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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Belarus (Ratification: 1961)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments.

Article 3 of the Convention. Payment of wages in legal tender. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations that the payment of wages in forms other than the official currency or in kind is prohibited by virtue of section 57 of the Labour Code which provides that wages include all remuneration in monetary units and/or in kind. However, the Committee is bound to observe once again that in its current wording this provision of the Labour Code does not amount to an explicit prohibition of the payment of wages in any form alleged to represent legal tender such as promissory notes, vouchers or coupons. The Committee recalls, in this respect, that apart from a specific prohibition, another possible manner to give effect to this Article of the Convention would be to provide that any contract of employment which would allow for the payment of the whole or any part of wages in any manner other than in legal tender would be illegal, null and void. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures it intends to take in order to give full effect to the requirements of the Convention in this regard.

Article 4. Partial payment of wages in kind. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the question of amending section 74 of the Labour Code concerning the forms of payment of wages is currently under consideration. In this connection, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to paragraphs 104–160 of the 2003 General Survey on the protection of wages which offer guidance and illustrative examples on the manner to attain legislative conformity with the requirements of this Article of the Convention.  The Committee hopes that appropriate action will be taken very shortly and requests the Government to keep it informed of any concrete progress made in this regard.

Article 6. Freedom of workers to dispose of their wages. The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains no new information on this point. As the Committee has pointed out in paragraph 210 of the abovementioned general survey, nothing short of an explicit legislative provision setting forth a general prohibition upon employers from limiting the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages in any form and manner, directly or indirectly, can be regarded as giving full effect to the requirements of the Convention whereas other legislative measures, such as the exhaustive enumeration of authorized deductions, or the regulation of the operation of company stores, may be deemed to give only partial effect to the obligation laid down in this Article of the Convention. The Committee is therefore bound to once again request the Government to take the necessary steps so that the principle underlying this Article of the Convention be given specific legislative expression.

Article 7. Works stores. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to Presidential Decree No. 113 of 20 March 1996 on the development of factory shops and Orders of the Ministry of Trade No. 138 of 27 October 1998 and No. 91 of 10 September 1999 concerning model statutes for factory shops. According to the Government’s indications, factory shops are not primarily intended for the use and benefit of the factory workers themselves but rather aim at allowing the general public to purchase goods at prices lower than in other retail shops. The Committee would appreciate receiving copies of the above instruments as well as additional information on the operation of factory shops in practice.

Article 8, paragraph 1. Deductions from wages. The Committee notes that according to the Government’s report, section 108 of the Labour Code has been recently amended and now provides that the sum of all deductions must not exceed 20 per cent of the worker’s total earnings, or 50 per cent in certain cases, specified in the legislation as well as in cases of deductions made on the basis of multiple court orders. Deductions may still exceed these limits in the case of payment of alimony for minors or for expenses paid by the State for the support of children in its care, but the worker must in any event retain no less than 30 per cent of his/her wages.

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the national legislation permits employers to make deductions from workers’ wages with the workers’ written consent, but that there is no exhaustive list of all permissible deductions. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that the Convention requires deductions from wages to be made only under conditions and to the extent prescribed by national laws or regulations or fixed by collective agreement or arbitration award, and not individual agreements. The intention is clearly to exclude “private” arrangements which might involve unlawful or abusive deductions to the detriment of the worker’s earnings. As indicated in paragraph 218 of its 2003 General Survey, the Committee has consistently taken the view that provisions in national legislation authorizing deductions from wages by virtue of individual agreements or consent do not offer the level of protection required by the Convention. It therefore asks the Government to take appropriate measures to specify in an exhaustive manner the types and extent of the deductions which may lawfully be made with the worker’s consent.

Article 8, paragraph 2. Information about wage deductions. Recalling that, in accordance with this Article of the Convention, read in conjunction with Article 14, workers should receive full information on the conditions under which, and the limits within which, deductions may be made and that such information should be given before they enter employment as well as at the time of each payment of wages, the Committee again requests the Government to indicate how these provisions of the Convention are given effect in both law and practice.

Article 10. Assignment of wages. The Committee has been requesting the Government to clarify whether the national legislation regulates the notion of assignment of wages, that is to say the possibility for an indebted worker to agree with the competent judicial or administrative authorities upon a voluntary arrangement whereby part of his/her wages are paid directly to the creditor in settlement of his/her debts. Even though the attachment of wages, i.e. the withholding of part of the worker’s wages by the employer in application of a court order, is permitted within the limits set out in section 108 of the Labour Code, it is not clear whether similar provisions exist for the assignment of wages. The Committee requests the Government to supply additional explanations in this regard.

Article 13, paragraph 2. Place of wage payment. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to section 75 of the Labour Code which provides that workers’ wages must normally be paid at their workplace, and only in exceptional situations (e.g. employee visiting a client, or on business trip) wages may be remitted elsewhere at the employer’s expense. The Committee recalls, in this connection, paragraphs 410 and 413 of its 2003 General Survey in which it concluded that even though the prohibition of payment of wages in taverns, places of amusement and also, under certain conditions, in retail shops may appear somewhat less relevant today in view of the increasing use of non-cash methods of payment such as direct bank transfer, it is undoubtedly still relevant in certain areas or sectors, for instance in agriculture, and therefore calls for appropriate and effective measures for its implementation. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps to bring the national legislation into full conformity with the Convention in this respect.

Article 14(b). Wage statements. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the question of introducing to the Labour Code provisions concerning the wage particulars to be communicated to workers at the time of each payment of wages is currently under consideration. In this connection, the Committee wishes to refer to paragraph 460 of its 2003 General Survey in which it concluded that under modern conditions the need to ensure greater transparency and protection of workers’ rights has raised the principle of keeping workers adequately informed of their wage conditions to the level of one of the fundamental requirements of this Convention. It would even appear that being sufficiently informed of wage particulars, such as all the various wage components and the applicable rates, the method of calculation and compulsory deductions, is now almost as important as being paid on time and in full, and is in any event simply indispensable for a full understanding of the manner in which the amount of wages due is reckoned. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this regard.

Article 15(d). Record-keeping. The Committee once again requests the Government to supply additional information on the legal provisions regulating the maintenance of payroll records, as required under this Article of the Convention. The Committee draws attention to Paragraph 7 of Recommendation No. 85 which offers some guidance in this respect.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the number of labour inspections carried out in 2005 with particular regard being paid to the issue of timely payment of wages, the number of wage-related infringements observed, and the monetary and administrative sanctions imposed. The Committee would thank the Government for continuing to provide general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for instance, extracts from labour inspection reports, copies of collective agreements containing clauses on pay conditions, any difficulties experienced in the timely payment of wages in the private or public sector, etc.