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Repetition

Article 4 of the Convention. Uneven distribution of weekly hours of work. The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to section 2 of Decree No. 2-04-569 of 29 December 2004 which establishes the possibility for employers, if they adopt the 44-hour working week for non-agricultural activities, to distribute these hours of work unevenly over the days of the week, subject to the weekly rest. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that daily hours of work do not exceed ten hours in the case of uneven distribution of weekly hours of work, as required by Article 4 of the Convention.

Article 6. Annualization of working time. In reply to the previous direct request, the Government indicates in its most recent report that annual working time can be distributed over the course of the year, according to the needs of the enterprise, provided that normal working hours do not exceed ten hours in the day. It further indicates that, in accordance with section 3 of Decree No. 2-04-569 of 29 December 2004, the annual distribution of working hours can be adopted depending on the needs of the establishment, the nature of its activities, its technical conditions and human resources, although it is necessary to comply with a specific administrative procedure as set out in the Decree. In this respect, the Committee recalls that, in accordance with Articles 6 and 8 of the Convention, the distribution of hours of work over a period longer than the week is only authorized in exceptional cases which make the provisions of the Convention on the normal limits on working hours inapplicable. The provisions also require the public authorities to make regulations for this purpose, following consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which effect is given in law and practice to these provisions of the Convention.

Article 7(2) and (3). Work in the national interest and abnormal pressure of work. In the absence of any further reply from the Government on this point, the Committee recalls once again that, under the terms of Decree No. 2-04-570 of 29 December 2004, enterprises which have to cope with work in the national interest may employ their workers beyond the normal hours of work for the duration of the necessary work, on condition that the working day does not exceed ten hours (section 1), while employers which have to deal with cases of abnormal pressure of work may employ their workers beyond the normal hours of work on condition that the total number of additional hours does not exceed 80 hours of work (section 2(1)). At the same time, paragraph 2 of section 2 seems to authorize all employers to employ workers for 20 overtime hours within the limit of 100 hours per year without specifying the duration to which the 20-hour limit applies. While recalling that Article 7(3) of the Convention requires, in cases of temporary exceptions, that regulations determine the number of additional hours of work which may be allowed in the day and in the year, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to limit the additional hours of work allowed in the year in the context of work that is in the national interest, and in the day in the context of cases of abnormal pressure of work.