Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) - Jordan (Ratification: 1979)

Articles 6, 7(2) and 8(3) of the Convention. Accumulation of weekly rest. Permanent and temporary exemptions. Compensatory rest. The Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention for several years to the need to amend sections 60(2) and 59(2) of the Labour Code of 1996 as these provisions run counter to basic principles including by reference to: (i) the requirement to specify the conditions under which special weekly rest schemes (and thus the accumulation or postponement of weekly rest days) may be authorized; (ii) the obligation to provide compensatory rest (irrespective of any monetary compensation) for work performed on a weekly rest day; and (iii) the need to ensure that compensatory rest periods are granted within reasonably short intervals so that workers are not required to work for more than three weeks without enjoying the weekly rest to which they are entitled. In its latest report, the Government indicates that no new or amended legislation has been promulgated concerning this Convention and reiterates information communicated in earlier reports. The Committee is, therefore, obliged once again to point out that the entitlement to weekly rest may not be deferred at the worker’s or the employer’s unlimited discretion, or replaced by monetary compensation, as it is commonly accepted that a minimum of rest and leisure every week is essential for the workers’ health and well-being. The Committee also recalls that granting compensatory rest of at least 24 hours in cases where a worker is required for whatever reason to perform work on the weekly rest day is an absolute requirement under Articles 7(2) and 8(3) of the Convention. The Committee therefore asks the Government to take all necessary action without further delay to ensure that the national legislation gives full effect to the specific requirements of the Convention referred to above.