice shall earn 50 per cent of the minimum wage established for the sector in the first year, and no less than 65 per cent of the minimum wage in the second year. The Committee recalls that persons covered by apprenticeship contracts may only be paid at a rate below that of the minimum wage in cases where they receive actual training during working hours at the workplace. This training should enable the apprentice to acquire a skill in a trade or occupation. The Committee also recalls that objective criteria should be used to determine the minimum wage, such as the quality and quantity of work, and requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted to ensure that apprentices actually receive training and that any abatement in their wage is in proportion to the training received. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether it consulted workers’ and employers’ organizations prior to establishing abatements in the minimum wages for apprentices in the textile and apparel sectors.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the system for inspection and sanctions established by law to punish violations of labour laws. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the Agricultural Inspection Department had been reinstated, that 193 inspections have been carried out, and that three cases of minimum wage violations have been reported. The Committee notes, however, that the Inter-union Commission denounces the Government’s lack of interest in carrying out inspections in the agricultural sector. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to provide fuller information on the application of the Convention in practice, in particular, statistics on the inspections carried out during the period covered by the report (for example, the number of violations reported, the sanctions imposed, etc.) in the various branches of activity, including the agricultural sector.