Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) - Dominica (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It expects that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2020, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.

Repetition

Article 3(2)(2) of the Convention. Equitable representation of employers’ and workers’ organizations and periodic adjustment of the minimum wage. The Committee has been commenting for a number of years on the need to amend section 6(3) of the Labour Standards Act of 1977 in order to provide for the participation of employers’ and workers’ representatives in equal numbers and on equal terms in the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery, as required by this Article of the Convention. The Committee notes with regret that the Government is still not in a position to report any progress on this point apart from indicating that the Industrial Relations Advisory Committee (IRAC) is now preparing recommendations for its consideration. The Committee wishes to emphasize that one of the essential obligations of all ILO minimum wage instruments is that the minimum wage fixing machinery must be set up and operated in consultation with organizations of employers and workers who must participate on an equal footing. The Committee once again expresses the hope that the Government will not fail to take the necessary measures in order to modify section 6(3) of the Labour Standards Act and ensure the participation of employers’ and workers’ representatives on a basis of equality in the operation of the minimum wage fixing machinery.

In addition, the Committee recalls that the tripartite Minimum Wage Advisory Board (MWAB), which was appointed in 2008, was expected to raise the minimum wage upon obtaining information from all stakeholders and comparative data from countries within the Caribbean Community, and possibly review also the categories of workers and forms of employment covered by the minimum wage. In its last report, the Government merely indicates that there has been no progress regarding the upward review of the minimum wage since the last Minimum Wage Order of 2008. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments in this respect and to communicate any new minimum wage rates as soon as they are adopted.