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

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Minimum period of service giving entitlement to annual holiday with pay. The Committee notes with concern that the Government’s report does not provide any new information in reply to its previous comments. It recalls that for over 30 years the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to section 129(2) of the Labour Code, which provides that the right to paid holiday is not obtained until after a period of service of 24, or even 30 months. In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to a new Labour Code which it indicates would take into consideration the observations of the Committee concerning the right of all persons to annual holiday with pay once one year of continuous service has been completed. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the text of the new Labour Code to which it refers or any other relevant text which has not been previously provided to the Office.

Article 8. System of sanctions. The Government does not provide any new information concerning the establishment of a system of sanctions in respect of employers failing to apply the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to establish a system of sanctions in accordance with this provision of the Convention.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Court decisions and application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that many relevant court decisions handed down are not communicated to the labour inspectorate and that the provisions of the Convention are not entirely applied, particularly with regard to days of leave per month of service. The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to collect and communicate relevant court decisions and requests it to supply full information of a general nature to enable it to assess the application of the Convention in practice.

The Committee also takes this opportunity to recall that, at the proposal of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body considered that Convention No. 52 was outdated and invited the States parties to this Convention to contemplate ratifying the Holidays with Pay Convention (Revised), 1970 (No. 132), which is not considered to be fully up to date but remains relevant in certain respects (see document GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, para. 12). The acceptance of the obligations of Convention No. 132 in respect of persons employed in economic sectors other than agriculture by a State party to Convention No. 52 involves ipso jure the immediate denunciation of the latter Convention. This approach would appear particularly desirable since the legislation in the Central African Republic, which provides for 18 working days of paid annual leave for each period of 12 months of effective service, is clearly more favourable than the requirements of Convention No. 52. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision that it may take relating to the ratification of Convention No. 132.