Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) - Honduras (RATIFICATION: 1960)

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Article 6 of the Convention. Entitlement to weekly rest. Further to its previous comments, the Committee recalls that with the adoption of Decree No. 230-2010 of 4 November 2010, it would appear that workers hired under the National Hourly Employment Programme are not protected as regards entitlement to weekly rest. The Committee further notes that section 12 of Agreement No. STSS-002-2011 of 21 January 2011 lists the entitlements of workers hired under the temporary work programme but does not include entitlement to weekly rest, unless it is granted voluntarily by the employer. The Committee understands that the National Hourly Employment Programme was introduced for a period of 36 months ending in November 2013. It accordingly asks the Government to take the necessary steps, in the event of any extension of the National Hourly Employment Programme, or the adoption of any similar anti-crisis programmes, to ensure that all workers have the right to weekly rest, in accordance with the Convention.

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Article 6 of the Convention. Right to weekly rest. The Committee notes the observations of 31 August 2010 and 30 March 2011 made by the Single Confederation of Workers of Honduras (CUTH), the Workers’ General Central Union (CGT) and the Workers’ Central Union of Honduras (CTH) as well as the Government’s reply of 22 November 2011, concerning the application of the Convention. These comments refer to a draft decree to establish a national anti crisis plan for job creation, which has since been adopted and is now Decree No. 230-2010 of 4 November 2010. The Committee notes that section 7 of the Decree provides that workers hired under the anti-crisis programme are subject exclusively to the programme’s provisions as regards their rights and obligations and the benefits to which they are entitled. It notes that section 7 also provides that the workers concerned will nonetheless enjoy the fundamental rights established in the Labour Code and the eight ILO fundamental Conventions. In the Committee’s view, as currently worded, this provision suggests that only the provisions of the Labour Code relating to freedom of association, the right to collective bargaining, the prohibition of forced labour and child labour and non discrimination apply to these workers, to the exclusion of the provisions on weekly rest among others. This view appears to be confirmed by the Government in its reply to the observations of CUTH, CGT and CTH. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate how it is ensured that workers hired under the anti-crisis programme established by Decree No. 230-2010 effectively enjoy their right to weekly rest in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

Finally, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the conclusions of the ILO Tripartite Meeting of Experts on Working Time Arrangements, held in October 2011, according to which the provisions of existing ILO standards relating to daily and weekly hours of work, weekly rest, paid annual leave, part time and night work, remain relevant in the twenty-first century, and should be promoted in order to facilitate decent work. The Experts also emphasized the importance of working time, its regulation, and organization and management, to: (a) workers and their health and well-being, including opportunities for balancing working and non-work time; (b) the productivity and competitiveness of enterprises; and (c) effective responses to economic and labour market crises.

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Article 3 of the Convention. Declaration of application to certain establishments. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information that the national legislation on workers’ entitlement to weekly rest applies across the board. The Committee observes in this connection that the Government provides no information on any declaration of application to the following establishments: (a) establishments, institutions and administrative services providing personal services; (b) post and telecommunications services; (c) newspaper undertakings; (d) theatres and places of public entertainment. The Committee reminds the Government, that according to Article 3, paragraph 3, of the Convention, each Member which has ratified the Convention shall indicate in its annual reports the extent to which effect has been given, or is proposed to be given, to the provisions of the Convention in respect of the establishments referred to above and any progress made in applying the Convention progressively in such establishments. It therefore once again asks the Government to consider the possibility of sending a declaration to the Office indicating that it accepts the obligations of the Convention with regard to these establishments.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, extracts of reports by the inspection services indicating the number and nature of contraventions of the rules on weekly rest and the penalties imposed, information on the number of workers covered by the legislation, copies of collective agreements containing clauses on weekly rest, etc.

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Article 3 of the Convention. Declaration of application to certain establishments. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comment. In the opinion of the Legal Services Department of the Labour and Social Security Secretariat, labour legislation applies to all persons and ensures weekly rest for all workers employed in trading establishments or offices. Therefore, as the Committee understands it, the application of the Convention to the following establishments would not pose any particular difficulty: (a) establishments, institutions and administrative services providing personal services; (b) post and telecommunication services; (c) newspaper undertakings; and (d) theatres and places of public entertainment. It therefore again requests the Government to consider the possibility of sending a declaration to the Office indicating that it accepts the obligations of the Convention with regard to these establishments, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention.

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The Committee notes the Government’s report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Noting that the Labour Code is applicable to all workers, the Committee invites the Government to communicate a declaration to the Office, according to paragraph 2 of this Article, accepting the obligations of the Convention with respect to: (a) establishments, institutions and administrative services providing personal services; (b) post and telecommunication services; (c) newspaper undertakings; and (d) theatres and places of public entertainment.