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

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Mauritius (Ratification: 1969)

The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the Government’s report and attached documents.

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. Equitable representation of employers and workers. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the new legislation replacing the Industrial Relations Act (Act No. 67 of 1973, as amended) will explicitly provide for employers’ and workers’ organizations to be represented in equal numbers and on equal terms in the minimum wage fixing process. The Committee has been in receipt of an advance copy of the Employment Relations Bill, section 93(2) of which provides that the National Remuneration Board will be composed of eight members including two representatives of workers and two representatives of employers. It requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard and to transmit a copy of the new legislation once it is adopted.

Article 3, paragraph 2(3). Differentiated wage levels. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indications on the ongoing legislative action for the removal of all gender-specific pay differentials. It also notes the elimination of gender-specific job appellations in two recent Remuneration Order Regulations. The Committee further notes that under the revised Field Crop and Orchard Workers (Remuneration Order) Regulations, the terms “male field labourer” and “female field labourer” have been replaced by “field labourer grade I” and “field labourer grade II” respectively. It trusts that, as a result of the new gender-neutral job appellations, differentiated pay rates for men and women are no longer practised and measures are taken to avoid women being automatically classified as “grade II field labourers”, which would effectively preserve the gender-based pay differentials in a disguised manner. The Committee would appreciate the Government’s clarification on this point. It also requests the Government to provide information on any concrete progress made as regards pay differentials based on age.

Article 5 in conjunction with Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government according to which, in 2006, an estimated 273,850 employees were covered by 29 remuneration order regulations in force. It also notes that, in the period from June 2004 to May 2007, 11,175 inspection visits were carried out and 2,451 cases were referred to the industrial courts and, as a result, approximately MUR72.5 million (approximately US$2.3 million) were recovered on behalf of workers. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply up to date information on the practical application of the Convention.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Governing Body on the continued relevance of the Convention based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). In fact, the Governing Body has decided that Conventions No. 26 and No. 99 are among those instruments which may no longer be fully up to date but remain relevant in certain respects. The Committee therefore suggests that the Government should consider the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) which marks certain advances compared to older instruments on minimum wage fixing, for instance, as regards its broader scope of application, the requirement for a comprehensive minimum wage system, and the enumeration of the criteria for the determination of minimum wage levels. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.