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Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - United Arab Emirates (RATIFICATION: 1982)

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In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions No. 1 (hours of work) and No. 89 (women’s night work) together.

Hours of work

Articles 2, 6 and 8(1)(c) of Convention No. 1. Exceptions to normal hours of work. Record keeping. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that Federal Act No. 8 of 1980, which is the main legislation implementing the Convention, is under revision. While noting the content of draft sections 46 (on daily hours of work) and 48 (on overtime) of the revising act, as provided by the Government, the Committee observes that it is not in a position to provide an assessment of conformity without having access to all the provisions of the draft which address working time. Based on the provisions available, it wishes to emphasize the importance of national legislation and practice restricting recourse to exemptions from the maximum limits to hours of work (namely eight hours in the day and 48 hours in the week) to cases of clear, well-defined and limited circumstances such as accident, actual or threatened, force majeure or urgent work to be done to plant or machinery (2018 General Survey on working time instruments, paragraph 119). The Committee also notes that the Government’s reply to its previous request under Article 8(1)(c) does not specifically address the obligation for employers to keep a record of all hours worked in excess of the normal hours of work, as provided for under this article. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that any revision of the legislation is in full conformity with the Convention and to provide information on all relevant provisions on working time as well as on the time of the coming into force of the new law. It recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO in this process.

Women’s night work

Article 3 of Convention No. 89. Prohibition of women’s night work. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that it is considering the abrogation of the prohibition of women’s night work. On this matter, it refers to its comments under the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111). The Committee recalls that protective measures applicable to women’s employment at night which go beyond maternity protection and are based on stereotyped perceptions regarding women’s professional abilities and role in society, violate the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women (see 2018 General Survey on working-time instruments, paragraph 545). Recalling that the Convention will be open for denunciation between 27 February 2021 and 27 February 2022, the Committee encourages the Government to consider its denunciation. It also draws the Government’s attention to the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), which is not devised as a gender-specific instrument, but focuses on the protection of all those working at night.

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Article 2 of the Convention. Exceptions to the limits on normal daily and weekly hours of work. With reference to its previous comment concerning exceptions to the limits on normal daily and weekly hours of work, the Committee had noted that section 65 of the Labour Relations Law (Federal Law No. 8 of 20 April 1980 on the regulation of labour relations) specifies that normal working hours could be increased to nine hours per day in commercial activities, hotels, hairdressing, guard duty and other tasks where such increase is authorized by order of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. It had further noted that the Minister of Labour had not issued any Order which authorizes the extension of working hours in any other tasks other than those specified in this section. In this regard, the Committee wishes to recall that Article 2(b) of the Convention permits the daily limit of eight hours to be exceeded by no more than one hour only in the case where the hours of work on one or more days of the week are less than eight hours. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that any ministerial order, which might be issued under section 65 of the Labour Relations Law with a view to increasing from eight to nine the maximum number of hours of work per day in any public or private industrial undertaking, would only allow the variable distribution of working hours within a week under the circumstances set out in Article 2(b) of the Convention.

Article 6. Permanent and temporary exceptions and list of exceptions. In previous reports, the Government had indicated that it was preparing draft legislation amending the Labour Relations Law with respect to preparatory or complementary work at industrial undertakings. The Committee would appreciate receiving information on whether the Government still intends to amend the Labour Relations Law of 1980 with a view to regulating permanent exceptions and temporary exceptions from normal hours of work and requests the Government to keep it informed in this regard.

Furthermore, in its previous comment, the Committee had noted that according to section 69 of the Labour Relations Law, the number of actual hours of overtime could not exceed two a day, unless work was necessary to prevent substantial loss or a serious accident or to eliminate or alleviate its consequences. In this regard, the Committee recalls that Article 6(1)(b) of the Convention allows for temporary exceptions (overtime) only in exceptional cases of pressure of work while Article 6(2) requires the maximum number of additional hours to be kept within reasonable limits prescribed in line with the general goal of the Convention which is to establish the eight-hour day and the 48-hour week as the legal standard of hours of work in order to provide protection against undue fatigue and to ensure reasonable leisure and opportunities for recreation and social life. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to bring its legislation in conformity with this Article of the Convention.

Article 8(1)(c). Record keeping. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that through inspection visits, the labour inspectorate seeks to review the registers on working hours, and to verify that they are calculated on the basis of 48 hours a week. In this regard, the Committee had previously noted the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour had issued a circular that requires all undertakings and establishments to keep a record of all additional hours worked by their employees. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide a copy of this circular in its next report.

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Article 2 of the Convention. Exceptions to the limits on normal daily and weekly hours of work. The Committee notes that under section 65 of the Labour Relations Law (Federal Law No. 8 of 20 April 1980 on the regulation of labour relations), the hours of work may be increased to nine hours a day in any establishment where such increase is authorized by order of the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs. While noting the Government’s indication that no such Ministerial order has so far been issued, the Committee recalls that Article 2(b) of the Convention permits the daily limit of eight hours to be exceeded by no more than one hour only in the case where the hours of work on one or more days of the week are less than eight hours. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that any Ministerial order, which might be issued under section 65 of the Labour Relations Law with a view to increasing from eight to nine the maximum number of hours of work per day in any public or private industrial undertaking, would only allow the variable distribution of working hours within a week under the circumstances set out in Article 2(b) of the Convention.

Article 6. Permanent and temporary exceptions. The Committee has been requesting the Government to indicate whether any progress has been made towards the adoption of the draft Ministerial Order on preparatory and complementary work in industrial undertakings which had been prepared in 2003 and which had been circulated for comments to each of the Federations of Chambers of Commerce in the Emirates. In its 2011 report on the application of the Convention, the Government indicated that draft legislation amending the Labour Relations Law was under preparation while in its latest report the Government provides no further information on the legislative amendment process. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate whether it still intends to amend the Labour Relations Law of 1980 with a view to regulating permanent exceptions (preparatory or complementary work and intermittent work) and temporary exceptions (exceptional cases of pressure of work) from normal hours of work in full conformity with the requirements of Article 6 of the Convention.

Moreover, the Committee notes that under section 67 of the Labour Relations Law where the circumstances of the work require a worker to work more than the normal number of hours any period worked in excess is treated as overtime and carries extra remuneration. The Committee also notes section 69 of the Labour Relations Law, which provides that the number of actual hours of overtime may not exceed two a day, unless work is necessary to prevent substantial loss or a serious accident or to eliminate or alleviate its consequences. The Committee recalls, in this respect, that Article 6(1)(b) of the Convention allows for temporary exceptions (overtime) only in exceptional cases of pressure of work while Article 6(2) requires the maximum number of additional hours to be kept within reasonable limits prescribed in line with the general goal of the Convention which is to establish the eight-hour day and the 48-hour week as the legal standard of hours of work in order to provide protection against undue fatigue and to ensure reasonable leisure and opportunities for recreation and social life. Considering that prescribing a limit only to the daily number of overtime hours – as opposed to the number of overtime hours that may be worked over a period of several weeks, a month or a year – is not sufficient to protect industrial workers from the risk of abuse, the Committee requests the Government to take appropriate action in order to bring the national legislation into full conformity with the requirements of this Article of the Convention.

Article 8(1)(c). Record-keeping. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour has issued a circular that requires all undertakings and establishments to keep a record of all additional hours worked by their employees. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide in its next report a copy of this circular.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the statistical information provided in the Government’s report, in particular the inspection results concerning the Emirate of Dubai according to which more than 85 per cent of all undertakings inspected in 2012 were found in violation of the legislation regarding the maximum daily limit of overtime hours. In view of such high incidence of non-compliance with the working time legislation, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures it intends to take in order to remedy this situation. It also requests the Government to continue to provide up-to-date information on the practical application of the Convention.

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Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that, under section 3(a) of Federal Law No. 8 of 20 April 1980 on regulation of labour relations (Labour Relations Law), this law is not applicable to officials employed in public companies and institutions if they are subject to the staff regulations or statutes of the latter. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether public industrial undertakings within the meaning of the Convention are excluded from the scope of this law pursuant to the abovementioned section and, if so, to supply a copy of the legal provisions regulating the hours of work of the workers concerned.

Article 2. Daily and weekly hours of work. The Committee notes that section 65 of the Labour Relations Law provides that normal working hours may not exceed eight hours per day or 48 hours per week. It requests the Government to confirm that both these limits are applicable on a cumulative basis, as required by the Convention. Moreover, the Committee notes that working time may be extended to nine hours per day in certain cases, particularly for persons involved in caretaking work. It draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 2(b) of the Convention only allows the normal eight-hour limit on daily working time to be exceeded if the hours are reduced on one or more other days of the week, so that the 48-hour weekly limit is not exceeded. The Committee requests the Government to supply further information on limits on working hours applicable to persons involved in caretaking work pursuant to section 65 of the Labour Relations Law.

Article 6, paragraph 1(a). Permanent exceptions. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report concerning the draft Ministerial Order on preparatory and complementary work in industrial undertakings. It notes that the technical committee which issued a report on this matter in 1996 also recommended the adoption of an amendment to the Labour Relations Law, aimed at limiting the cases in which permanent exceptions to normal limits on working hours would be authorized, referring in this connection to the cases listed in the Ministerial Order. It requests the Government to indicate whether it still plans to amend the Labour Relations Law and, if so, to provide information on progress made on the procedure for the adoption of this amendment. With regard to the Ministerial Order itself, the Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, this text is still under examination, and consultations within the administration, followed by tripartite consultations, must still be held. In view of the considerable amount of time which has passed since the publication of the technical committee’s report, the Committee requests the Government to complete without delay the process for the drawing up of this Ministerial Order. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments in this respect.

Articles 3 and 6, paragraph 1(b). Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that, according to the information contained in the Government’s report of 1998, a study on temporary exceptions to the normal limits on working hours had been undertaken. It notes that the Government has made no further reference since then to the work undertaken in this field, particularly the possible drawing up of a draft Ministerial Order regulating these temporary exceptions. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps in the near future to authorize the adoption of temporary exceptions to the limits of eight hours per day and 48 hours per week, except in cases of accident, urgent work or force majeure referred to in Article 3 of the Convention, only to enable establishments to deal with exceptional cases of pressure of work, as provided for by Article 6(1)(b) of the Convention. The Government is requested to supply information on the progress made in this field and on consultations held in this context with employers’ and workers’ organizations.

Article 8, paragraph 1(c). Record-keeping. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any reply to its previous comment on this point. It therefore requests the Government once again to take the necessary steps to impose the obligation on employers to keep a record of all additional hours worked by their employees.

Part VI of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide a general description of 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 covered by the legislation, the number of overtime hours worked in the context of permanent or temporary exceptions, the number and nature of reported infringements of the legal provisions regarding working time, and also any remedial measures taken in this regard.

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The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s last report and the attached documentation.

Article 6, paragraph 1(a), and Article 7, paragraph 1(c), of the Convention. Further to its previous comments regarding the Government’s long-announced intention to regulate hours worked on preparatory and complementary work outside the limits set for ordinary work, the Committee notes that a draft Ministerial Order has now been prepared and is currently reviewed by a tripartite technical committee. The Committee notes, in particular, the permanent and temporary exceptions set out in sections 4, 5 and 6 of the draft Ministerial Order and further understands that the provisions of sections 67 and 69 of Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 concerning overtime pay and the maximum additional hours also apply to longer work schedules authorized under the draft Ministerial Order. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of all further developments regarding the adoption of the Ministerial Order and to transmit a copy of the new text once it is finalized.

Article 8, paragraph 1(c). The Committee notes that the draft Ministerial Order for the regulation of complementary, preparatory and emergency work makes no provision for the maintenance of appropriate records in an approved form of all additional hours of work performed, as required under this Article of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary steps so that the draft Ministerial Order, in its final wording, be fully consistent with the relevant provisions of the Convention.

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United Arab Emirates (ratification: 1982)

The Committee notes 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:

The Committee notes the Government’s last report. It notes with interest the statement that the Technical Committee for Legislation of the Ministry of Justice has adopted a recommendation by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to amend Federal Act No. 8 of 1980 by empowering the latter Ministry to regulate hours worked on preparatory and supplementary work outside the limits set for ordinary work. It notes in particular that the recommendation was made subsequent to a favourable opinion submitted by a government technical committee after consultation with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Society for the Coordination of Trades Associations. The Committee asks the Government to inform the Office of the adoption of this amendment by the competent authorities.

Furthermore, the Committee notes with interest the Government’s statement that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has undertaken a study to determine the temporary exceptions that may be allowed to normal working hours, in accordance with the requirements of Article 6, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention, and that the representative organizations mentioned above will be consulted on the study.

Lastly, the Committee notes the useful information supplied on the new regulations on half-time work and temporary work.

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The Committee notes the Government's last report. It notes with interest the statement that the Technical Committee for Legislation of the Ministry of Justice has adopted a recommendation by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to amend Federal Act No. 8 of 1980 by empowering the latter Ministry to regulate hours worked on preparatory and supplementary work outside the limits set for ordinary work. It notes in particular that the recommendation was made subsequent to a favourable opinion submitted by a government technical committee after consultation with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Society for the Coordination of Trades Associations. The Committee asks the Government to inform the Office of the adoption of this amendment by the competent authorities.

Furthermore, the Committee notes with interest the Government's statement that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has undertaken a study to determine the temporary exceptions that may be allowed to normal working hours, in accordance with the requirements of Article 6, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention, and that the representative organizations mentioned above will be consulted on the study.

Lastly, the Committee notes the useful information supplied on the new regulations on half-time work and temporary work.

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The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report in reply to its previous direct request. It notes in particular the study undertaken by a Government technical committee to determine cases of permanent exceptions to normal hours of work, under the terms of Article 6, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention.

The Committee notes the statement that the above Government technical committee proposes to amend certain provisions of Federal Law No. 8 of 1980 by empowering the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, in a new section, to issue regulations concerning hours worked on preparatory and supplementary work performed outside the limits set for work of a general nature. It also notes that the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Coordinating Association of Professional Associations will be consulted before the adoption of the Decree to amend the above Law.

The Committee notes that the envisaged measures would establish a maximum weekly limit of 12 overtime hours, which is a reasonable limit. It recalls in this respect the need to ensure that the obligation of the employer to keep a record of all additional hours worked, in accordance with Article 8, paragraph 1(c), of the Convention, and as stated in point 2.4 of the Government's report, is included in these measures.

The Committee hopes that the Government technical committee will, in the same spirit, undertake a study to determine the cases in which temporary exceptions may be allowed to normal working hours, in accordance with Article 6, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention.

The Committee trusts that the Government will make every effort to adopt the envisaged measures as soon as possible and requests it to supply information on all developments in this respect.

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The Committee takes note of the explanations supplied by the Government in reply to its previous direct request.

It regrets to note that the Government has not conducted the study which was planned to determine, by industry and by occupation, the permanent and temporary exceptions which may be allowed to normal hours of work, in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention. As the Government's report indicates, section 69 of Labour Code No. 8 of 1980 provides for a general and permanent exception but does not specify the exceptions that may be allowed in preparatory or complementary work as required by this provision of the Convention.

The Committee trusts that the Government will carry out the planned study in the near future and/or that, after consultation with workers' and employers' organizations, it will issue the necessary regulations to determine the exceptions that may be allowed to normal working hours. The Committee recalls that such regulations must determine the maximum number of additional hours in each instance in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention and that, in addition, under Article 8, paragraph 1(c), the employer is required to keep a record in the form prescribed by law or regulation of all additional hours worked in pursuance of Articles 3 and 6 of the Convention.

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Further to its previous comments concerning Articles 6 and 8, paragraph 1(c), the Committee notes the information communicated by the Government in its most recent report. The Government has again referred to the possibility of carrying out a study to determine, by industry and by occupation, the permanent and temporary exceptions which may be allowed to the normal hours of work. The Government has added that it will not fail to consult previously the organisations of employers and workers concerned in such cases.

The Committee trusts that the Government will carry out this study in the near future and/or that it will issue the necessary regulations, after consultations with the organisations of employers and workers, to determine the permissible exceptions to the normal hours of work. The Committee recalls that such regulations should fix the maximum additional hours which may be permitted in each case (Article 6) and that the Convention provides for the employer to keep a record of all additional hours worked (Article 8, paragraph 1(c)).