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Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30) - Paraguay (RATIFICATION: 1966)

Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Permanent exception. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s indications in its report, section 211 of the Labour Code, addressed by the Committee in its previous comments, does not apply to preparatory or complementary or intermittent work but essentially to continuous work and specials tasks which are not of a usual nature. Hence, the provisions of section 211 of the Labour Code are examined below in regard to the relevant Articles of the Convention.

Article 7, paragraph 2, and Article 8. Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that, under section 211 of the Labour Code, the administrative labour authorities may adopt special regulations regarding hours of work for work of a special nature. The Committee also notes that, according to the Government’s report, this is not usual work and the regulations in question therefore make temporary exceptions, not permanent exceptions. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the need to comply with the requirements of Article 7(2) and Article 8 of the Convention for the application of temporary exceptions. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the work of a special nature covered by section 211 of the Labour Code is work of the type listed in Article 7(2)(c) of the Convention, such as stocktaking and the preparation of balance sheets or closing of accounts.

Furthermore, the Committee recalls that regulations setting up temporary exceptions shall be made after consultation with the workers’ and employers’ organizations concerned, special regard being paid to collective agreements, if any, concluded between these organizations. On this score, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, up to the present, circumstances have not made it necessary to adopt regulations in application of section 211 of the Labour Code but that, in the event, such regulations would be adopted in consultation with representative employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes, however, that, in contrast to section 212, paragraph 1, of the 1961 Labour Code, which it reproduces almost verbatim, section 211 of the 1993 Labour Code, currently in force, does not provide that the adoption of special regulations for special work must be done after consultation with the occupational organizations concerned. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Convention regulating temporary exceptions to the rules on hours of work and, in particular, those regarding compulsory prior consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that, by virtue of section 201 of the Labour Code, when, owing to particular circumstances, hours of work have to be increased, the additional hours shall be counted as overtime in regard to payment and shall not in any case exceed three extra hours per day, or a weekly total of 57 hours, subject to exceptions specifically laid down in the Labour Code. It also notes that, in accordance with section 202, paragraph (c), of the Labour Code, the additional hours are specifically authorized temporarily to perform urgent work or to respond to exceptional pressure. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the limit of 57 hours per week applies when additional hours are worked in application of section 202, paragraph (c), of the Labour Code. The Government is also requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure there is consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations prior to the application of such temporary exceptions, and that collective agreements concluded between them are taken into account, as laid down in Article 8 of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for instance, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and, if possible, statistical data on the number of workers protected by legislation, exceptions granted on the basis of section 202, paragraph (c), and of section 211 of the Labour Code, the number and nature of contraventions, etc.