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

Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 1957)

Articles 2 to 14 of the Convention. Scope of application – Protection of wages. The Committee notes the adoption of Labour Act No. 17/2010 of 12 April 2010, which repeals the Labour Code of 1959 on which the Committee had previously been commenting. It notes, however, that section 5 of Act No. 17/2010 excludes from its scope, in addition to civil servants who are subject to a special regime, agricultural workers, members of the employer’s family supported by him/her, domestic servants, workers of charity organizations, casual workers and part-time workers who work for no more than two hours per day.

The Committee recalls that, pursuant to its Article 2(1), the Convention applies to all persons to whom wages are paid or payable, subject to the exclusions permitted on an exceptional basis under Article 2(2). In this connection, the Committee notes that, while the Government indicated in its first report on the application of the Convention that it excluded domestic workers and casual workers from its scope, pursuant to requirements of Article 2(2) of the Convention, it is still bound, in accordance with Article 2(4), to regularly indicate in its reports the categories of persons for which it waives the exclusion from the application of the Convention, and any progress made with a view to the applying the Convention to those categories of workers. In addition, the other categories of workers excluded from the scope of the Labour Act must benefit from the protection afforded by the Convention, since they are not covered by an exception allowed under Article 2(2) of the Convention.

In view of the high number of foreign domestic workers employed in the country, the Committee considers that the measures aiming at the protection of wages of those workers are of particular importance. It understands, in this regard, that the Government adopted in 2010 new legislation aimed at strengthening the rights of domestic workers and requests it to provide a copy. The Government is also requested to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the protection of wages, in accordance with the Convention, for all categories of workers excluded from the scope of Labour Act No. 17/2010. In addition, the Committee understands that, in the context of the crisis that the country is facing, many migrant workers have returned to their country of origin or plan to do so with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM). It requests the Government to indicate the measures taken, notably in collaboration with the IOM, to ensure the payment of all wages owed to these migrant workers by their employers.

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of the following provisions of the Convention in the light of Labour Act No. 17/2010: Article 6 (freedom of workers to dispose of their wages); Article 8 (types of authorized deductions and limits); Article 9 (prohibition of deductions from wages in favour of the employer or an intermediary for the purpose of obtaining or retaining employment); and Article 14(b) (obligation to inform workers of the particulars of their wages at the time of each payment of wages).