Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Niger (Ratification: 1980)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage level. The Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. 2012-359/PRN/MFP/T of 17 August 2012 setting the hourly rate of the minimum guaranteed inter-occupational wage (SMIG), which establishes the monthly minimum wage level at 30,047 CFA Francs a month (approximately US$60), compared with 27,000 CFA Francs (approximately US$56) in 2006. In this respect, the Committee notes that, under the terms of section 260 of Act No. 2012-45 of 25 September 2012 issuing the Labour Code, the Advisory Labour and Employment Commission, composed of equal numbers of employers and workers, is entrusted with examining the elements which may serve as a basis for the determination of the minimum wage, for examining the minimum subsistence level and general economic conditions. It also notes the Government’s indications that the fixing of the SMIG is based on the determination of a model budget for a single manual worker. This model budget consists of all the subsistence needs (the indispensable minimum level for an adult living alone). The model budget takes into account subsistence nutritional needs, for example sufficient nutrition in terms of calories and balanced in terms of lipids, protein, iron, calcium and the various vitamins. As no indications have been provided on the manner in which the various socio-economic criteria are taken into account, as envisaged in Article 3 of the Convention, for the evaluation of the level of the minimum wage with a view to its adjustment, including studies of the national economic situation and the cost of living index, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information on this point.

Article 4(2). Requirement of full consultations with the social partners. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the institutional framework within which consultations are held with the social partners regarding the adjustment of the SMIG. However, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide a response to this question, and particularly on whether the Advisory Labour and Employment Commission was associated with the process of the latest adjustment of the SMIG. The Committee recalls that the Convention requires genuine and effective consultations with representative organizations of employers and workers at all stages of the minimum wage fixing process. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the extent to which the Advisory Labour and Employment Commission referred to above was associated with the process of the adjustment of the SMIG and to provide, where appropriate, a copy of the report of its most recent discussions on minimum wage fixing.