Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Article 3 of the Convention. Hours of work. With reference to its previous comment, the Committee notes once again that section 161(d) of the Labour Code – as amended by section 51 of Act No. 789 of 27 December 2002 – makes provision on the basis of an individual agreement between employer and employee for flexible working hours of between four and ten hours per day without additional hours between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., six days per week, on condition that the average of 48 hours per week is not exceeded. The Committee is bound to recall that the Convention only provides for exceptions to the general rule of eight hours per day and 48 hours per week under strict conditions set out in Article 4 (distribution throughout the week within the limit of ten hours’ work per day), Article 5 (general interruption of work), Article 6 (exceptional cases) and Article 7 (permanent and temporary exceptions). The Committee also recalls that, in accordance with Article 8 of the Convention, exceptions to the eight-hour day require regulations adopted by the public authority after consultation of the workers’ and employers’ organizations concerned – particularly as regards rates of pay for overtime – and that therefore an individual agreement between employer and employee does not suffice in any case for authorizing an extension of the permissible hours of work. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to paragraphs 85–168 of the General Survey of 2005 on Conventions Nos 1 and 30 relating to hours of work, which contain a detailed analysis of the requirements of the Convention with respect to the distribution of hours of work and authorized exceptions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to revise section 161(d) of the Labour Code in order to ensure that any arrangement relating to flexible working hours is in full conformity with the requirements of the Convention and to keep the Office informed of all progress made in this regard.