Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1944)

1. The Committee notes the Government's detailed report on application of the Convention, presented in April 1993. The Committee notes the provisions of the Organic Labour Act (LOT) of 1990 which lays down that the working hours shall not exceed eight in the day and 44 in the week (section 195). However, it notes that section 206 of the LOT allows that by agreement between employers and workers the limits set for working hours may be modified provided that compensatory arrangements are made and on condition that the total number of hours worked in a period of eight weeks does not exceed 44 hours per week on average. The Committee notes that section 206 of the LOT does not appear to be restricted to the exceptions expressly provided under the Convention nor to require authorization as provided in Article 2(b) of the Convention. Furthermore, agreements between employers and workers may provide working hours exceeding eight hours in the day without the excess of time allowed being limited to one hour a day. The period of eight weeks for calculating the average hours worked, as laid down in the above-mentioned provision of the LOT, might also give rise to excesses, contrary to the limits laid down in the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report indications allowing it to ascertain whether the various legislative provisions in force give full effect to the Convention.

2. The Committee notes that minors who provide domestic labour (section 256 of the LOT); domestic workers who live on the premises where they work (section 275 of the LOT); and out workers (section 294 of the LOT) do not appear to be subject to the working hours laid down in section 195 of the LOT. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures provided to ensure that the working hours of the three categories mentioned above do not exceed eight hours per day and 48 hours per week (Article 2).