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

Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention, 1951 (No. 99) - Türkiye (Ratification: 1970)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report, in particular the adoption of the new Labour Law No. 4857 of 22 May 2003 and its provisions regarding the determination of the national minimum wage.

Article 1(1) of the Convention. Scope of the minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes that, under section 4 of the new Labour Law, enterprises carrying out agricultural and forestry works and employing less than 50 workers are excluded from the scope of application of the Labour Law. In its previous comment, the Committee raised the question whether such a threshold would risk leaving a large number of agricultural workers without minimum wage coverage and asked the Government to provide statistical data on the number of workers concerned. The Government refers, in this connection, to section 39 of the new Labour Law, which provides that the minimum wage seeks to regulate the economic and social conditions of all workers with an employment contract whether they are covered or not by the Labour Law, and concludes that all agricultural workers without exception are therefore covered by the national minimum wage. While noting these explanations, the Committee would appreciate if the Government would clarify whether other provisions of the Labour Law related to minimum wage regulation and compliance, such as, for instance, the provisions on labour inspection and sanctions, are also applicable to agricultural workers of small farms employing less than 50 workers.

In addition, the Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government, according to which as of July 2007 there were 95,095 workers in agriculture and fishing and 89,796 workers in forestry employed under an employment contract and therefore covered by the provisions of the Labour Law. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the approximate number of agricultural workers falling outside the scope of the Labour Law, and also to specify whether and how minimum wage levels are established for those agricultural workers not benefiting from an employment contract.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee would thank the Government for continuing to provide up to date and documented information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, the minimum wage rate currently in force, copies of collective agreements fixing minimum pay rates for specific branches of the agricultural sector, statistics on the number of agricultural workers remunerated at the minimum wage rate, labour inspection results, copies of official documents or studies addressing issues of minimum wage policy, etc.

Moreover, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Governing Body as regards the relevance of the Convention following 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 Convention No. 99 is 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 contains certain improvements 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 considers that the ratification of Convention No. 131 is all the more advisable as Turkey has already in place a minimum wage fixing mechanism that covers all sectors of the economy rather than individual sectors as is the case under Convention No. 99. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

In addition, the Committee requests the Government to refer to the comments made under Convention No. 26.