Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1961)

Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention. Weekly rest. Total or partial exceptions. The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM), received on 28 August 2015, regarding weekly rest in the mining sector. The CGTM indicates that the Labour Code provides for a weekly rest of 24 hours after six days of work. It notes however that in mining activities this frequency is not respected and that the postponement of the weekly rest period gives rise to the granting of compensatory rest following a continuous period of work of 15 days. The CGTM also notes that the average daily hours of work of the workers concerned may reach 12 hours a day, which is against the law. In its reply, the Government states that, taking into account the specific nature of work in mines, workers are allowed to work overtime for at least two weeks and, after this period, they can benefit from a week’s rest in order to see their families. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the maximum period of weekly rest which may be covered over, and the frequency with which mineworkers are requested to work 12 hours a day.

Moreover, the Committee recalls that the Convention requires a weekly rest period of 24 hours during each period of seven days, corresponding as much as possible to the days established by the tradition or customs of the country. Total or partial exceptions to the normal weekly rest scheme should be authorized only after consulting workers’ and employers’ representatives, taking into account, in particular, all relevant humanitarian and economic considerations, in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention. In the present case, this does not appear to be an exception in the mining sector, but systematic recourse to overtime and the postponement of the weekly rest period thereby allowing long working hours without periods of rest. The Committee recalls that the adaptation of working hours to specific sectoral conditions should not be to the detriment of the health of workers or the necessary balance between work and family life. It trusts that the social partners will be fully consulted on the adoption of measures aimed at achieving full compliance with the provisions of the Convention with a view to the adoption of practices which comply more fully with statutory working hours and which reconcile the need to protect workers with operational requirements.