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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Sudan (Ratification: 1970)

Article 4 of the Convention. Partial payment of wages in kind. For the last ten years, the Government has been indicating that the Labour Act 1997 is being revised and that in formulating the new draft labour legislation due account is taken of all the points raised in the Committee’s previous comments. The Committee notes, however, that in its last report, the Government no longer refers to the revision process.

With regard to the partial payment of wages in kind, the Committee notes that section 35(1) of the Labour Act 1997 provides that wages must be paid in cash, except for allowances for food, fuel, housing, transport or clothing which may be paid in kind without specifying however the maximum proportion of the money wages which may be replaced by benefits in kind, or the method of calculating the cash value of benefits in kind so as to ensure that the value attributed to them is fair and reasonable. The Committee requests the Government to take appropriate measures to ensure that the relevant provisions of the Labour Act give full effect to Article 4 of the Convention.

Article 10. Conditions and limits for attachment or assignment of wages. The Committee notes that although section 67 of the Labour Act states that any contract of employment under which a worker undertakes to concede to his/her employer all or part of the sums due to him or her in connection with employment shall be deemed null and void, and shall not be enforced by courts, no provision is made for an overall limit on the amount of wages which may be attached or assigned. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged with a view to limiting the attachment or assignment of wages to the extent deemed necessary for the maintenance of the workers and their families, as required under Article 10 of the Convention.

Article 14. Notification of wage conditions and statement of earnings. The Committee notes that section 35(4) of the Labour Act provides that where an agreement between an employer and a worker is concluded to transfer a worker from a system of monthly remuneration to a system of daily, weekly or fortnightly pay, the worker shall maintain the rights he/she acquired during the period he/she worked on the basis of monthly pay. The Committee also notes that under section 65 of the Labour Act, every employer is obliged to keep records, including particulars on wages and deductions, and that such records must be kept for at least one year after termination of the employment contract. The Committee notes, however, that the Labour Act does not seem to address the issue of notification of wage conditions prior to the beginning of employment, or the wage statement to be issued at the time of each payment of wages. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate how it is ensured that workers are informed in an appropriate and easily understandable manner of their wage conditions before they enter into employment, and of the particulars of their wages for the pay period concerned at the time of each payment of wages, as provided for in Article 14 of the Convention.