Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Morocco (Ratification: 1958)

The Committee notes with interest that in April 2011 the Council of Ministers approved the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), thus allowing the Government to embark on the procedure to ratify it. The Committee points out that ratification of Convention No. 131 does not automatically imply denunciation of the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26), or the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery (Agriculture) Convention, 1951 (No. 99), so the Government will eventually need to denounce these Conventions officially. It also points out that Conventions Nos 26 and 99 will again be opened for denunciation for one year as from 14 June 2015 and 23 August 2013, respectively.

Article 1(1) of the Convention. Minimum wage wage fixing. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report on the evolution of the statutory minimum wage. It notes that pursuant to Decree No. 2-11-247 of 1 July 2011, the guaranteed minimum wage (SMIG) and the guaranteed minimum agricultural wage (SMAG) were increased by 15 per cent in two phases, the first, equal to 10 per cent, was paid on 1 July 2011 and the second, equal to 5 per cent, on 1 July 2012, bringing the SMIG up to 12.24 Moroccan dirhams (MAD) (approximately US$1.44) per hour and the SMAG to MAD63.39 (approximately US$7.43) per day. The Committee also notes that as from November 2009, the cost of living index has been replaced by the consumer price index, which measures changes in the prices of a basket of consumer goods purchased by Moroccan households. Noting again that the legislation no longer provides for a system of indexation to indicators such as the cost of living index, the Committee repeats its request to the Government to provide information on the manner in which the cost of living is taken into account in determining the amount of the statutory minimum wage.

Article 3(2). Consultation of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that minimum wage adjustments are as a rule the result of occupational collective bargaining. The Committee notes in this connection that direct negotiations with the economic and social partners gave rise to four agreements, signed on 1 August 1996, 30 April 2001, 30 April 2003 and 26 April 2011, all of which were followed by an increase in the minimum wage. The Committee notes, however, that the Government has not provided the additional information it requested in its previous comments about the exact terms of reference, composition and operation of the National Tripartite Committee for Social Dialogue. It therefore once again requests the Government for further details, including, if possible, minutes of meetings, copies of studies or other official documents relating to the functioning of this tripartite body.

Article 4 and Part V of the report form. System of supervision and sanctions – Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report on the penalties laid down in the Labour Code for infringements of the rules on minimum wages, and the statistical data showing that 6.68 per cent of all observations addressed to employers by labour inspectors in 2011 and 7.4 per cent of all infringements recorded in 2011 pertained to minimum wages. The Committee also notes the draft joint circular produced by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Justice and Freedoms concerning the sharing of data and the follow-up of the reports submitted by labour inspectors to the various courts. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the improvements that the joint circular aims to bring to the system of supervision and sanctions. Furthermore, the Committee again requests the Government to provide all available information on the implementation of the Convention in practice, particularly statistics of the number of workers whose remuneration is equal to the minimum wage, together with data on the evolution of the minimum wage in recent years as compared to the evolution of specific economic indicators, such as inflation, during the same period.