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The Committee takes due note of the information supplied by the Government in its first report concerning the application of the Convention.

Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention. With reference to sections 3 and 12 of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M on working relationships, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would clarify whether industrial workers are in fact excluded from the scope of application of the provisions on working time, and if so, to specify the legislative provisions regulating their hours of work.

Article 2. The Committee notes that section 10(2) of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M allows for the extension of the eight hours per day and 48 hours per week limits based on individual agreements between employers and workers provided that no working day may exceed ten-and-a-half hours per day. In this respect, the Government’s attention is drawn to the fact that Article 2(b) of the Convention permits the eight-hour daily limit to be exceeded by no more than one hour and only with the agreement of employers’ and workers’ organizations or representatives. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring its legislation into closer conformity with the requirements of the Convention in this respect.

Article 4. The Committee notes, under section 55 of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M, special legislation will be enacted to regulate shift work, night work and continuous working. It also notes the Government’s statement that a draft instrument to reform existing legislation has already been prepared and is currently at an advanced stage of the legislative process. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to transmit a copy of the new legislation as soon as it is adopted.

Article 6, paragraph 2. With reference to section 11 of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M, the Committee notes that no minimum rate for overtime pay is fixed as required under this Article of the Convention. It also notes that apart from the case of unforeseeable increases in workload, there seems to be no limit on the number of hours of overtime permitted per day. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that, in each specific case of authorized overtime, the maximum number of additional hours of work must be fixed and also that express provision must be made for overtime pay of no less than one and one-quarter times the regular rate of pay. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to give full effect to the Convention in this regard.

Article 7, paragraph 1. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply in its next report detailed information on: (i) the enterprises which are deemed to be necessarily continuous in character; (ii) the working of any agreements falling within the meaning of Article 5 of the Convention; and (iii) the regulations on permanent and temporary exceptions, as required under this Article of the Convention.

Article 8, paragraph 1. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that no measure has as yet been implemented to compel employers to display official notices showing the hours of work. It also notes that existing legislation contains no provision requiring employers to maintain adequate records in an approved form of all additional hours worked. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take appropriate action to ensure that the enforcement measures provided for in this Article of the Convention are fully applied.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information concerning the number of workers, by occupational category and gender, for the period 1999-2002. The Committee would be grateful to the Government for continuing to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, extracts from official reports and information on any difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention.