Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Armenia (Ratification: 2006)

Article 4 of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions to weekly rest. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention and wishes to draw its attention to the following points. The Committee notes that, under section 155(3) of the Labour Code, where work cannot be interrupted on technical grounds or because of the need for continuous services to be provided to the population, rest days are to be provided on other weekdays in accordance with applicable work schedules. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional explanations and describe the special weekly rest schemes applicable to those organizations. The Committee wishes to emphasize, in this connection, that the guarantee of a weekly rest is an essential safeguard for the health and welfare of workers and therefore recourse to exceptions must be limited to what is strictly necessary. The Committee recalls that workers should not be deprived of their weekly rest entitlement for unreasonably long periods. The Committee refers to Paragraph 3(a) of the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Recommendation, 1957 (No. 103), which offers some guidance in this respect and indicates that persons to whom such special schemes apply should not work for more than three weeks without receiving the rest periods to which they are entitled.

Article 5. Compensatory rest. The Committee notes that section 155(6) of the Labour Code prohibits work on rest days, with the exception of that which cannot be interrupted on technical grounds, or which is necessary for the provision of services to the population, or which effectuates urgent repairs, loading or unloading. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether compensatory rest is granted in the case of urgent repair work, loading or unloading performed on the worker’s normal weekly rest day and, if so, to indicate the relevant legal provision.

Article 6. List of exceptions. The Committee notes that section 155(2) of the Labour Code contains a non-exhaustive list of organizations where work cannot be interrupted because of the nature of work or the nature of the service performed (city transport, electricity generating plants, museums, theatres, etc.). The Committee therefore requests the Government to communicate the full list of authorized exceptions to the normal weekly rest regime, as required by this Article of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the State Labour Inspectorate has not recorded any violation of the provisions of the Convention and also that there have not been any judicial decisions involving questions of principle relating to the application of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply up to date information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, statistics on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, copies of collective agreements containing clauses on weekly rest, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services showing the number of any infringements observed and sanctions imposed, etc.

Finally, the Committee wishes to recall the decision of the ILO Governing Body according to which 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 continue to respond to current needs (see GB.283/LILS/WP/
PRS/1/2, paragraphs 17–18). Therefore, the Committee once again invites the Government to contemplate ratifying Convention No. 106 – especially since the relevant legislation is of general application and covers equally industry and commerce – and to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken or envisaged in this respect.