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

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 3 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Burundi (COSYBU), dated 30 August 2012, concerning the application of the Convention. COSYBU considers that the Convention is a dead letter as the interoccupational guaranteed minimum wage (SMIG) has not been revised since the 1980s. COSYBU indicates that it is regrettable and scandalous to continue to have the SMIG officially fixed at 160 Burundian francs (approximately US$0.10) per day in urban centres and at 105 Burundian francs (approximately US$0.07) per day in rural areas, and asks the Government to readjust the SMIG level as a matter of urgency. In this connection, the Committee recalls the Government’s indications in earlier reports that the readjustment of the national minimum wage is part of the broader revision process of the Labour Code and also conditional on the preparation of a preliminary study in this matter. Under these circumstances, the Committee is obliged to conclude that the minimum wage fixing process provided for in sections 74 (Ministerial ordinances fixing minimum wages ensuring fair remuneration to workers) and 249 (annual revision of the minimum wages by the tripartite National Labour Council) of the Labour Code is no longer implemented in practice. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in response to the observations of COSYBU. The Committee also asks the Government to take all necessary measures in order to reactivate the minimum wage fixing process in full consultation with the social partners and proceed to the long overdue readjustment of the interoccupational guaranteed minimum wage.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.