Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Solomon Islands (Ratification: 1985)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 3, paragraph 2(2), of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that representatives of the employers and the workers have always been invited to participate, in equal numbers and on equal terms, in the minimum wage-fixing round table dialogue. While recalling that the Government, in its previous reports, referred to a wages advisory board, the Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the institutional framework in which consultations are carried out (frequency, participation, mandate, etc.). Moreover, the Committee notes that, according to the Government’s last report, a new tripartite advisory board is to be established and involved in the labour law reform and the application of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments in this regard and, in particular, of any minimum wage fixing functions pertaining to this new body.

Article 5. The Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government in its last report, in October 2005 the minimum wage rate rose to US$0.17 per hour for the agricultural and fishing sectors and US$0.21 per hour for the other sectors. While noting that the national minimum wage has not been revised for almost ten years, the Committee recalls that a system of minimum wages becomes irrelevant unless minimum wage rates are kept under review and periodically revised in the light of the evolution of socio-economic conditions. The Committee therefore invites the Government to look into existing minimum wage levels and to ensure that any possible increases adequately reflect the real needs of workers and their families. The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of the Ministerial Order fixing the minimum wage rates currently in force and to keep the Office informed of any measures or steps taken to revise these rates.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for instance, extracts from inspection services reports and information on the number of workers protected by the legislation, the number and nature of contraventions reported, etc.