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Article 1 of the Convention. Forty-hour week. The Committee notes that section 149 of the Labour Code permits the averaging (or “summary recording”) of working hours over a reference period not exceeding four months provided that the average maximum working time does not exceed 48 hours in a week and 12 hours in a day while Government Resolution No. 587 of 2003 provides for a reference period of up to one year for those employed, among other sectors, in transport and energy production. The Committee considers that these provisions, even though they may reflect a general tendency for more flexible working-time arrangements, they call into question the object and purpose of the Convention inasmuch as unreasonably long reference periods for the averaging of hours cannot guarantee full application of the principle of the 40-hour week.

In addition, the Committee notes that section 144(4) of the Labour Code and Government Resolution No. 587 of 2003 provide for specific occupations and works (including on-duty works in health care, education, social care, telecommunications, public utility services, seaport navigation, air traffic control, railway transport, oil and gas production) in which the duration of working time may be up to 24 hours per day provided that the average working hours do not exceed 48 in a week and that the rest period between working days is not shorter than 24 hours. The Committee observes that such provisions directly contradict the letter and the spirit of ILO Conventions on hours of work which seek to establish reasonable legal standards of hours of work in order to provide adequate protection against undue fatigue and to ensure meaningful leisure and opportunities for recreation and social life for all workers. The Committee considers it important to recall that the same concerns have been raised by the European Committee of Social Rights which in its 2007 conclusions found that the situation in Lithuania is not in conformity with article 2(1) of the European Social Charter since for some categories of workers a working day of up to 24 hours may be allowed and under flexible working-time regimes the working week may be more than 60 hours. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide additional explanations on the rationale of the provisions mentioned above and indicate how these provisions may be construed to be consonant with the requirements of the Convention, read in conjunction of the Reduction of Hours of Work Recommendation, 1962 (No. 116). The Committee also requests the Government to refer to the comments made under Articles 2 and 5 of the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1).

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide together with its next report up to date information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, extracts from labour inspection reports showing the number and nature of contraventions reported with regard to hours worked in excess of the 40-hour week; statistics concerning the categories and number of workers to whom the principle of the 40-hour week has been applied and the number of hours worked in excess of the 40-hour week; the categories and number of workers to whom the principle of the 40-hour week has not as yet been applied and the normal hours of work applicable to these workers; official studies or reports on working time issues and especially the question of the reduction of hours of work in relation to factors such as the effect of new technologies and employment policy objectives; trends on working time arrangements as reflected in recent collective agreements, etc.