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

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments made under Article 1 of the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1).

Articles 4 and 6. Total or partial exceptions. The Committee notes that section 60 of the Factories Act, 1951, establishes that the weekly rest day is normally granted on a Sunday. However, this provision allows employers to oblige employees to work on a Sunday, provided that the labour inspector is informed and the workers are not employed for more than ten consecutive days without a full day of holiday. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide the recent information available to it, based on the reports of the labour inspection services, on the frequency and extent of work on Sundays in factories. The Committee also notes that section 70(2) of the Factories Act envisages the adoption of rules exempting certain categories of workers from the provisions relating to the weekly rest period. It further notes that section 71(2) of the Act allows the exemption of any or all of the adult workers in any factory, group or class of factories from these provisions to enable the factory or factories to deal with exceptional pressure of work. It observes that, in both of these cases, section 61 of the Factories Act requires the granting of a compensatory rest period to the workers concerned. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of any rules which have been adopted under section 70(2) of the Factories Act. It would also be grateful if the Government would provide the statistical information available to it on the number of exemptions granted under the terms of section 71(2) of the Factories Act, the number of workers concerned and the periods during which these exemptions are applied.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the number of inspection visits carried out. It requests the Government to continue providing general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for instance, extracts from reports of the inspection services and, if such statistics are available, information concerning the number of workers in industry covered by the legislation respecting the weekly rest period, the number and nature of contraventions reported and the measures taken to resolve them.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, based on the conclusions and proposals of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body has 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 accordingly invites the Government to envisage ratifying Convention No. 106 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this respect.