Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Guinea - Bissau (Ratification: 1977)

Article 1 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations that following the adoption of the West African CFA franc (XOF) as its national currency (1 franc being worth 65 pesos), Decree No. 17/88 of 4 April 1988, on the guaranteed minimum wage has to some extent become outdated although it is still formally in force. The Government further explains that wage increases have been implemented in order to keep up with inflation, the minimum wage in the public sector currently being set at XOF19,200 (approximately US$40) per month while the minimum wage in the private sector being situated at XOF25,000 (approximately US$52) per month.

Moreover, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that a study is currently being finalized on the setting of a national minimum wage, applicable to both the public and private sectors. The Government also indicates that the draft Labour Code that is now being drawn up to replace the General Labour Act, provides for the revision of the minimum wage on an annual basis following consultations with the social partners within the standing Council for Social Dialogue and taking into account elements such as the consumer price index, the average national productivity or the general economic climate. Noting the Government’s reassurances that it is now in a position to state that in the near future Guinea-Bissau will have a national minimum wage, the Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of all further progress concerning the adoption of the draft new Labour Code and the establishment of the national minimum wage and to transmit a copy of any relevant legal text once it has been adopted.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report documented information on the effect given to the Convention in practice, including, for instance, information on the evolution of minimum pay rates as compared to the evolution of economic indicators such as the consumer price index, the approximate number of workers remunerated at the minimum pay rate, if possible broken down by sex and age, inspection results showing the number of infringements of the minimum wage legislation observed and sanctions imposed, and extracts from official studies or reports on minimum wage policy.

Finally, the Committee recalls that based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 19 and 40), the ILO 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 marks certain advances 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 requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.