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Holidays with Pay Convention (Revised), 1970 (No. 132) - Iraq (RATIFICATION: 1974)

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Scope of application – employees in the public service. The Committee welcomes the fact that, after nine years of interruption, the Government is once again in a position to take up its dialogue with the Organization’s supervisory bodies. It recalls that for 20 years it has been drawing the Government’s attention to the amendments to be made to the provisions of Act No. 24 of 1960 respecting the public service which are contrary to Articles 9 (postponement and accumulation of part of the annual holiday) and 11 (proportional period of holiday with pay in the event of the termination of the employment relationship) of the Convention. The Committee once again recalls that the Convention applies to all employed persons, with the exception of seafarers, and therefore urges the Government to take the necessary measures without further ado to bring Act No. 24 of 1960 respecting the public service, and particularly sections 43(3), 45(1), 48(10) and 49, into conformity with the provisions of the Convention.

Article 6, paragraph 1. Exclusion of public and customary holidays from being counted as part of the minimum annual holiday with pay. With reference to the Labour Code that is currently in force (Act No. 71 of 1987), the Committee recalls its previous comments in which it drew the Government’s attention to the absence of a provision establishing that public and customary holidays shall not be counted as part of the annual holiday with pay. In this respect, the Committee understands that a draft new Labour Code is currently at an advanced stage of consultation and is being finalized. It notes that section 66(4) of the draft Labour Code of 2007, a copy of which was communicated to the Office, provides that public holidays that coincide with the worker’s leave shall not be deducted from the annual holiday. The Committee recalls that under the terms of Article 6(1) of the Convention, public and customary holidays shall not be counted as part of the minimum annual holiday with pay. The Committee hopes that the Government will take its comments into account when examining possible amendments to the draft Labour Code and once again requests it to take the necessary measures in order to bring the existing Labour Code into conformity with the Convention.

Article 8, paragraph 2. Division of the annual holiday with pay. The Committee notes with interest that Act No. 17 of 2000 amends section 69 of the Labour Code, on which it had commented for several years. It notes that section 9 of the above Act provides that, where the annual holiday is divided, one of the parts shall consist of at least 14 uninterrupted days, in accordance with Article 8(2) of the Convention.

Article 9, paragraph 1. Time at which parts of the holiday are to be taken and postponement of the holiday. The Committee refers to its previous comments and notes that the Government has not reported any progress on this point. It recalls that the possibility for the worker to claim compensation in the event of the deferral of part of the holiday under the conditions set out in section 73(3) of the Labour Code is contrary to this provision of the Convention. However, it notes that section 69(2) of the draft Labour Code of 2007, referred to above, would give effect to this provision. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take its comments into account when examining any amendments to the draft Labour Code and once again requests it to take the necessary measures in order to bring the existing Labour Code into conformity with the Convention. The Committee further requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments relating to the adoption of the draft Labour Code.