Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1973)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report and also notes the documents attached. It would, however, like to receive further details on the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Fixing of minimum wages through collective agreement. The Committee notes the category-specific wage scales attached to the Government’s report. It also notes, however, that no information has been provided on category-specific minimum wages that have been set by decree pursuant to section 55 of the Labour Code. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether it has, in the absence of any collective agreement, set or extended, by decree, the minimum wage rate.

Article 3. Criteria for determining the minimum wage. The Committee notes the information according to which the National Advisory Committee on Labour (CNCT) takes the criteria listed in Article 3 of the Convention into account when it gives its advice prior to the signing of the decree fixing the guaranteed minimum interoccupational wage (SMIG). The Committee asks the Government to provide the legislative texts that establish the criteria to be used as the basis for determining the minimum wage.

Article 4, paragraph 1. Readjustment of the minimum wage. The Committee has learnt, through various sources of information, that the country’s different trade unions have given notice of general strike action, in the public and private sectors, in protest against poverty and to demand a 30 per cent readjustment in public service wages so as to cope with the increase in the prices of basic commodities. In this regard, the Committee notes that the SMIG has not been reviewed since 1995 and that it stands at 23,514 CFA francs (approximately US$47) per month. The Committee wishes to recall that the minimum wage fixing system is effective only if it gives rise to a readjustment of the minimum wage taking into consideration the socio-economic situation of the country. If not, the system risks being reduced to a mere formality and becomes ineffective as a means of combating poverty and as a means of social protection. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the current SMIG rate provides a decent standard of living for non-skilled workers and whether the Government plans to review this rate in the near future.

Furthermore, the Committee notes the comments made by the General Union of Cameroon Workers (UGTC), according to which, even though collective agreements fix minimum wages at levels higher than the SMIG, certain branches of activity have not yet revised their collective agreement, and the salaries granted are below the minimum wage. The UGTC also points out that the Cameroonian SMIG is the lowest in Africa and proposes that it be renegotiated within the framework of the CNCT, which has not met for many years. The Committee asks the Government to transmit its comments on the UGTC’s observations.

Article 4, paragraph 3. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the regulations concerning the organization and operation of the CNCT are in the process of being drafted. Recalling the central role of the CNCT in the functioning of the system that establishes the SMIG, the Committee hopes that the abovementioned regulations will be adopted in the very near future and asks the Government to provide copies of these regulations once they have been adopted.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the indication that statistics on the numbers of workers covered by the SMIG are currently being produced through the setting up of a statistical database and will be communicated as soon as they are available. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing general information on the application of the Convention, such as labour inspection service reports, details of the number and nature of the violations reported and the penalties imposed and any other relevant information on the minimum wage.