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The Committee notes the adoption of the regulation issued under the Labour Act (L.I. 1833), which does not, however, contain relevant provisions concerning the application of the Articles of the Convention on which it has been making comments for a number of years.
Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the maximum working hours of task workers is eight hours per day and 40 hours per week. Nonetheless, it recalls that section 44 of the Labour Act provides that section 33, with respect to maximum hours of work, does not apply to task workers. It therefore requests the Government to indicate the statutory provisions limiting the hours of work of this category of workers.
Article 2(c). Shift work. The Committee notes with regret that, in reply to its previous comments on this point, the Government has merely reproduced the text of section 36 of the Labour Act. It therefore feels bound to recall that this provision allows the average number of hours worked to be calculated over a maximum period of four weeks in the case of shift work, whereas Article 2(c) of the Convention provides that, for this category of workers, the reference period must not exceed three weeks. The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to take the necessary measures to bring section 36 of the Labour Act into conformity with the Convention. Furthermore, given that section 36 is only applicable if there is an established timetable for the shifts, the Committee requests the Government once again to specify the scope of this provision.
Article 3. Overtime hours – exceptional circumstances. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, section 38 of the Labour Act is in conformity with Article 3 of the Convention. It nevertheless draws the Government’s attention to the fact that this Article of the Convention allows for the maximum hours of work to be exceeded in case of accident, actual or threatened, or in the case of urgent work to be done to machinery or plant, or in the case of force majeure. In this context, it points out that, under the terms of section 38 of the Labour Act, a worker may be required to work beyond the fixed hours of work without additional pay in certain exceptional circumstances, “including an accident threatening human lives or the very existence of the undertaking”. However, apart from the case of accidents, this provision does not specify the exceptional circumstances that might justify requiring additional hours of work. The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to provide more details on this point, so that it might determine whether, apart from the case of accidents duly mentioned, the exceptional circumstances referred to under section 38 of the Labour Act fulfil the conditions set by Article 3 of the Convention.
Article 5. Averaging of hours of work. The Committee notes with regret that the Government has merely reproduced, as in its two previous reports, the provisions of section 33 of the Labour Act, under which the maximum working time is eight hours per day and 40 hours per week, except in cases provided for under this Act. It therefore feels bound to reiterate its previous comments on this point. The Committee recalls that section 34(b) of the Labour Act allows for the average number of hours of work to be reckoned over a period of four weeks, without limiting this possibility to exceptional cases in which it is recognized that the limits of eight hours in the day and 48 hours in the week cannot be applied, as provided in Article 5 of the Convention. Furthermore, the granting of exceptions in application of this Article of the Convention is conditional upon the conclusion of an agreement between employers’ and workers’ organizations, and its approval under regulations adopted by the competent authority, which is not provided for under section 34(b) of the Labour Act. The Committee requests the Government once again to take the necessary measures to restrict the application of section 34(b) of the Labour Act to the cases envisaged by the Convention and to make it conditional upon the conclusion of an agreement between employers’ and workers’ organizations, approved by the competent authority. It further notes that section 34(c) of the Labour Act still allows for the averaging of hours of work over a period of one year in enterprises with a seasonal activity, without other conditions. The Committee requests the Government once again to take measures to bring the introduction of such a scheme averaging hours of work under regulations adopted by the competent national authority, made after consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned.
Article 6, paragraphs 1(b) and 2. Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government refers to the provisions of section 35(3)(b) of the Labour Act, under which workers may be compelled to work overtime, in particular in cases of emergency, in order to prevent threats against life and property. It nevertheless draws the Government’s attention to the fact that its previous comments on the application of Article 6, paragraphs 1(b) and 2, of the Convention referred to section 35(3)(a) of the Labour Act, under which workers could also be compelled to perform overtime hours if they were employed in enterprises the very nature of which required overtime in order to be viable. The Committee requests the Government once again to provide information on the enterprises covered by this provision, to indicate whether the possibility of demanding workers to do overtime is limited to exceptional cases of pressure of work and to specify if legislative provisions establish the maximum number of additional hours of work authorized in each case. Finally, the Committee draws the Government’s attention once again to the fact that the wage rate for additional hours has to be increased by not less than 25 per cent of the regular wage, whereas section 35(2) of the Labour Act only provides that the enterprise has to have fixed rates of pay for overtime work, without establishing the minimum rate. The Committee therefore requests the Government once again to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure compliance with the increased rate of pay prescribed by the Convention.
Article 8, paragraph 1. Posting of hours of work and record of additional hours. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, hours of work are usually fixed by the rules of each enterprise. It requests the Government to indicate whether, if there are no such provisions in the enterprise rules, employers are bound – and in which manner – to inform their employees of the hours of work. The Government is also asked to specify whether employers are required to keep records of additional hours worked by their employees.
Article 8, paragraph 2. Employment of a person outside the hours fixed. The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report does not reply to its previous comments on this point. It therefore asks the Government once again to indicate whether legal provisions stipulate that employing a person outside the hours fixed or during rest periods is considered an offence, as stipulated by this provision of the Convention.
Part VI of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice by providing, for example, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and, if possible, details on the number of workers covered by the legislation, the number and nature of violations recorded with respect to the provisions of the Labour Act concerning hours of work, and on any remedial action taken.