Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) - Dominican Republic (RATIFICATION: 1958)

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Previous comments: C.1, C.52 and C.106

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 1 (hours of work in industry), 52 (holidays with pay) and 106 (weekly rest in commerce and offices) together.

Hours of work

Article 2(c) of Convention No. 1. Averaging of hours of work where persons are employed in shifts. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report indicating that the Ministry of Labour’s guidance is that arrangements such as those mentioned in the previous comment (workweek arrangements of four shifts, each of 12 hours per day during four consecutive days followed by four days of rest) should not be implemented, as they are considered null and void due to the violation of the working hours established in section 147 of the Labour Code. The Commission takes note of this information, which responds to its previous request.

Holidays with pay

Article 2(5) of Convention No. 52. Increase of the duration of the annual holiday with pay. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that section 177 of the Labour Code provides that employers are obliged to grant 14 working days of holidays, the remuneration of which follows a scale: workers with 1 to 5 years of continuous service receive wages corresponding to 14 days of holidays, while workers with more than 5 years of service receive wages corresponding to 18 days of holidays. The Committee notes that Article 2(5) of the Convention provides that the duration of the annual holiday with pay, and not just the pay, shall increase with the length of service. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure an increase in the duration of the annual holiday with pay according to the length of service, in accordance with Article 2(5) of the Convention.

Weekly rest

Article 2 of Convention No. 106. Application in the public sector. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government indicating that weekly rest is implicit in section 51 of the Public Service Act No. 41-08, in which the State guarantees 48 hours of uninterrupted rest. The Committee takes note of this information, which responds to its previous request.

Article 8(3). Compensatory rest. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government reports that it is in the process of reviewing the Labour Code with a view to updating it and bringing it into line with ratified international standards and Conventions. The Committee trusts that the announced reform of the Labour Code will make it possible to bring section 164 of the Labour Code into line with Article 8(3) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to report on any developments in this regard.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report contains limited information in reply to its previous comment. Therefore, the Committee invites the Government to provide detailed information regarding the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application – Public sector. The Committee noted that Act No. 41-08 on the public service does not contain any provisions relating to the weekly rest of public servants. The Committee therefore again requests the Government to indicate the legislative or regulatory provisions which grant a minimum weekly rest period of 24 consecutive hours to public sector employees.

Article 8(3). Temporary exemptions – Compensatory rest. With regard to the amendment of section 164 of the Labour Code that gives the worker working in the period of weekly rest the option of either having a salary increase or benefiting of a compensatory rest, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that the members of the Labour Advisory Council had reached an agreement to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Government indicated that the matter would be submitted to the National Assembly in the near future. The Committee again recalls that Article 8(3) of the Convention requires compensatory rest to be granted to workers subject to a temporary exemption, whether or not these workers benefit from cash compensation. The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard and to provide a copy of the relevant text once it has been adopted.

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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application – public sector. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 41-08 on the public service which repeals and replaces Act No. 14-91 on the civil service and administrative careers. It also notes that this new Act does not contain any provisions relating to the weekly rest of public servants. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the legislative or regulatory provisions which grant a minimum weekly rest period of 24 consecutive hours to public sector employees. Furthermore, it once again requests the Government to provide a copy of Decree No. 56 of 18 August 1982 which establishes the rules relating to weekly rest for persons employed in the central public administrative services.

Articles 8(2) and 11(b). Temporary exemptions – conditions. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide any new information on the consultations held on specific conditions in which temporary exemptions are authorized under section 153 of the Labour Code because of abnormal pressure of work or to prevent the loss of perishable goods. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to indicate the methods adopted to consult the representative organizations of employers and workers in this regard and to provide information on the circumstances in which the various types of temporary exemptions may be granted.

Article 8(3). Temporary exemptions – compensatory rest. With regard to the amendment of section 164 of the Labour Code, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the members of the Labour Advisory Council have reached an agreement to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Government adds that the matter will be submitted to the National Assembly in the near future. The Committee recalls in this regard that Article 8(3) of the Convention requires compensatory rest to be granted to workers subject to a temporary exemption, whether or not these workers benefit from cash compensation. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this regard and to provide a copy of the relevant text once it has been adopted.

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Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application – public sector. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 41-08 on the public service which repeals and replaces Act No. 14-91 on the civil service and administrative careers. It also notes that this new Act does not contain any provisions relating to the weekly rest of public servants. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the legislative or regulatory provisions which grant a minimum weekly rest period of 24 consecutive hours to public sector employees. Furthermore, it once again requests the Government to provide a copy of Decree No. 56 of 18 August 1982 which establishes the rules relating to weekly rest for persons employed in the central public administrative services.

Article 8, paragraph 2, and Article 11(b). Temporary exemptions – conditions. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide any new information on the consultations held on specific conditions in which temporary exemptions are authorized under section 153 of the Labour Code because of abnormal pressure of work or to prevent the loss of perishable goods. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to indicate the methods adopted to consult the representative organizations of employers and workers in this regard and to provide information on the circumstances in which the various types of temporary exemptions may be granted.

Article 8, paragraph 3. Temporary exemptions – compensatory rest. With regard to the amendment of section 164 of the Labour Code, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the members of the Labour Advisory Council have reached an agreement to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Government adds that the matter will be submitted to the National Assembly in the near future. The Committee recalls in this regard that Article 8, paragraph 3, of the Convention requires compensatory rest to be granted to workers subject to a temporary exemption, whether or not these workers benefit from cash compensation. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this regard and to provide a copy of the relevant text once it has been adopted.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, extracts from reports of the inspection services indicating the number of violations reported relating to weekly rest and the sanctions imposed, information concerning the number of workers covered by the legislation, copies of relevant collective agreements, etc.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, based on the conclusions and proposals of the Working party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body has decided that the ratification of up to date Conventions, including the Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14), and the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106), should be encouraged because they continued to respond to current needs (see GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 17–18). The Committee accordingly invites the Government to contemplate ratifying Convention No. 14 and to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken or envisaged in this respect.

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Article 2 of the Convention. Scope of application - Public sector. The Government has attached to its report extracts of Act No. 14-91 on the civil service and administrative careers. This Act states that the length of the working week shall not be less than 30 hours (section 24), that hours of work will be fixed by the executive authority and that the Act or regulations will determine the days and periods when public servants will not be required to work (section 25). The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether regulations have been adopted to apply this Act and, if so, to provide a copy. In addition, it again requests the Government to send a copy of Decree No. 56 of 18 August 1982 establishing the rules regarding weekly rest for persons employed in the central public administrative services.

Articles 8(2) and 11(b). Temporary exemptions - Circumstances and consultations. The Government indicates that any Bill concerning labour issues is submitted to the Labour Advisory Council. However, it does not provide information on the consultations held not on the Labour Code itself but on specific cases in which temporary exemptions are authorized under section 153 of the Code because of abnormal pressure of work or to prevent the loss of perishable goods. The Committee again requests the Government to indicate the methods adopted to consult the representative organizations of employers and workers in this regard. It also requests it to provide information on the circumstances in which the various types of temporary exemption may be granted (for example, circumstances causing abnormal pressure of work, definition of force majeure, etc.).

Article 8, paragraph 3. Temporary exemptions - Compensatory rest. The Government indicates that the members of the Labour Advisory Council did not reach an agreement to amend section 164 of the Labour Code in order to bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention. It adds that the matter was submitted again to this Council and if there is another failure to agree, the Government will request technical cooperation from the ILO. The Committee reiterates that Article 8, paragraph 3, of the Convention makes it compulsory to grant compensatory rest to workers subject to a temporary exemption, whether or not these workers benefit from cash compensation. The Committee hopes that the debates in the Labour Advisory Council will enable the procedure for amending section 164 of the Labour Code to be completed. It requests the Government to keep it informed of any progress made in this regard.

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The Committee notes the report of the Government and the reply to its previous comments.

Articles 2 and 6 of the Convention. The Committee notes that Decree No. 56 of 18 August 1982 provides for uninterrupted weekly rest from Friday 2.30 p.m. to Monday 7.30 a.m. for persons employed in the central public administrative services. It would be grateful if the Government would supply a copy of the relevant text. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the national legislation, which applies to other than centralized public establishments, institutions and administrative services, in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in office work, and to supply copies of the relevant texts.

Article 7. Referring to its previous comments the Committee notes from the Government’s indication that sections 153-156 of the Labour Code only provide for temporary exceptions in virtue of Article 8, paragraph 1, without establishing a special weekly rest scheme in accordance with Article 7 of the Convention.

Article 8, paragraph 1. The Committee notes with interest section 153, paragraph 1, of the Labour Code which allows overtime work only as far as necessary to avoid serious interference with the ordinary work of the establishment in certain enumerated exceptional cases. It also notes with interest section 153, paragraph 2, of the Labour Code, which stipulates that working time may also be extended exceptionally in order to cope with extraordinary increases of work in the undertaking, in conformity with this Article.

Article 8, paragraph 2. The Government’s report contains no reply to the Committee’s previous comments concerning the necessary consultations with employers’ and workers’ organizations in granting temporary exemptions required under the provision of this Article. The Committee therefore requests the Government to give full information on consultations required under national law and the methods used for consulting employers’ and workers’ organizations, before the introduction of temporary exceptions.

Article 8, paragraph 3. The Committee notes with interest that the Government has submitted its previous comments concerning section 164 of the Labour Code to the tripartite Consultation Labour Council with the aim of bringing this section of the Labour Code in conformity with Article 8, paragraph 3, of the Convention. It requests the Government to give information on the progress already achieved in this process in its next report and to supply a copy of the amended legislation when it is adopted.

Article 11(b). Reports under article 22 of the Constitution shall include information concerning the circumstances in which temporary exemptions may be granted in accordance with the provisions of Article 8. Referring to its comments under Article 8, the Committee requests the Government to give full information in its next report.

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The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 16-92 of 29 May 1992 promulgating the Labour Code. It notes in particular that section 163 of the Code grants every worker an uninterrupted weekly rest of 36 hours. The Committee would be thankful for further information on the following points:

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific legislative provisions applying the Convention to public establishments, institutions and administrative services in which the persons employed are mainly engaged in office work.

Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 4. The Committee notes that the Labour Code (sections 153-156) sets forth the procedures which must be followed in the event that the employer needs to increase working days or hours. However, the Code does not specifically refer to the case in which there is a change in the weekly rest day where the nature of the work, the nature of the service performed, the size of the population to be served, or the number of persons employed is such that the general provision for weekly rest cannot be applied. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate whether changes to the weekly rest period are only permitted under such conditions in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

The Committee also requests the Government to indicate what consultations take place and the methods used for consulting with the representative employers' and workers' organizations concerned, before the introduction of special weekly rest schemes.

Article 8, paragraph 1. The Committee requests the Government to take the suitable measures to introduce the necessary precise provisions into the Labour Code or other national legislation with regard to temporary exemptions, total or partial, including the suspension or reduction of the rest period, under the special cases specified in Article 8, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

Article 8, paragraph 2. The Committee requests the Government to indicate what consultations take place and the methods used for consulting the employers' and workers' organizations concerned, before the introduction of temporary exemptions.

Article 8, paragraph 3. Under section 164 of the Labour Code, a worker who provides a service during the period of his weekly rest period may choose to receive his ordinary wage increased by 100 per cent or to have a compensatory rest period the following week equal to the time of his weekly rest period. The Committee observes that under Article 8, paragraph 3, of the Convention, the granting of compensatory rest is compulsory regardless of monetary compensation. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention in this respect.

Article 11. The Committee requests the Government to supply lists of the categories of persons and the types of establishment subject to special weekly rest schemes as provided for in Article 7, and information on the circumstances in which temporary exemptions may be granted under Article 8.