CMNT_TITLE

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Czechia (RATIFICATION: 1993)

Other comments on C014

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Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions – Compensatory rest. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s renewed reference to section 92(3) of the Labour Act which requires a continuous rest period per week of at least 24 hours, even in those exceptional cases where the ordinary weekly rest of 35 hours needs to be reduced, provided that the employees concerned receive of a continuous rest period of 70 hours within two weeks. The Committee wishes to observe, in this respect, that further exceptions are provided for in section 91(3) in the case of urgent repairs, loading and unloading, inventory-taking, transport, health and cultural services and also in section 93(2) in the case of overtime required in case of serious operational reasons (within the limit of eight hours per week). Under both these provisions, work may be performed on a continuous rest day in a manner that possibly does not permit an uninterrupted rest of at least 24 hours, in which case the need for compensatory rest might arise. The Committee notes, in this regard, that whereas section 114(1) provides that compensatory time off may be agreed instead of extra pay in the case of overtime work, section 118 provides only for a 10 per cent premium to be paid in the case of work on Saturdays and Sundays. The Committee trusts that the Government will take at the next suitable occasion appropriate steps to ensure that when workers are required on whatever grounds to perform work on a weekly rest day, they are granted, as far as possible, compensatory rest irrespective of any monetary compensation.

In addition, the Committee notes the comments of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS) included in the Government’s report according to which the 35-hour weekly rest rule does not apply to work carried out on the basis of an agreement to perform work outside the employment, as provided for in sections 76–77 of the Labour Code. The ČMKOS also indicates that based on its health and safety inspections, an alarming situation seems to exist in the catering, hotel and tourism sector where employers do not provide employees with uninterrupted weekly rest or they reduce it substantially. The Committee requests the Government to transmit any further comments it may wish to make in response to the observations of the ČMKOS.