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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1966)

Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application – agricultural workers. Further to its previous comments concerning sections 157–191 of the Labour Code, which do not allow the full application of the provisions of the Convention to agricultural workers, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it will take into account the need to amend the legislation in order to include the protection of the wages of those workers. It also notes the adoption of Decree No. 1968 of 6 May 2009, which provides for the meeting of a tripartite and inter-institutional social dialogue forum to discuss a new wages policy, in consultation with the social partners, and the strengthening of the powers of the Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Welfare concerning the supervision and application of the labour legislation. The Committee recalls that the Convention is applicable to all persons to whom wages are paid or payable, including agricultural workers. However, section 162 of the Labour Code stipulates that the general provisions of this Code, in particular those relating to the protection of wages, do not apply to agricultural workers. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures without delay so that the wages of agricultural workers are protected in both law and practice. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments in this regard.

Article 4, paragraph 1. Partial payment of wages in kind. With regard to the prohibition of the payment of wages in the form of liquor of high alcoholic content or of noxious drugs, set out in Article 4(1) of the Convention, the Committee notes that the Government provides no new information on this matter. It therefore requests the Government once again to take the necessary measures to include in the legislation a provision expressly prohibiting the partial payment of wages in the form of noxious drugs or liquor of high alcoholic content, as required by this Article of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, information concerning the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, extracts from the reports of the inspection services indicating the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed, etc.