ILO Conventions Ratified by NZ 2008

No. 26 - Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery, 1928

Ratifying countries are to create and maintain machinery to fix minimum rates of wages for workers employed in certain sectors where there are no effective arrangements for regulating wage rates (whether by collective agreement or otherwise) and in which wages are exceptionally low.
Ratifying countries are free to decide, after consulting the appropriate workers' and employers' organisations, which sectors the minimum wage-fixing machinery is to be applied to.
They can also decide the nature and form of the machinery and how it will operate, provided the principles specified in the Convention are observed.
Measures must also be taken to ensure that the minimum rates of wages are paid. This includes a system of supervision and sanctions.
Ratifying countries must supply information annually to the ILO on the sectors the minimum wage-fixing machinery applies to, the approximate numbers of workers covered and the wage rates that have been fixed.

Department of Labour

Under the Employment Relations Act employers and employees negotiate their employment agreement, which may be:
- individual, covering one employer and his employee; or
- collective, covering two or more employees and their employer(s).
The employment agreement sets out the agreed conditions of employment including wage rates, which may not be less than the minimum prescribed by the Minimum Wage Act. Employers must pay at least the minimum wage - even if an employee is paid by commission or by piece rate.
The Minimum Wage Act provides the minimum for wage payments in the labour force, and the minimum wage is reviewed annually. The Minimum Wage Order currently provides a minimum wage for employees aged 16 years or older, including home workers, casuals, temporary and part-time workers, and a minimum training wage for new entrants which applies to some 16 and 17 year old workers. However, there is no statutory minimum wage for employees who are under 16 years old.
The Minimum Wage Act is enforced by labour inspectors employed by the Department of Labour.
A labour inspector, on behalf of the employee, may issue a demand notice or take a claim for a breach of the Minimum Wage Act to the Employment Authority, which can impose penalties as well as order restitution.
An employee, or their union, may pursue a breach through mediation, and failing agreement through the Employment Relations Authority.

This Convention is not applicable to Tokelau.

Ratified - 29 March 1938

Total ratifications - 103