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The Committee notes that the new Labour Code of 12 June 1997 (sections 64 to 78) has brought no change to the substance of the provisions on holidays. The changes only concern the numbering of these provisions. Although section 35, No. 4 of the Constitution and section 72 of the new Labour Code prohibit the relinquishing of holidays, as pointed out by the Government, sections 74 and 75 of the Labour Code continue to be inconsistent with the Convention. The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report does not contain any new elements with regard to bringing national legislation and practice into conformity with the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee must therefore repeat its previous observations, which read as follows:

For several years, the Committee has expressed regret that sections 73 [now 74] and 74 [now 75] of the Labour Code contravene Articles 1, 3 and 8 of the Convention. Specifically, section 73 [now 74] authorizes employers to refuse leave during one year in certain cases, and section 74 [now 75] permits workers to postpone leave for three consecutive years so as to accumulate it in the fourth year. The Committee once again recalls that, under the terms of the Convention, workers employed in agricultural undertakings and related occupations must be granted an annual holiday with pay (Article 1) whose minimum duration must be determined in a manner approved by the competent authority (Article 3), and that any agreement to relinquish the right to an annual holiday with pay, or to forego such a holiday, must be void (Article 8). The Committee refers to its General Survey of the Convention in 1964 and recalls that a certain minimum part of the annual holiday must be granted each year, even where postponement of annual leave is permitted (paragraphs 177 to 181). Any other approach would be contrary not only to the fundamental provisions of the Convention but to the spirit in which it was conceived.

The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the national legislation in line with the Convention as soon as possible.