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

Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131) - El Salvador (Ratification: 1995)

Articles 1(1) and 4 of the Convention. Minimum wage fixing machinery and obligation to consult the social partners. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the adoption of Executive Decrees Nos 54, 55, 56 and 57 of 6 May 2011 which set the new minimum daily and monthly wage rates for the main sectors of activity including agriculture; coffee, sugar cane and cotton harvesting; trade, services, industry; and textile. It notes that these rates range from US$224 for the commerce and services sector to US$97.20 for agriculture. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide all available information on the manner tripartite consultations are conducted within the National Minimum Wage Council (CNSM).

Article 2(1). Binding force of minimum wages. Further to its previous comment regarding lower minimum wage rates for apprentices, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the new draft legislation regulating apprenticeship contracts has not yet been adopted. The Committee recalls that persons covered by apprenticeship contracts should only be paid at a differentiated rate in cases where they receive actual training during working hours at the workplace. It also recalls that the quality and quantity of the work carried out – and not the worker’s age or relative experience – should be the decisive factor in determining the amount of the wage paid. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments in this respect and to provide a copy of the new law on apprenticeship contracts once it is adopted.

Article 3. Criteria for reviewing minimum wage levels. The Committee notes that according to data published in the 2010 Household Survey published by the General Directorate of Statistics and Censuses (DIGESTYC), the estimated cost of the basic food basket in urban areas was US$168 per month and US$118 per month in rural areas. The Committee observes that with the exception of the commerce, services and industrial sectors, the current minimum wage rates are insufficient to cover the cost of the basic food basket. In addition, the Committee notes that according to the statistical information provided by the Government in its report concerning the evolution of real and nominal wages in the last 13 years, the real wage of workers in the commerce, services and industrial sectors in 2010 was inferior to that of 1998 while the wage of workers in the maquilla industry lost 17 per cent of its purchasing power between 1998 and 2007. Moreover, the Committee notes the concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (see document E/C.12/SLV/CO/2, 27 June 2007, paragraph 12), in which it expressed its concern at the insufficient level of the minimum wage that does not allow workers and their families to live adequately in accordance with Article 7 of the Covenant. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order to ensure that the periodical adjustment of minimum wage levels is based on an objective and reasonable calculation of all the different needs of workers and their families mentioned in section 146 of the Labour Code (food, housing, health, education, clothing) and also on economic considerations that are substantive and pertinent.

Article 5 and Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the number of infringements reported and the amount of fines imposed for failure to comply with the minimum wage legislation during the period 2007–11. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue providing detailed information on the application of the Convention in practice, such as, for instance, inspection results, particularly in the agricultural sector where the payment of wages at sub-minimum rates is more frequent, copies of official publications, such as activity reports of the CNSM, and statistical data on the evolution of minimum wage rates in recent years as compared to the evolution of economic indicators, such as the inflation rate.