Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 2006)

Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery and full consultations with social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations concerning the composition and mandate of the Standing National Labour Council (CNPT) as set out in Decree No. 07.177 of 18 June 2007. It notes, in particular, that, under section 3 of that Decree, the CNPT is entrusted with examining the elements which may serve as a basis for the determination of the minimum wage while under section 4 its composition includes eight representatives of employers’ and eight representatives of workers’ organizations. According to the Government’s report, the CNPT replaces the advisory commissions which were provided for by the Labour Code of 1961 as well as other consultative bodies, such as the Regional Consultative Commission, the Technical Committee on Hygiene and Safety, or the Higher Council of Vocational Training. The Government adds that the CNPT was expected to become operational during the second half of 2009 and that an order appointing its members was in the process of being finalized. Based on these indications, the Committee understands that the minimum interoccupational wage (SMIG) and the guaranteed minimum agricultural wage (SMAG) have not been reviewed and remain unchanged at the rate fixed in 1991. The Committee requests the Government to take all necessary steps in order to accelerate the activation of the CNPT and to provide detailed information on any progress made in this respect, including new minimum wage rates and copies of the legal instruments establishing those rates.

In this respect, the Committee wishes to refer to its 2009 general observation in which reference was made to the Global Jobs Pact, adopted by the International Labour Conference in June 2009, in response to the global economic crisis, which places particular emphasis on the need to strengthen respect for international labour standards and expressly identifies wages-related ILO instruments as being relevant in order to prevent a downward spiral in labour conditions and build recovery (paragraph 14). The Global Jobs Pact further suggests that governments should consider options such as minimum wages that can reduce poverty and inequity, increase demand and contribute to economic stability (paragraph 23) and points out that, in order to avoid deflationary wage spirals, minimum wages should be regularly reviewed and adapted (paragraph 12). The Committee is therefore bound to recall that determining minimum-wage levels within an institutionalized framework of tripartite consultations or negotiations is key to establishing a safety net for the workers at the bottom of the wage scale while periodic review and adjustment of minimum wage rates is an absolute prerequisite to the meaningful operation of any minimum-wage system.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would 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(s); labour inspection results showing the number of visits carried out, violations of the minimum wage legislation recorded and sanctions imposed; copies of official documents or studies on minimum wage policy, such as activity reports of the CNPT or economic surveys serving as a basis for relevant discussions, etc.