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Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Hours of work. Public service. The Committee notes that section 59 of Act No. 1.626 of 27 December 2000 on the public service provides that the normal working hours are 40 hours per week but that the extension of the normal working day aimed at increasing the duration of weekly rest does not constitute performance of additional hours. It notes that such extension is therefore not limited to three hours per day and eight hours per week as provided for by section 59(2) of this Act. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the duration of the normal working day and the extent to which it may be extended under section 59 mentioned above to enable workers to benefit from a longer weekly rest period.

Article 7, paragraph 2, and Article 8. Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that, in its report under the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1), the Government recalls that no regulations have been adopted to date on the basis of section 211 of the Labour Code and that, if need be, such regulations would be adopted after consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations, in accordance with the practice followed by the Ministry of Labour. The Committee wishes, however, to emphasize once again that section 212(1) of the former Labour Code of 1961 expressly provided that the adoption of special regulations for special work had to be done after consultation with the occupational organizations concerned and that this requirement has not been included in section 211 of the Labour Code of 1993. The Committee therefore repeats its request to the Government to indicate the measures taken to ensure compliance with the provisions of the Convention concerning temporary exceptions to the normal rules on hours of work, particularly with regard to the obligation to hold prior consultations with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned.

The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government does not reply specifically to its previous comments concerning the maximum number of additional hours authorized. It therefore once again requests the Government to indicate whether the limits established by section 201 of the Labour Code, namely up to three additional hours per day and a maximum of 57 hours per week in total, are general in scope and therefore also applicable in the context of the exceptions authorized under section 202 of the Labour Code, particularly paragraph (c).

Furthermore, the Committee understands that workers may agree to work additional hours in cases other than those set out in section 202 of the Labour Code. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether that is indeed the case and, if so, to indicate whether checks are carried out by the national authorities with regard to the circumstances justifying the performance of additional hours. In this regard, it draws the Government’s attention to the fact that exceeding the ordinary limits concerning hours of work – eight hours per day and 48 hours per week – is authorized only in the cases specifically set out in the Convention, in particular: in case of a general interruption of work (Article 5); where exceptional circumstances justify the distribution of the hours of work over a period longer than the week (Article 6); in the context of permanent exceptions for intermittent, preparatory or complementary work, or in shops or other establishments where the nature of the work, the size of the population or the number of persons employed render inapplicable the working hours (Article 7(1)); or, in the context of temporary exceptions in case of accident, force majeure or urgent work, to prevent the loss of perishable goods or avoid endangering the technical results of the work, to allow for special work such as stocktaking and the preparation of balance sheets, or, under certain conditions, to enable establishments to deal with cases of abnormal pressure of work (Article 7(2)).

In addition, the Committee notes that section 59(2) of Act No. 1.626 of 27 December 2000 on the public service provides that additional hours may not exceed three hours per day and eight hours per week and must be authorized in writing. It requests the Government to provide information on the circumstances in which additional hours may be authorized under this provision, given that the restrictions imposed by the Convention in this regard, which are listed above, also apply to public sector employees.

Part IV of the report form. Court decisions. The Committee notes with interest the court decisions copies of which were attached to the Government’s report. It requests the Government to continue providing information on court decisions handed down which contain questions of principle concerning the application of the Convention. Furthermore, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of the complete text of Decision No. 27 of 31 March 1993, No. 35 of 26 May 1998, No. 20 of 22 April 1999, and No. 94 of 7 October 2001, extracts of which were reproduced in its report.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the outcome of an inspection relating, in particular, to hours of work. It requests the Government to continue providing general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, extracts from the reports of the inspection services and, if possible, statistics on the number of workers in the commerce and offices sectors protected by the legislation relating to hours of work, as well as the number and nature of violations reported and the follow-up action.

Finally, the Committee notes with interest the conclusion, on 23 February 2009, of a tripartite agreement on a Decent Work Country Programme for Paraguay. It notes that this programme refers, in particular, to the improvement of the implementation of international labour standards in the light of the comments made by the supervisory bodies and to the need to train judges, inspectors and lawyers on this subject. The Committee also notes that, in this context, the national authorities have expressed their concern at the difficulties relating to the operation of the labour inspection system and have requested the support of the ILO in drawing up and implementing the necessary reforms to the national legislation. It hopes that the implementation of this programme, with technical assistance from the Office if necessary, will improve the application of the Convention in national law and practice.