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

Article 6(1) of the Convention. Public holidays not to be counted as part of the annual holidays. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to take appropriate action to ensure that the Labour Code gave effect to this Article of the Convention. The Committee notes that section 68(3) of the draft new Labour Code, as it reads in the text that was transmitted to the Office in July 2010, provides that feast days and official holidays falling during the worker’s leave shall not be included in the annual leave and, therefore, is fully consistent with Article 6(1) of the Convention. The Committee hopes that this provision will be adopted without modification and requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress in the process of adoption of the new Labour Code.

Articles 9 and 12. Postponement of annual holidays. Prohibition to forego annual holidays for monetary compensation. The Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention for a number of years to section 73(3) of the Labour Code of 1987 which provides that in case a worker is unable to take his/her annual leave with pay as a result of the employer’s refusal to grant it, the worker must receive a compensation equivalent to his/her full wages for the leave period. The Committee understands that no progress has been made on this point as section 72(3) of the draft new Labour Code, as it reads in the text that was communicated to the Office in July 2010, essentially reproduces the provision in question, while draft section 72(2) also provides for the possibility of offering cash compensation in lieu of annual holidays the worker has been deprived of. As the Committee has pointed out on a number of occasions, and as it was recalled by the Office in its technical comments transmitted to the Government in July 2010, such provisions are contrary to the Convention which prohibits the replacement of the minimum three working weeks’ annual leave by cash compensation except in the case of termination of employment. Noting that the draft new Labour Code is now before Parliament for examination and adoption, the Committee hopes that the Government will seize the opportunity in order to bring its legislation into conformity with the requirements of the Convention in this respect. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on any measures taken or envisaged to ensure that Public Service Act No. 24 of 1960, in particular sections 43(3), 45(1), 48(10) and 49, have been amended in order to be brought into line with the requirements of Article 9 (postponement and accumulation of annual holidays) and Article 11 (proportional period of annual holidays in the event of termination of employment) of the Convention.