Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in reply to its comments concerning the application of Article 6, paragraph 2, and Article 7, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

Article 6, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee is bound once again to emphasise that all the persons to whom the Convention applies are entitled, after one year's work, to an annual holiday of a minimum of three weeks in which public holidays are not counted. In view of the fact that, according to section 1(2) of Act No. 12.590, collective agreements may authorise public holidays to be taken into account in annual paid holidays, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the national legislation into accordance with this provision of this Convention on this point.

Article 7, paragraph 2. In reply to the Committee's previous comments, the Government states that under the terms of Decision No. 2.215/73 of 13 December 1973, remuneration is paid to the persons concerned before the beginning of the holidays in proportions that vary between 40 and 100 per cent, according to the category of the activity. In this connection, the Committee wishes to point out that by virtue of this provision of the Convention, the total remuneration for the whole period of the holiday must be paid to the employed person concerned in advance of the holiday, unless otherwise provided in an agreement binding upon him and the employer. The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary steps to give effect to this provision of the Convention.

Article 12. The Committee notes that the report does not contain a reply to its direct request, which read as follows:

Under section 16 of Act No. 12.590 and section 23 of the Decree of 26 April 1962 issued under this Act, the holiday of a technician may, at the joint request of the employer and the technician concerned, be replaced by compensation equivalent to three times the corresponding remuneration. These provisions are not in conformity with this Article of the Convention which specifies that any agreements to relinquish the right to the minimum holiday prescribed shall be null and void or be prohibited.

The Committee trusts that the appropriate measures to give full effect to this Article will be taken in the near future.

The Committee recalls that, in its reports for 1983 and 1984, the Government had already indicated that, following the advice given by a panel of jurists of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, a Bill regulating working conditions in the private sector and containing provisions with regard to annual holidays with pay that were in conformity with Convention No. 132 was submitted to the Cabinet and examined by a parliamentary working party. It hopes that this Bill will become law shortly and that the Government will supply the text of the new Act.