Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 1960)

With reference to the Government’s last three reports, the Committee wishes to draw its attention to the following points.

Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Permanent exceptions - Inherently intermittent work. The Committee understands that Order No. 243 of 8 May 1966, which was issued under section 117 of the Labour Code and which enumerates the types of work classified as inherently intermittent, has not yet been amended to take into account the revision of the Labour Code of 10 December 2000. The Committee recalls that the types of work covered by Order No. 243 go beyond those which may be considered as being inherently intermittent within the meaning of the Convention. As the Committee emphasized in its General Survey of 2005 on hours of work, the "expression ‘inherently intermittent work’, as used in the Conventions [Nos. 1 and 30], means work which is not concerned with production properly called, and which, by its nature, is interrupted by long periods of inaction, during which the respective workers have to display neither physical activity nor sustained attention, and remain at their post only to reply to possible calls" (paragraph 126). In this respect, Article 7, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention refers by way of illustration to caretakers and persons employed to look after working premises and warehouses. Furthermore, the Committee considered in its General Survey of 1967 on hours of work that, "although the provisions of the [ILO] instruments in question do not give a precise definition of intermittent work which could be subject to this exception, the interpretations and opinions given in this respect indicate that its application should be restrictive in nature. Such an interpretation is all the more necessary, since this work (…) is generally subject to quite flexible rules as regards both the number of hours of work and the question of a higher rate of pay, and is sometimes even excluded from regulations on the hours of work" (paragraph 175). Accordingly, it would appear that certain of the types of work enumerated in Order No. 243 cannot be considered as inherently intermittent within the meaning of the Convention. These are the following types of work: transport of persons and goods by land, rail or air, including work in airports; work relating to the docking of ships, beacons and lighthouses; work in ports, on tugs and pilot vessels; repair work on ships; and manual work for the distribution of water in irrigation networks. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures in the near future to amend Order No. 243 and bring it into conformity with the provisions of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether the provisions of laws or regulations establish a daily limit for the extension of working hours in the case of inherently intermittent work, as required by Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Convention.

Preparatory or complementary work. The Committee notes that certain types of work referred to in Order No. 135 of 3 February 1981, which determines, among other types of work, preparatory or complementary work within the meaning of section 123 of the Labour Code, appear to go beyond the exceptions allowed by Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee recalls, in this respect, that this provision only covers "work which must necessarily be carried on outside the limits laid down for the hours of work of the rest of the persons employed in the establishment". The following types of work do not appear to be included in this definition: preparatory work for projects; administrative work related to projects; preparatory work related to sales operations in export processing zones; and work as drivers of vehicles and their assistants engaged on transport routes of over 200 kilometres from their point of departure. The Committee requests the Government to amend the Order so as to limit its coverage to the preparatory and complementary work in respect of which the Convention allows the adoption of permanent exceptions. Furthermore, the Committee notes that section 5 of the Order only establishes a weekly limit to the allowed extension of working hours. It requests the Government to indicate whether a daily limit is also applicable in this case, as required by Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Convention.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that Order No. 720 of 1973, as amended by Order No. 775 of 1974, issued under section 120 of the Labour Code, authorizes temporary exceptions to the rules with respect to hours of work in certain cases of abnormal pressure of work (section 1(a) of the Order). The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether, in addition to the annual limit of 520 hours established by the Order, a daily limit to the additional hours allowed in such cases has been established. The Government is also requested to indicate whether the rate of pay for such additional hours is increased by at least 25 per cent in relation to the regular rate of pay, as required by Article 7, paragraph 4, of the Convention.

Part V of the report of form. Recalling that the Government last provided general information on the practical application of the Convention in 1984, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on this subject in its next report including, for instance, information concerning the number of workers covered by the legislation on hours of work, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and, where possible, statistics on the number and nature of the contraventions reported.