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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Belarus (Ratification: 1961)

Article 3 of the Convention. Payment of wages in legal tender. In the absence of new information on this point, the Committee is bound to reiterate that the Convention requires either an express prohibition of the payment of wages in the form of promissory notes, vouchers or coupons or in any other form alleged to represent legal tender, or alternatively, a provision stipulating that any contract which would provide for the payment of the whole or any part of wages in any manner other than in legal tender would be null and void. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take steps shortly to give full effect to this provision of the Convention.

Article 4. Partial payment of wages in kind. With reference to section 74 of the Labour Code, which recognizes the possibility to substitute the wage payment in cash, in full or in part, by payment in kind subject to the worker’s consent, the Committee has been recalling that the Convention only permits the partial payment of wages in kind in those industries or occupations in which such payment is customary or desirable and only under the conditions and within the limits established by national laws or regulations, collective agreements, or arbitral awards but not individual labour agreements. The Convention also requires measures to ensure that the value attributed to any allowances in kind is fair and reasonable. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to specify the measures it intends to take in order to give full effect to the requirements of this Article of the Convention.

Article 6. Freedom of workers to dispose of their wages. In the absence of new information on this point, the Committee once again recalls that the Convention requires an appropriate legislative provision specifically prohibiting employers from limiting in any manner the freedom of workers to dispose of their wages, and therefore requests the Government to take the necessary action in the very near future.

Article 15(d). Record-keeping. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Ministry of Finance Order No. 89 of 30 May 2003 which provides for the maintenance of payroll records. The Government indicates that these records reflect the sums paid in respect of remuneration, bonuses and allowances, and also contain personal accounts for each worker. The Committee would appreciate receiving a copy of the Ministry of Finance Order No. 89.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government that, in the first six months of 2011, the State Labour Inspectorate carried out 1,388 inspections on compliance with labour legislation, that there were 446 entities in violation of the deadlines of payment of wages, and a total of 42.1 million roubles in administrative fines. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide 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 reports of the inspection services indicating the number and nature of violations reported and penalties imposed and any difficulties experienced in the application of the Convention.