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

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Zambia (Ratification: 1972)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Articles 1(1) and 2(2) of the Convention. Minimum wages fixed by statute or through collective bargaining. The Committee notes the adoption of the Minimum Wage and Conditions of Employment Orders, 2011, Statutory Instruments Nos 1, 2 and 3. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide additional information on the approximate number of workers whose wages are fixed through collective bargaining or, alternatively, by the statutory instruments referred to above.

Article 3. Criteria for fixing and adjusting minimum wages. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that, at the time the statutory instruments were issued, the minimum wage levels were adequate to provide a decent standard of living, but their value has eroded over time. In this connection, the Committee once again requests the Government to explain how the workers’ needs are taken into account, as required under this Article of the Convention, when the statutory minimum wages are revised.

Article 4(2) and (3). Consultations with the social partners. The Committee has been commenting for many years on the need to amend section 3(1) of the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act (Cap. 276), which requires consultation only with a trade union before an order could be prescribed. The Government has indicated in earlier reports that necessary action would be taken to bring the Minimum Wages and Conditions of Employment Act into line with the requirements of the Convention, i.e. full consultation not only with the workers’ unions but also the employers’ organizations. The Committee once more expresses the hope that the Government will take appropriate steps without further delay in order to align the national legislation with established practice and requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this respect.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is planning to undertake a comprehensive wages survey. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this regard and to transmit a copy once the survey has been finalized. It also asks the Government to continue to provide up-to-date and documented information on the practical application of the Convention including, for instance, the estimated number of workers remunerated at the minimum wage level, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services showing the number and nature of contraventions of the relevant legislation and the sanctions imposed, copies of collective agreements, etc.