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

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 1972)

Articles 1, 3 and 4 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes the adoption of Labour Act No. 17/2010 of 12 April 2010, repealing the Labour Code of 1959, on which the Committee had previously been commenting. It notes that sections 69 and 70 of Act No. 17/2010 provide for the establishment of a National Tripartite Committee responsible for setting the general minimum wage for workers covered by this Act. It also notes sections 71 and 72 of Act No. 17/2010, concerning the tripartite committees responsible for making recommendations, as was the case under the previous Labour Code, on minimum wage rates by occupation in different provinces. The Committee requests the Government to provide further details on the functioning of the National Tripartite Committee and to transmit copies of any decision taken for the readjustment of the national minimum wage. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether general administrative instructions No. B/1/645 of 4 September 1974 and instructions No. ID/2/3824 of 28 August 1976, which regulated the operation of the tripartite committees, enumerating in particular the specific criteria to be taken into account when recommending minimum wage rates, are still in force. If not, the Committee requests the Government to indicate precisely how it is ensured that the minimum wage rates are adequate to cover the basic needs of workers and their families, and reflect economic factors such as the requirements of economic development, productivity and the need for attaining and maintaining a high level of employment.

The Committee also notes Agricultural Relations Act No. 56 of 2004, in particular section 29, which provides for the establishment of committees in the different provinces responsible for making recommendations on minimum wage rates to be forwarded to the authorities of the governorate for any observations, before being submitted to the Ministry of Labour that determines the amount of the minimum wage. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the functioning of these committees, data on the minimum wage rates applicable to agricultural workers in the various provinces, as well as clarifications on the criteria taken into account when fixing these rates.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that section 5 of Act No. 17/2010 excludes from its scope of application, apart from civil servants and agricultural workers who are subject to a special regime, the members of the employer’s family supported by him/her, domestic workers, employees of charity organizations, casual workers and part-time workers who work for no more than two hours per day. With regard to domestic workers, it recalls that an Act of 2000 had extended to these workers the application of section 159 of the Labour Code of 1959 concerning minimum wage fixing. The Committee notes, however, that no similar provision is contained in Act No. 17/2010. It also understands that the Government adopted in 2010 an Act aimed at strengthening the rights of domestic workers. The Committee recalls its previous comment concerning the allegations included in a report of the International Organization for Migration, on the poor working conditions for a large number of foreign domestic workers, especially wages lower than those initially agreed. The Committee requests the Government to transmit a copy of the Act of 2010 on domestic workers, if adopted, and to provide further information on the minimum wage rates currently applicable to domestic workers as well as to transmit copies of any relevant text in this regard. Given the particular vulnerability of migrant domestic workers, the Government is also requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to ensure their protection, including those concerning their working conditions and in particular their remuneration. In addition, the Government is requested to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to establish a minimum wage for other categories of workers which are excluded from the scope of application of Act No. 17/2010 by virtue of section 5.

Article 5. Enforcement measures. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes that Act No. 17/2010 has increased the amount of fines imposed in cases of breach of its provisions, including the provisions related to minimum wages. It notes, however, that no provision of the new Labour Act seems to guarantee the right of workers to recover amounts owed to them in the event of infringement of the minimum wage legislation. The Committee hopes that the Government will take prompt action to ensure that workers enjoy such a right, which is one of the essential elements of the means to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention, and requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard.