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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Articles 4(1) and 6(1) of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions. The Committee notes that, under section 11(f) of the Labour Act (Cap. 75), a worker may be required to work on customary rest days in occupations where this is expressly provided for in the contract of service. In this connection, the Committee is obliged to recall that any exceptions to the general standard must be in compliance with the conditions set out in the Convention (i.e. account taken of all proper humanitarian and economic considerations and prior consultations with responsible associations of employers and workers) and therefore recourse to such exceptions must be limited to what is strictly necessary. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide specific information on the conditions under which and the limits within which exceptions to the weekly rest may be authorized with a view to protecting workers from any risk of abuse. Moreover, the Committee notes that the text of the Essential Services Act (Cap. 12), which was referred to as being annexed to the Government’s report, has not been received by the Office, and therefore the Committee would appreciate receiving a copy of this instrument.

Article 5. Compensatory rest. The Committee notes that in a previous report, the Government indicated that workers whose conditions of service are regulated by the Essential Services Act receive extra pay, but no compensatory periods of rest, for work performed on a day of rest. In this connection, the Committee wishes to recall that according to the letter and the spirit of the Convention, the rest period cannot be replaced by the payment of compensation but must be granted, as far as possible, regardless of any such cash compensation. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take appropriate steps to ensure that workers are granted, as far as possible, compensatory rest periods for any suspensions or diminutions made to their weekly rest. The Committee understands that the notion of essential services may be redefined in the framework of the labour law reform, which is currently undertaken in association with employers’ and workers’ organizations, and hopes that the Government will not fail to take into account the above comments in preparing any new legislative texts.

Parts III and V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to supply general information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, statistics on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, extracts from inspection reports showing the number of contraventions reported and sanctions imposed, etc.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, based on the conclusions and proposals of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body has decided that the ratification of up to date Conventions, including the Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14), and the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106), should be encouraged because they continue to respond to current needs (see GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 17–18). The Committee accordingly invites the Government to contemplate ratifying Convention No. 106 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this respect.