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

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Pakistan (Ratification: 1923)

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that, by virtue of section 2(j), the Factories Act of 1934 only applies to factories employing ten or more workers. It refers to the fact that, under the terms of Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention, the whole of the staff employed in any industrial undertaking, public or private, or in any branch thereof, shall enjoy the minimum weekly rest prescribed by the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to state the manner in which the Convention is applied to factories employing fewer than ten workers.

The Committee also notes that, by virtue of section 43(1) of the Factories Act, the provincial government may grant exemptions from the application of the provisions of this Act on working hours, including the weekly rest, to persons who hold positions of supervision or who are employed in a confidential position, even though such exemptions are not permitted under the Convention. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to amend its legislation in order to bring it into conformity with the Convention concerning this point.

Articles 4 and 6. Exceptions. The Committee notes that section 43(2) of the Factories Act allows the provincial government to exclude from the application of section 35 of the same Act on the weekly rest, those workers engaged in urgent repairs or work which must be carried out continuously; in making and supplying articles of prime necessity; in a manufacturing process which cannot be carried out except during fixed seasons or is dependent on natural forces, or who are engaged in engine rooms or boiler houses. In addition, section 44(2) provides for the possibility of a similar exemption to allow a factory to deal with an exceptional pressure of work. Furthermore, the Committee notes that section 25 of the Mines Act of 1923 also provides for the possibility of exemption from the rules governing the weekly rest, especially in exceptional cases of pressure of work. Finally, the Committee notes that section 71D(2) of the Railways Act of 1890 empowers the federal Government to specify the railway servants to whom weekly rests which are shorter than the norm may be granted. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it ensures that all appropriate economic and humanitarian considerations are taken into account within the framework of such exemptions, as provided for under Article 4 of the Convention. The Government is also requested to provide a detailed list of all the exemptions in force, as prescribed by Article 6 of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to provide general indications on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, forwarding, for example, extracts from labour inspectorate reports and, if possible, statistical data on the number of workers protected by the legislation, as well as the number and nature of violations recorded.