Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Chile (Ratification: 1933)

Replies received to the issues raised in a direct request which do not give rise to further comments (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, which answers the points raised in its previous direct request, and has no further matters to raise in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in response to the Committee’s previous direct request.

Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee recalls its previous comments in which it noted that adopting lower minimum wage rates for groups of workers on account of their age may not be expressly prohibited under the Convention but should not contradict the principle of "equal remuneration for work of equal value". In its reply, the Government states that, by fixing a slightly lower minimum wage for young workers below 18 years of age and persons over 65 years of age, it had no intention to discriminate on the grounds of age, sex or disability. The lower minimum wage is rather designed to counterbalance the traditionally disadvantaged position of those groups of workers in obtaining employment. According to the Government, certain employers are systematically uninterested in recruiting those workers, as contrasted to experienced, non-aged workers capable of performing full-day work, and this situation tends to aggravate during periods of high unemployment.

The Committee takes due note of these explanations. However, the Committee feels obliged to point out that paying young workers or aged persons at a lower rate than others even when they perform work of the same nature, subject to the same employment conditions and meeting the same quantitative and qualitative requirements, would risk to be perceived as discriminatory and thus inconsistent with the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment set forth in the Preamble of the ILO Constitution and relevant ILO Conventions.

The Committee recalls paragraphs 171 and 176 of the 1992 General Survey on minimum wages and emphasizes that the reasons that may prompt the adoption of lower minimum wages for groups of workers on account of their age and disabilities should be regularly re-examined in the light of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value, and also that the quantity and quality of work carried out should be the decisive factor in determining the wage paid. The Committee therefore requests the Government to review the criteria for fixing minimum wages for workers below 18 years of age and those aged over 65 years in order to ensure that workers in these categories receive remuneration equal to that of other workers for the same or equivalent work.

Article 5 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that, under Act No. 19.564 published in the Official Gazette of 30 May 1998, the minimum wage rates for the period 1 June 2000 to 31 May 2001 are fixed at 100,000 pesos for workers between 18 and 65 years of age, and at 77,404 pesos for adolescents below the age of 18 years, as well as for persons aged over 65 years. The Committee also notes the statistical information supplied by the Government on claims and complaints relating to the minimum wage filed in 1998 and 1999. It requests the Government to continue providing all available information on the practical application of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes the detailed information provided in the Government's report.

The Committee notes the Government's statement to the effect that young workers aged under 18 years and workers aged over 65 years are paid a minimum wage determined by law which is slightly less than the minimum wage normally applied to private-sector workers. Thus, Act No. 19.502 (Official Gazette of 30 May 1997) fixes the general minimum wage at 71,400 dollars, while the minimum wage for adolescents below the age of 18 years and for persons over the age of 65 years is 61,445 dollars.

In this regard, the Committee recalls paragraphs 169 to 181 of its 1992 General Survey on minimum wages. As the instruments concerning minimum wages contain no provision for the fixing of different minimum wage rates on the basis of criteria such as sex, age or disability, the general principles laid down in other instruments must be respected, in particular the principles contained in the Preamble to the ILO Constitution, which specifically refers to the principle of "equal remuneration for work of equal value". With regard to age, paragraph 171 of the 1992 General Survey indicates that the quantity and quality of work done must be the decisive factor in determining wages. The Committee therefore considers that, even if the minimum wage Conventions do not prohibit setting lower minimum wage rates for young workers, any measures taken in this regard should respect the principle of "equal remuneration for work of equal value", and should not be based on the criteria of age or sex but rather on objective criteria such as the quantity and quality of work done.

The Committee hopes that these criteria will serve as the basis for determining minimum wages for workers below the age of 18 years and those aged over 65 years. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that workers in these categories receive remuneration equal to that of other workers for the same or equivalent work.

With regard to homeworkers, the Committee notes in particular the information provided by the Government with regard to section 44 of the Labour Code of 1994.

Finally, the Committee notes the Government's statement to the effect that new information on the practical application of the Convention will be communicated as soon as it is available. It hopes that the Government will shortly be in a position to provide this information, in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention and point V of the report form.

[The Government is asked to report in detail in 2000.]

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

The Committee notes the information supplied in the Government's report.

1. The Committee notes the wage increases which have occurred since 1 June 1994 (Act No. 19.307 published in the Official Gazette of 31 May 1994) for workers aged 18 years and over, workers aged under 18 years and workers aged under 65 years who are covered by the general scheme.

2. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to ensure that effect is given to section 43 of the Labour Code concerning the minimum monthly income of homeworkers who regularly perform work without the vigilance and immediate direction of their employer.

3. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying general information on the application of the Convention in practice, in accordance with point V of the report form.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments.

1. In particular, the Committee notes with interest that since 1990 the minimum monthly income has been adjusted once a year by law on the basis of the tripartite national framework agreement concluded among the United Centre of Workers (CUT), the Confederation of Production and Commerce (CPC) and the Government. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue supplying the results of the application of the minimum wage fixing machinery in accordance with Article 5 of the Convention.

2. As regards the exclusion of homeworkers from the minimum wage system, the Committee notes that the Government repeats its explanations that homeworkers in Chile are independent workers who are free to conclude an agreement on their remuneration. The Committee notes that section 8(2) of the Labour Code, as amended, excludes from the definition of labour contract, inter alia, the services provided in a discontinued or sporadic manner at home, and that its section 8(3) further excludes the services habitually performed by persons at their home without vigilance or immediate direction of the one who contracts them. It appears from these provisions that the work performed on a regular basis at home of the workers under vigilance or immediate direction of the contractor falls within the scope of the labour contract and therefore within the scope of the Labour Code. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate measures taken or envisaged to ensure the application of section 43 of the Code concerning the minimum monthly income to such homeworkers who regularly perform work under vigilance or immediate direction of the employer.

3. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government's explanations concerning other exceptions from the minimum wage system (Article 2).

4. With reference to the previous comments, the Committee notes the information supplied by the Government concerning the inspection visits, the provisions on sanctions and the statistics on claims and complaints relating to the minimum wage. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the practical application of the Convention (point V of the report form).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention

1. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that section 8(3) of the 1987 Labour Code maintained the exclusion of homeworkers from the minimum wage system, as had been provided for in Legislative Decree No. 2200 of 1978. The Committee had requested the Government to indicate what consultations had taken place with the organisations of employers and workers concerned before establishing this exclusion.

The Committee notes from the explanations provided by the Government that under Chilean legislation, homeworkers are independent workers who are free to conclude an agreement on their legislation.

The Committee recalls that under Article 1 of the Convention, each Member which ratifies this Convention undertakes to create or maintain machinery whereby minimum rates of wages can be fixed for workers employed in certain of the trades or parts of trades (and in particular the home working trades) in which no arrangements exist for the effective regulation of wages by collective agreement or otherwise and wages are exceptionally low. The Committee requests the Government to communicate the approximate number of homeworkers and the wage rates paid in the home working trades. It also requests the Government to indicate the present arrangements for wage fixing, by collective agreement or otherwise, in the home working trades, and again asks the Government to indicate whether the employers' and workers' organisations were consulted before establishing the exclusion provided for in section 8, paragraph 2, of the Labour Code.

2. The Committee has taken due note of the various exceptions provided for in the standards on minimum wages, including those concerning workers over 65 years of age (section 43, paragraph 4 of the Labour Code), persons engaged as salaried workers by non-profit-making organisations which carry out benevolent work or social welfare work, and who are registered with the Programme for the Absorption of those receiving Pensions (section 13 of Act No. 18,647 of 2 September 1987), those engaged under contracts of 30 days or less (section 43, paragraphs 5 and 6 of the Labour Code) and workers in labour-intensive projects operated by municipalities (PIMO) (section 14 of Act No. 18,647). The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the employers' and workers' organisations were consulted when deciding on the exclusion of these categories of workers from the minimum wage system, as required by Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the approximate number of workers in each of the categories mentioned above.

3. Article 3. In its previous comments the Committee has requested the Government to indicate the legislation in force which establishes the minimum monthly income as well as the methods for adopting this minimum income and the extent to which the employers and workers concerned were consulted as provided by the Convention.

The Committee has noted the detailed explanations provided as concerns the monthly income, which should be considered as a minimum income in conformity with the legislation in force. The Committee notes that no information on consultation with employers and workers was provided in the report.

The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide complete information on the machinery used to adopt minimum wages, as well as how this is applied in conformity with Article 3 of the Convention, indicating the method used to consult the representatives of the employers and workers and the way in which the employers and workers concerned participate in the operation of this machinery.

4. Article 4. In its previous comments, the Committee has requested the Government to supervise the carrying out of the instructions given by labour inspectors in certain undertakings so that these undertakings specify in labour contracts the work assigned to each worker in order that these workers can receive the minimum wage which has been agreed upon.

The Committee notes the Government's statement that the labour inspection services exercise constant supervision over undertakings to verify that the labour legislation is being applied. The Committee requests the Government to communicate information on the methods used to assure the supervision of the application of national legislation as required by the Convention, including the number of infractions noted and the sanctions imposed.