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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1973)

Article 8 of the Convention. Deductions from wages. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government's indication that deductions from wages may only be made upon a court order for the payment of child support or in the limited cases specified in section 201 of the Labour Code. The Government also indicates that pursuant to Act No. 136/03 on the protection of children and adolescents, up to one third of the worker’s wages may be seized for the payment of child support. Recalling that the Convention requires workers’ earnings to be protected against deductions and attachment to the extent necessary to ensure their subsistence in all circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to specify whether the national legislation provides for an overall limit in case of deductions on multiple grounds.

In addition, the Committee notes the Government's reply to earlier comments of the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity (CNUS), the Autonomous Confederation of Workers’ Union (CASC) and the National Confederation of Dominican Workers (CNTD) regarding allegedly unauthorized deductions made by banking institutions, especially in the form of charges for banking transactions, without the prior consent of the workers concerned. The Government indicates that no such cases have so far been brought to its knowledge and invites the trade unions to transmit more specific information to enable the inspection services to properly investigate any alleged irregularities.

Article 12. Payment of wages at regular intervals. In response to earlier comments of the CNUS, CASC and CNTD regarding delays in the payment of wages experienced by workers in export processing zones (EPZs), the Government indicates that no such cases have been reported to the competent authorities. In this connection, the Committee notes the new comments of the CNUS, CASC and CNTD, received on 8 October 2012 and transmitted to the Government on 31 October 2012, according to which certain full-time workers employed in supermarkets receive only clients’ tips for remuneration while others, such as those of the Empresa Salinas Puerto Hermoso in Baní have reportedly not been paid for several months. The Committee requests the Government to provide any comments it may wish to make in response to the observations of the CNUS, CASC and CNTD.