Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2008, publiée 98ème session CIT (2009)

The Committee notes that in 2007 the Government embarked on a reform of the Labour Code in cooperation with the Tripartite Consultation and Arbitration Committee and that it is awaiting proposals in this connection from the employers’ and workers’ organizations. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of all developments in this regard.

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. Mines and quarries. The Committee notes that sections 293 to 296 and section 300 of the Labour Code establish specific rules on working hours in mines and quarries. It notes in particular that the weekly hours of work of these employees have been reduced to 40 hours. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether, besides the provisions on weekly hours of work, sections 95 to 106 of the Labour Code, which establish general rules on working hours, also apply to workers in mines and quarries.

Road transport. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 285(2) of the Labour Code, workers engaged in driving vehicles who perform their services for two or several communes and, in general, all those who work aboard such vehicles, are not subject to the normal daily hours of work. It draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the transport of passengers or goods by road, without distinction, is one of the industrial undertakings to which the Convention applies. The Committee hopes that the Government will shortly take steps to amend the Labour Code so as to extend the scope of the Code’s provisions on hours of work to the workers referred to in section 285(2) of the Code.

Article 2. Daily hours of work – Drivers of private vehicles and railway workers. The Committee notes that pursuant to sections 285(3) and 287 of the Labour Code, the hours of work of workers engaged in driving private vehicles in the service of a person or members of the person’s family, may exceed eight hours a day subject to a weekly maximum of 48 hours. It notes that this rule also applies to persons performing services for railway companies. The Committee recalls, however, that Article 2 of the Convention sets a double limit – daily and weekly – to the working hours of persons falling within its scope, including drivers of private vehicles and persons employed by railway companies. The Committee hopes that the Government will shortly limit to eight hours the normal daily working hours of the workers covered by section 285(3) and section 287 of the Labour Code, and that it will define in a manner consistent with Articles 2, 3, 5 and 6 of the Convention the conditions in which exemptions from this rule would be authorized.

Article 6, paragraph 1(a). Permanent exceptions – Intermittent work. The Committee notes that under section 285 of the Labour Code workers engaged in driving vehicles who perform intermittent services and, in general, all those who work aboard such vehicles, are not subject to the normal daily hours of work. It notes that section 286 of the Code defines the work of persons occupied in driving vehicles and performing their services for urban transport companies as intermittent work. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the limited nature of the permanent exceptions that the Convention allows to the normal limits on working hours for employees engaged in intermittent work. As it pointed out in its General Survey of 2005 on hours of work (paragraph 126), the expression “inherently intermittent work” as used in the Conventions, means “work which is not concerned with production properly called, and which, by its nature, is interrupted by long periods of inaction, during which the respective workers have to display neither physical activity nor sustained attention, and remain at their post only to reply to possible calls”. This is obviously not the case of persons engaged in driving vehicles, an activity which requires sustained and permanent attention. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to amend its legislation so as to confine permanent exceptions to the normal rules on working hours to employees whose work is intermittent within the meaning of the Convention.

Part VI of the report form. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government to the effect that the country is having difficulty in supervising working conditions in private enterprises because the labour inspection services lack the necessary logistics. It also notes that the Labour Directorate has to intervene downstream in the event of disputes. Lastly, it notes that the Government is seeking technical assistance from the ILO in setting up a database for labour statistics. The Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), regarding measures to be taken to make the inspection services fully operational. It also hopes that with assistance from the Office, the Government will shortly be in a position to compile labour statistics that include data on the number of workers protected by the legislation giving effect to the Convention.