Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Benin (Ratification: 1960)

Article 3(1) of the Convention. Methods of fixing and adjusting minimum wages. The Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. 2009-130 of 16 April 2009 increasing the guaranteed interoccupational minimum wage (SMIG) to 31,625 CFA francs (approximately US$66) and Order No. 071/MTFP/DC/SGM/ DGT/DRP/SP–CNT of 23 February 2011 adjusting the occupation-based minimum wages of the public and semi-public sectors governed by the Labour Code. Since the Office has not received copies, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would again provide copies of the abovementioned decree and order, together with copies of the job classification and the minimum pay scales appended to section 83 of the general collective labour agreement. In its report, the Government acknowledges that the plight of workers facing poverty has grown worse in the current economic crisis, but states that it is combating the effects of the crisis, in particular by keeping the inflation rate below 3 per cent. The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the need to maintain a close correlation between trends in the cost of living and trends in the SMIG rate so as to maintain workers’ purchasing power and to secure a decent standard of living for them and their families. It accordingly asks the Government to indicate how it satisfies itself that the amount of the minimum wage takes due account of the real needs of workers and their families, for example in terms of a basic family basket, and to provide statistical information showing SMIG trends in recent years as compared to trends in economic indicators such as the consumer price index, over the same period.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government in its next report to provide information on the practical effect given to the Convention, including statistics of the number of employees paid at SMIG rates and extracts from reports of the labour inspection services containing information on the number of contraventions reported and the measures taken to remedy them, along with all available official documents or studies dealing with wage policy issues, allowing an evaluation of how the Convention is applied in practice.

Lastly, the Committee takes this opportunity to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions adopted by the ILO Governing Body on the basis of recommendations made by the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (document GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). The Governing Body placed Convention No. 26 in the category of instruments which are no longer fully up to date but remain relevant in certain respects. The Committee accordingly suggests that the Government contemplate 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 determining minimum wage levels. Ratification of Convention No. 131 appears to be all the more desirable as Benin’s legislation already establishes a national minimum wage applying to all sectors of the economy. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision, either taken or under consideration, on this matter.