Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Peru (Ratification: 1962)

Article 1 and Article 3(2) of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery and consultation with social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations on the role and function of the tripartite National Council for Labour and Employment Promotion (CNTPE) in determining minimum wage levels, in accordance with section 13 of Act No. 27711, as amended by Act No. 28318, and section 2 of Supreme Decree No. 001-2005-TR. It notes, in particular, that, following the 2005 report of a governmental technical committee on the revision of the minimum wage and the formulation of relevant proposals by employers’ and workers’ organizations in 2006, CNTPE has recommended the use of inflation and productivity as the two main indicators for the periodic review of the national minimum wage but stressed the need to enhance the quality and accuracy of those indicators. The CNTPE has also decided to continue to work on setting up a reliable and predictable mechanism for the readjustment of the minimum wage and, in this connection, has established a joint special committee to examine possible methods for improving data collection on productivity. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the ongoing consultations for possible ameliorations in the minimum wage fixing process and to transmit copies of any relevant legal text that might be adopted as a result.

Article 4. System of supervision and sanctions. Further to its previous comment concerning the enforcement of minimum wage legislation, the Committee notes that the Government is still not in a position to provide any concrete figures on inspection results showing the number of violations of the provisions on minimum wages observed and the sanctions imposed. The Committee trusts that the Government will make every effort to strengthen supervision and ensure compliance with the national minimum wage and hopes that the Government will supply information in its next report on the progress achieved in this regard.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that the national minimum wage was last increased by Supreme Decree No. 022-2007-TR and is presently set at 550 soles (approximately US$193) per month. The Committee would appreciate if the Government would give some indication as to whether the current level of the minimum wage is adequate to ensure a decent standard of living to workers and their families, especially as regards its purchasing power by reference to a basic basket of essential consumer goods. It would also be grateful if the Government would continue to provide up to date information on the effect given to the Convention in practice, including, for instance, statistical information on the evolution of minimum pay rates as compared to the evolution of economic indicators such as the consumer price index in recent years, the approximate number of workers remunerated at the minimum pay rate (if possible broken down by sex and age) extracts from official studies or reports on minimum wage policy, etc.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Governing Body as regards the relevance of the Convention following the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40). In fact, the Governing Body has decided that Convention No. 26 is among those instruments which may no longer be fully up to date but remain relevant in certain respects. The Committee therefore suggests that the Government should consider the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), which contains certain improvements compared to older instruments on minimum wage fixing, for instance, as regards its broader scope of application, the requirement for a comprehensive minimum wage system, and the enumeration of the criteria for the determination of minimum wage levels. The Committee considers that the ratification of Convention No. 131 is all the more advisable as Peru has already a statutory minimum wage of general application (and not only minimum wages for those workers employed in exceptionally low-paid trades where no arrangements for collectively negotiated wages exist, as prescribed by Convention No. 26) and its legislation appears to broadly reflect the requirements of that Convention. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.