Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

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

The Committee notes the observations made by the Association of Labour Inspectors of the Gaúcha region (AGITRA) and the Association of Labour Inspectors of the Paraná region (AAFT/PR), which were received on 26 July 2004 and forwarded to the Government on 31 August 2004, on matters related to the application of the Convention.

The two workers’ organizations allege non-observance of the provisions of the Convention, especially Article 4 which requires full consultation with workers’ representative organizations at all stages of the establishment, operation and modification of the minimum wage fixing machinery. Referring extensively to the Committee’s analysis of the terms "consultation" and "participation" in the 1992 General Survey on minimum wages, the AGITRA and the AAFT/PR consider that whatever discussions are held in the country with respect to minimum wage levels cannot qualify as consultations but rather as a mere formality consisting of information sessions conducted by the Government. According to the same organizations, the non-participation of the social partners in the determination of minimum wage rates explains why Brazil’s minimum wage is one of the lowest in Latin America and represents less than 30 per cent of the country’s average wage. The AGITRA and the AAFT/PR also denounce the fact that the legal instruments establishing minimum wage rates are adopted as "provisional measures" under article 62 of the Federal Constitution which allows for little or no discussion before the National Congress.

The Committee notes that some of the matters raised by the AGITRA and the AAFT/PR are closely related to the issues it has been raising in previous comments, particularly the need for meaningful consultations within a well-defined, commonly agreed and preferably institutionalized framework which should afford the social partners a genuine opportunity to express their views and have some influence on relevant decisions. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide full particulars on the matters raised above by the two workers’ organizations as well as on the Committee’s previous comments.