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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in response to its direct request of 1993. It notes the Government's statement that the system applying to the construction brigades, which depends on the circumstances of the "special period", is still in force. The Committee is bound to recall that in its last report the Government indicated that the system was to apply temporarily and that normal working time of eight hours a day and 44 hours a week, set in section 67 of the Labour Code, would be re-established as soon as circumstances allowed. The Committee also notes that the statistics of the Labour Inspectorate for 1997 show a working day of up to ten hours for a very large majority of the workers. It recalls that, where working time is distributed unevenly over a week, maximum daily overtime may not exceed one hour according to Article 2(b) of the Convention. It also wishes to recall that, under Article 5 of the Convention, when the average number of hours worked is reckoned on the basis of a period longer than one week, the length of the period must be set in advance by the authority or the competent body. In these circumstances, the Committee trusts that the Government will embark upon the necessary action in the near future to re-establish, in law and in practice, hours of work which are consistent with the prescriptions of the Convention.

The Committee notes the information on the content of the provisions of section 70 of the Labour Code. It recalls the abovementioned prescriptions of Article 5 of the Convention and asks the Government to provide copies of any regulations which may have been issued by the competent authority pursuant to this Article.

Lastly, the Committee notes the brief indications supplied by the Government concerning the system of remuneration for overtime established in Chapter IV of the Labour Code, and again asks the Government to supply any regulations issued under the above chapter by the competent authority.