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

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

Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Adjustment of minimum wages. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of Decree No. 2008/2115 of 24 June 2008 which increases the level of the guaranteed minimum inter-occupational wage (SMIG) to CFA28,216 (approximately US$55) per month. It also notes the Order of the Minister of Labour and Social Security No. 0021/MINTSS/SG/DRP/SDCS of 30 June 2008 determining the scope of application of the SMIG and the Decision of the Minister of Labour and Social Security No. 1/MINTSS/CAB of 9 April 2008 establishing a tripartite permanent committee within the National Labour Advisory Commission (CNCT) to prepare proposals on all matters within the mandate of the CNCT. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information regarding the social and economic indicators which were taken into account in the process of readjusting the SMIG rate. It also asks the Government to specify whether the permanent committee established under the CNCT is composed of an equal number of employers’ and workers’ representatives.

In addition, the Committee notes the comments of the General Confederation of Labour - Liberty of Cameroon (GCL-Liberty), dated 20 October 2008, concerning the application of the Convention. The GCL-Liberty considers that the current sessions of the CNCT are simply a mockery set up by Government-appointed members with no legitimacy or representativeness. The GCL-Liberty also states that the collectively agreed wage scales attached to the Government’s report are not applied or not revised after the expiry of the relevant collective agreements. Moreover, the GCL-Liberty denounces the insufficient number of labour inspectors and the lack of resources necessary to fulfil their mission. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in reply to the observations of GCL-Liberty.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the wage scales contained in the various sectoral collective agreements that were attached to the Government’s report, for instance the collective agreement for road transport, stockpiling and distribution of oil products, and construction and public works. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide in future reports up to date information on the practical application of the Convention, including for instance the approximate number of workers remunerated at the minimum wage rate; data on the evolution of the minimum wage, as compared to the evolution of economic indicators such as the inflation rate; copies of relevant collective agreements; labour inspection results showing the number of visits carried out, violations recorded and sanctions imposed; copies of official documents or studies on minimum wage policy, such as activity reports of the National Labour Advisory Commission or economic surveys serving as basis for relevant discussions, etc.