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Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Mozambique (RATIFICATION: 1977)

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Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Scope of application. Weekly rest period. In previous comments, noting that under section 3(1)(c) and (d) and (2) of the Labour Act, work in mines and ports is governed by specific legislation and that the Labour Act applies to these workers in so far as it is compatible with their nature and characteristics, the Committee requested the Government to indicate the legislation relating to weekly rest applicable to these categories of workers. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government indicates that Decree No. 13/2015 of 3 July 2015 approved the Mining Labour Regulations and Decree No. 46/2016 of 31 October 2016, approved the Dock Work Regulations. The Committee observes that while section 13 of the Mining Labour Regulations provides that the normal weekly rest of mine workers and oil must be of one day, the Dock Work Regulations does not seem to contain any provision on weekly rest for this category of workers.

Moreover, the Committee had previously noted that section 95(1) of the Labour Act which provides that the minimum weekly rest period is at least 20 consecutive hours, is not in conformity with Article 2(1) of the Convention requiring a period of weekly rest comprising at least 24 consecutive hours. Noting the Government’s indication that the issue of the length of weekly rest is being considered in the framework of the Labour Act’s revision process, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to: (i) bring the national legislation in line with the principle of 24 hours’ weekly rest required by the Convention; and (ii) ensure that dock workers have the benefit, in law and in practice, of a 24 hour period of rest per week. It also requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard, as well as copies of any new legislation recently adopted on this subject.

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Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Scope of application – Weekly rest period. The Committee notes that the Government’s latest report does not provide any new information in response to the points raised in its previous direct request. It recalls that section 95(1) of the Labour Act which provides that the minimum weekly rest period is at least 20 consecutive hours, is not in conformity with Article 2(1) of the Convention requiring a period of weekly rest comprising at least 24 consecutive hours. The Committee requests the Government to take without delay the necessary measures to bring its legislation in conformity with Article 2(1) of the Convention. It further requests the Government to clarify how the entitlement to weekly rest is regulated for mine workers and port workers who are currently excluded from the scope of application of the Labour Act of 2007.

Article 6. List of exceptions to the weekly rest scheme. The Committee would appreciate receiving a list of the categories of industrial workers and types of industrial establishments which may have been totally or partially exempted from the ordinary weekly rest scheme in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention.

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The Committee notes the adoption of the new Labour Code (Act No. 23/2007 of 1 August 2007), and particularly sections 89 and 95 which are essentially the same as sections 32 and 36 of the previous Labour Code of 1998. In this respect, it wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the following points:

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that, under the terms of section 3(1)(c) and (d) of the Labour Code, work in mines and ports is governed by specific legislation. While noting that, under the terms of section 3(2), the Labour Code applies to workers in the above sectors and sectors in which the activities require a special scheme in so far as it is compatible with their nature and characteristics, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the legislation relating to weekly rest applicable to workers in mines and ports and to provide a copy of any relevant text.

Persons in senior management or occupying positions of trust. The Committee notes that, by virtue of section 87(5) of the Labour Code, persons in senior management posts, positions of trust or supervisory positions, as well as those whose functions are such as to justify this scheme, are not subject to normal hours of work and accordingly may be governed by a special weekly rest scheme. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the weekly rest of the workers concerned is ensured.

Article 2. Duration of the weekly rest period. The Committee notes that section 95 of the Labour Code provides that all employed persons shall be entitled to a period of leave, generally granted on a Sunday, of a duration of at least 20 consecutive hours in the week. Unless this is due to a typographical error in the text available to the Committee, it recalls that Article 2 of the Convention requires a period of rest comprising at least 24 consecutive hours. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide the necessary clarifications in this respect and, in the event that the weekly rest period is in practice confined to 20 hours in the week, to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to bring the legislation into conformity with the Convention on this point.

Article 6. List of exceptions to the weekly rest scheme. The Committee notes the reference made by the Government to a list of exceptions to the weekly rest scheme in cases of the suspension or diminution of the rest period, which was not attached to the report. The Committee requests the Government to provide the list of exceptions to the weekly rest scheme with its next report.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for instance, extracts from the reports of the inspection services indicating the number of contraventions reported in relation to the weekly rest period, the number of workers covered by the legislation, 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 envisage ratifying Convention No. 106 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.