Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - Burkina Faso (Ratification: 1974)

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:

The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 11-92/ADP of 22 December 1992 issuing the Labour Code and of Decree No. 99‑081/PRES/PM/MEF/METSS establishing the hourly rate of the guaranteed minimum interoccupational wage at CFA 166 and the hourly rate of the minimum agricultural wage at CFA 152. It requests the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

Article 3, in conjunction with Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that, under the terms of section 108 of the Labour Code, the guaranteed minimum interoccupational wages are fixed by decrees issued by the Council of Ministers after opinions have been provided by the Labour Advisory Commission. It also notes that, under the terms of the same provision, in the absence of collective agreements, or where they are silent in this respect, these decrees also establish the occupational categories and the corresponding minimum wages. The Government indicates in its report that the minimum wage  rates currently in force were established by Decree No. 99‑081/PRES/PM/MEF/METSS referred to above. The Government is requested to provide a copy of the above text with its next report. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would indicate the extent to which and the manner in which, in determining the level of minimum wages, consideration was given to the elements enumerated by the Convention, such as the needs of workers and their families, taking into account the general level of wages in the country or the cost of living, and the periodicity with which adjustments are made to minimum wages taking into account these elements. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the legal texts establishing the procedure and the criteria according to which the levels of minimum wages are determined and adjusted.

The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the minimum wage rates established by the Joint Interoccupational Commission in the occupational sectors referred to by the Government in its report, and to provide a copy of the most recent decision on this matter, in view of the fact that the most recent information available to the Committee on this subject dated as far back as 1988.

Article 4, paragraph 3. The Committee notes that, under section 230 of the Labour Code, a Labour Advisory Commission, composed of equal numbers of employers and workers, has been established under the ministry responsible for labour. It also notes that, under the terms of the above section, a decree issued by the Council of Ministers shall establish the conditions for the appointment and the numbers of employers’ and workers’ representatives, the duration of their mandates and the operational procedures of the Commission. It requests the Government to specify whether such a decree has been adopted and, if so, to provide a copy thereof with its next report.

The Committee also notes that, in addition to the cases which have to be referred to the Labour Advisory Commission for the purpose of determining minimum wage rates, the Commission is also responsible for examining elements which may serve as a basis for the determination of the minimum wage, such as the minimum subsistence income and general economic conditions. The Committee requests the Government to attach to its next report copies of any recent opinions issued in relation to minimum wages or any studies carried out recently on this subject by the Labour Advisory Commission.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not provide the additional information requested in its previous comments concerning the available statistical data on the number and various categories of workers covered by the SMIG, as well as the results of inspections carried out (infringements reported, sanctions imposed, etc.). It trusts that the Government will ensure that such information is compiled and supplied in the very near future.