What are the main ILO instruments related to wages?
- Protection of Wages Convention and Recommendation.
- Minimum Wage Fixing Conventions and Recommendations.
- Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention and Recommendation.
What is the key provision in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, regarding wages?
Article 23, paragraph 3: “Everyone who works has the right to just and favorable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.”
What does the Revised European Social Charter, 1996, state about the right to fair remuneration?
- Article 4 emphasizes the right of workers to a remuneration providing a decent standard of living.
- It recognizes the right to increased remuneration for overtime work, equal pay for work of equal value, and a reasonable period of notice for termination.
- Deductions from wages are allowed only under prescribed conditions.
What does the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers, 1989, state about wages?
- Employment and remuneration, Article 5: “All employment shall be fairly remunerated, ensuring an equitable wage sufficient for a decent standard of living.”
- It assures workers subject to terms other than an open-ended full-time contract of an equitable reference wage.
- Wages may only be withheld, seized, or transferred according to national law, ensuring necessary means of subsistence for the worker and their family.
What does the European Pillar of Social Rights, 2017, say about wages?
- Article 6 emphasizes the right of workers to fair wages providing for a decent standard of living.
- Adequate minimum wages should be ensured, preventing in-work poverty and setting wages transparently and predictably.
What is the competence of the European Union in the field of wages, according to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union?
- Art. 153, para. 5 clarifies that EU provisions do not apply to pay, the right of association, the right to strike, or the right to impose lock-outs.
- While the EU has no competence over wages, it is competent in matters of working conditions and equal treatment, including the principle of equal pay.
- Relevant directives include Directive 2008/94/EC on employee protection in the event of employer insolvency, Directive EU/2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages, and Directive EU/2023/970 to strengthen equal pay principles through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.
What details related to wage conditions should be brought to the knowledge of workers, according to the Protection of Wages Recommendation, 1949 (No. 85)?
- Rates of wages payable.
- Method of calculation.
- Periodicity of wage payments.
- Place of payment.
- Conditions under which deductions may be made
What measures should be taken regarding deductions from wages, as recommended by the Protection of Wages Recommendation, 1949?
- All necessary measures should be taken to limit deductions to the extent necessary to safeguard the maintenance of the worker and their family.
- Deductions for the reimbursement of loss or damage to the employer’s products, goods, or installations should be authorized only if the worker is clearly responsible. The amount should be fair and not exceed the actual loss or damage.
- Deductions in respect of tools, materials, or equipment supplied by the employer should be limited to cases where it is a recognized custom or provided for by collective agreement or national laws.
What does the Protection of Wages Recommendation, 1949 recommend regarding the periodicity of wage payments?
The maximum intervals for the payment of wages should ensure that:
- Wages are paid not less often than twice a month at intervals not exceeding sixteen days for workers paid hourly, daily, or weekly.
- Wages are paid not less often than once a month for employed persons with monthly or annual remuneration.
What particulars should workers be informed of with each payment of wages, as per the Protection of Wages Recommendation, 1949?
- The gross amount of wages earned.
- Any deduction made, including reasons and amount.
- The net amount of wages due.
What records should employers be required to maintain, according to the Protection of Wages Recommendation, 1949?
Employers should maintain records showing, for each worker employed, particulars such as the gross amount of wages earned, any deductions made with reasons and amounts, and the net amount of wages due.
What is the aim of the Minimum Wage Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) and Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Recommendation, 1928 (No. 30)?
To create machinery in each Member State where minimum rates of wages can be fixed for workers in sectors without effective wage regulation and where wages are exceptionally low.
What sectors does the Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery Convention, 1928 (No. 26) cover?
Manufacture and commerce.
According to the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), what criteria should be considered in determining the level of minimum wages?
a) The needs of workers and their families, considering the general level of wages, cost of living, social security benefits, and relative living standards.
(b) Economic factors, including requirements of economic development, productivity levels, and the desirability of maintaining a high level of employment
What is the legal force of minimum wages according to the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131)?
Minimum wages shall have the force of law and shall not be subject to abatement. Failure to apply them shall make the person or persons concerned liable to appropriate penal or other sanctions. Collective bargaining freedom shall be fully respected.
Under the Minimum Wage Fixing Convention, 1970 (No. 131), how should the level of minimum wages be determined?
Competent authorities, in consultation with representative organizations of employers and workers, shall determine the groups of wage earners to be covered, considering the needs of workers and their families, economic factors, and other relevant criteria.
What is the aim of the Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173)?
To protect workers’ claims in cases of employer insolvency through privileges or a guarantee institution, safeguarding the means of subsistence for workers and their families.
What does the term “insolvency” refer to in the context of the Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173)?
Situations where, in accordance with national law, proceedings have been opened relating to an employer’s assets for the collective reimbursement of creditors. It can also be extended to other situations where workers’ claims cannot be paid due to the employer’s financial situation.
Under the Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173), what is the scope of application?
It applies to all employees and economic activities, but specific categories of workers (e.g., public employees) may be excluded based on the nature of their employment relationship.
How does the Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Convention, 1992 (No. 173) protect workers’ claims by means of a privilege?
It protects claims such as wages, holiday pay, amounts due for other types of paid absence, and severance pay by giving them a privilege to be paid out of the assets of the insolvent employer before non-privileged creditors.
What is the aim of the Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Recommendation, 1992 (No. 180)?
To provide additional considerations for minimum wage fixing systems as effective instruments of social protection and elements in the strategy of economic and social development.
Under the Protection of Workers’ Claims (Employer’s Insolvency) Recommendation, 1992 (No. 180), what are the principles for guarantee institutions?
(a) Administrative, financial, and legal independence from the employer.
(b) Financing by employers unless fully covered by public authorities.
(c) Subsidiary responsibility for insolvent employers’ liabilities.
(d) The ability to act in place of workers through subrogation.
(e) Funds should be used only for the intended purpose.
