Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2009, publiée 99ème session CIT (2010)

Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions and compensatory rest. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it noted that section 10 of Decree No. 96-203 of 7 March 1996 on working time and section 24.1 of the Labour Code appear to authorize total or partial exceptions pursuant to Article 4 of the Convention without the Decree providing for consultation with responsible associations of employers and workers, as required by Article 4. The Committee wishes to remind the Government that such consultations are required to determine the cases in which exceptions may be granted. The Committee also recalls that Article 5 of the Convention provides that compensatory rest should be granted as far as possible wherever the weekly rest period is suspended or diminished. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the importance of compensatory rest for the protection of the health and well‑being of workers and to the risk of abuses owing to the difficulty of ensuring the genuinely voluntary nature of the workers’ decision to work during their weekly rest day. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure: (i) that total or partial exceptions are granted having special regard to all proper humanitarian and economic considerations and after consultation with responsible associations of employers and workers; and (ii) that any persons who are obliged to work on their weekly rest day are granted compensatory periods of rest.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to give a general description of the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, extracts from reports of the inspection services indicating the number of infringements reported with regard to weekly rest, the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, copies of relevant collective agreements, etc.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, on the basis of the conclusions and proposals of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body decided that the ratification of up to date Conventions, including the Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14), and the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106), should be encouraged because they continue to respond to current needs (see GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 17–18). The Committee therefore invites the Government to contemplate ratifying Convention No. 106 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or contemplated in this respect.