Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Iraq (Ratification: 1974)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage system. The Committee notes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention since 1997. It also notes that the process of adoption of the new draft Labour Code is advancing, the text being currently examined by the State Consultative Council. The Committee notes, in particular, that draft section 53(1) of the new draft Labour Code essentially reproduces the provisions of the existing Labour Code of 1987 on the statutory minimum wage to be fixed by government decision, pursuant to a proposal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs after consultation with the tripartite Minimum Wage Board, while draft sections 55(2) and 55(4) specify for the first time the elements to be taken into consideration in determining the level of the minimum wage and also provide for the adjustment of the minimum wage from time to time on the basis of periodic reviews of changes in the cost of living. While being aware of the special situation and extraordinary challenges the country continues to face, the Committee hopes that the Government will pursue its efforts to reactivate its minimum wage fixing machinery and fully implement a system of minimum wages which would be in conformity with the requirements of the Convention. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in the process of revision of the Labour Code and to transmit a copy of the new legislation, once it has been finalized.

Article 4, paragraph 2. Consultation of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the consultative committee on the minimum wage set up under section 46(1) of the Labour Code of 1987 held its last meeting in 2006 and fixed a minimum wage rate which was then transmitted to the responsible authorities for approval. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on any measures taken to follow up on the recommendations of the consultative committee, in particular the readjustment of the statutory minimum wage, and to transmit a copy of any relevant legal text which may have been adopted in this regard.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee asks the Government to provide general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including statistical data, if available, on the number of workers covered by the minimum wage legislation and the estimated number of workers earning the minimum wage; extracts from inspection reports indicating the number of violations observed with respect to the payment of the minimum wage and the penalties imposed; practical indications as to the evolution of the minimum wage in recent years as compared to the evolution of other indicators, such as the inflation rate, in the same period; copies of any recent studies addressing minimum wage policy issues, etc.