Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2005, publiée 95ème session CIT (2006)

The Committee notes with interest the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention. It would like to have further information on the following points.

Article 6, paragraph 4, of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the manner in which respect for the traditions and customs of religious minorities is ensured as far as possible with regard to weekly rest.

Article 7. The Committee requests the Government to provide concrete information on the specific categories of persons or establishments covered by special weekly rest schemes, due to the nature of the work, the nature of the service performed by the establishment, the size of the population to be served, or the number of persons employed. The Committee also requests the Government to clarify whether such systems, if they exist, are developed with regard being paid to all proper social and economic considerations, as required by this Article of the Convention. Moreover, the Committee notes that, under the terms of section 39 of the Labour Code of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, section 50 of the Labour Code of the Republika Srpska and section 31 of the Labour Code of the district of Brcko, should it be necessary for the employee to work on a rest day, the employer must reach an agreement with that employee on a date for the compensatory rest day. In this regard, the Committee recalls that, the weekly rest being essential to the health and welfare of workers, the latter should not be deprived of the right to a weekly rest for overly long periods. The Committee refers to paragraph 3(a) of Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Recommendation, 1957 (No. 103), which indicates that persons to whom such special schemes apply do not work for more than three weeks without receiving the rest periods to which they are entitled.

Article 8. The Committee notes that the Labour Codes of the three territorial entities of the country refer to the possibility of working on the weekly rest day, if necessary, without indicating the exact circumstances in which such work might be required, for example, in cases of accidents, exceptional cases of pressure of work or to prevent the loss of perishable goods. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the conditions in which temporary exemptions can be authorized and to indicate the manner in which the representatives of employers and workers are consulted in order to determine the cases in which such exemptions can be granted.

Article 12. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether collective agreements are in place that guarantee more favourable conditions with regard to weekly rest than those envisaged by the legislation and, should this be the case, to provide it with copies of such legislation.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice providing, for example, extracts from inspection services reports, the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, the number and nature of contraventions reported, etc.