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The Committee notes the explanations provided by the Government concerning the scope of Article 12 of Decree-Law No. 24/89/M of 3 April 1989, which therefore applies to all industrial enterprises without exception. It also notes the Government’s statement that the draft Law on Labour Relations, which is currently being examined by the Legislative Assembly, will contain provisions relating to shift work, night work and continuous working (Article 4 of the Convention); the maximum number of additional hours that may be performed and the applicable wage rate (Article 6(2)), and the requirement for the employer to post notices notifying the workers of the hours of work and to keep a record of all additional hours performed (Article 8(1)), which are all points not addressed by the legislation that is currently in force. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any developments in this respect and to provide a copy of the new legislative text once it has entered into force. Furthermore, noting that the above draft Law will contain numerous provisions relating to night work, the Committee permits itself to suggest that the Government might examine the possibility of ratifying the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), which contains the most recent standards for the protection of night workers.
Article 2. Daily hours of work. Further to its previous comment relating to Article 10(2) of Decree-Law No. 24/89/M, which allows the limit of eight hours in the day and 48 hours in the week to be exceeded on the basis of individual agreements between employers and workers, provided that no working day may exceed ten and a half hours, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the extension of the limit of eight hours in the day is not an obligation, so that workers remain free to agree or not to perform additional hours. While noting the Government’s intention to facilitate economic development through the introduction of more flexible provisions relating to hours of work, the Committee is once again bound to recall that the Convention only allows the maximum limit to the daily hours of work to be exceeded under the very specific conditions set out in Article 2(b) (distribution of the hours of work over a week) and (c) (averaging of hours of work over a period of three weeks). The Convention also envisages other exceptions to the general rule of eight hours in the day and 48 in the week, but only under the strict conditions set out in Articles 3 (in the case of accident, urgent work or force majeure), 4 (continuous processes), 5 (averaging in exceptional cases), and 6 (permanent and temporary exceptions). Finally, the Committee emphasizes that exceptions from the eight-hour day require prior consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, and indeed regulations made by the public authority after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, and that, accordingly, an individual agreement between the employer and the employed person does not offer the adequate guarantees required by the Convention and cannot therefore suffice in any case to authorize an extension of hours of work. In this respect, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to paragraphs 85–168 of the General Survey that it carried out in 2005 on Conventions Nos 1 and 30 on hours of work, which contain a detailed analysis of the requirements of the Convention in relation to the distribution of hours of work and the authorized exceptions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to review Article 10(2) of Decree-Law No. 24/89/M so as to bring it into conformity with the Convention and to keep the Office informed of any progress achieved in this respect.
Article 7, paragraph 1. List of exceptions. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the organizations of employers and workers have not concluded any agreement under the terms of Article 5 of the Convention. It also notes that the Government has not issued any regulations making permanent or temporary exceptions. However, with regard to types of work classified as necessarily being carried on continuously within the meaning of Article 4, the Committee notes that the Government refers to certain sectors, such as restaurants, hotels, gaming, transport and other services, and that the draft Law on Labour Relations should contain precise provisions on working in shifts. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to provide a precise list of the types of work classified as necessarily being carried on continuously within the meaning of Article 4 and requests it to keep the Office informed of any changes made in relation to exceptions from hours of work.
Part VI of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government, particularly with regard to the number of contraventions reported in relation to hours of work for the period 2003–06. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the application of the Convention in practice and on any difficulties encountered in this field.
The Committee takes due note of the information supplied by the Government in its first report concerning the application of the Convention.
Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention. With reference to sections 3 and 12 of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M on working relationships, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would clarify whether industrial workers are in fact excluded from the scope of application of the provisions on working time, and if so, to specify the legislative provisions regulating their hours of work.
Article 2. The Committee notes that section 10(2) of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M allows for the extension of the eight hours per day and 48 hours per week limits based on individual agreements between employers and workers provided that no working day may exceed ten-and-a-half hours per day. In this respect, the Government’s attention is drawn to the fact that Article 2(b) of the Convention permits the eight-hour daily limit to be exceeded by no more than one hour and only with the agreement of employers’ and workers’ organizations or representatives. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring its legislation into closer conformity with the requirements of the Convention in this respect.
Article 4. The Committee notes, under section 55 of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M, special legislation will be enacted to regulate shift work, night work and continuous working. It also notes the Government’s statement that a draft instrument to reform existing legislation has already been prepared and is currently at an advanced stage of the legislative process. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to transmit a copy of the new legislation as soon as it is adopted.
Article 6, paragraph 2. With reference to section 11 of Legislative Decree No. 24/89/M, the Committee notes that no minimum rate for overtime pay is fixed as required under this Article of the Convention. It also notes that apart from the case of unforeseeable increases in workload, there seems to be no limit on the number of hours of overtime permitted per day. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that, in each specific case of authorized overtime, the maximum number of additional hours of work must be fixed and also that express provision must be made for overtime pay of no less than one and one-quarter times the regular rate of pay. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to give full effect to the Convention in this regard.
Article 7, paragraph 1. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply in its next report detailed information on: (i) the enterprises which are deemed to be necessarily continuous in character; (ii) the working of any agreements falling within the meaning of Article 5 of the Convention; and (iii) the regulations on permanent and temporary exceptions, as required under this Article of the Convention.
Article 8, paragraph 1. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that no measure has as yet been implemented to compel employers to display official notices showing the hours of work. It also notes that existing legislation contains no provision requiring employers to maintain adequate records in an approved form of all additional hours worked. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take appropriate action to ensure that the enforcement measures provided for in this Article of the Convention are fully applied.
Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the statistical information concerning the number of workers, by occupational category and gender, for the period 1999-2002. The Committee would be grateful to the Government for continuing to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, extracts from official reports and information on any difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention.