Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes the detailed information provided in the Government’s report and the attached documents. It also notes the comments of the Inter-Union Assembly of Workers – National Convention of Workers (PIT–CNT) annexed to the Government’s report.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. System of minimum wages. Further to its previous request for additional information on the minimum wage fixing system, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are currently in operation wages boards for 20 occupational categories and 180 subcategories. The Government adds that the near totality of the workers in the private sector are covered by wage boards’ decisions with the exception of domestic workers for whom it has still not been made possible to set up a wage board due to the obvious difficulty of identifying a representative employers’ organization. The Government further adds that, apart from minimum pay rates fixed by wage boards for specific sectors or occupational categories and collectively agreed rates at the enterprise level, a national wage floor is also set and adjusted biannually principally on the basis of the evolution of the inflation rate. In this connection, the Committee notes that the national minimum wage was last revised by Decree No. 28/007 of 26 January 2007 and is currently set at 3,075 Uruguay pesos (approximately US$140) per month, only domestic and agricultural workers being excluded from its scope of application. It also notes that by Decree No. 16/007 of 15 January 2007, a national minimum wage of 3,150 pesos per month, or 16 pesos per hour, was fixed for domestic workers even though no wage board has yet been established for that sector. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any further developments in the field of minimum wage fixing, in particular as regards the establishment of a higher tripartite council and a rural tripartite council to which reference was made in the Government’s last report, and the ongoing discussions for the introduction of collectively negotiated wages for the public administration sector.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the information contained in the annual report of the General Labour and Social Security Inspectorate (IGTSS) concerning the number of inspection visits and infringements observed in the period 2005–06. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply up to date information on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance statistics on the evolution of the minimum wage rates as compared to the evolution of economic indicators such as the inflation rate, the approximate number of workers or proportion of the country’s workforce remunerated at the minimum wage rate, copies of surveys or official studies serving for tripartite discussions on wage policy and minimum wage fixing, and inspection results referring specifically to minimum wage-related offences.