Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30) - Kuwait (RATIFICATION: 1961)

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Article 7(2) and (3) of the Convention. Temporary exceptions – Limit on the number of additional hours. The Committee requests the Government to refer to the comments made under Article 6 of the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1).

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Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments made under Articles 1 and 2 of the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1).

Article 7(2)(b) and (d). Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that section 66 of the new Private Sector Labour Law No. 6 of 2010, which essentially reproduces section 34 of the Previous Law No. 38 of 1964, provides that employees may be requested to perform overtime if this is necessary for avoiding a certain loss or completing such work exceeding the daily required work. The Committee recalls that under Article 7(2) of the Convention temporary exceptions may only be granted in specific and narrowly-defined circumstances, including the need to prevent the loss of perishable goods or avoid endangering the technical results of the work; as well as enable establishments to deal with cases of abnormal pressure of work due to special circumstances, in so far as the employer cannot ordinarily be expected to resort to other measures. In contrast, the formulation used in section 66 of the private sector labour law appears too broad as compared to the authorized scope of temporary exceptions under the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary action to ensure that the exceptions provided for in section 66 of the new Private Sector Labour Law No. 6 of 2010 are strictly limited to the exceptions provided for in Article 7(2) of the Convention.

Article 7(3). Limit on the number of additional hours. The Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments made under Article 6(2) of Convention No. 1.

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

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See comments made under the observation on Convention No. 1.

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See comments made under the observation on Convention No. 1.

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See under Convention No. 1, as follows:

The Committee notes the Government's report and the comments provided in reply to its previous observation. The Government states that the possibility of applying to the public sector the new regulations respecting exceptions from the normal hours of work, which has been in force since the adoption of Ministerial Order No. 104/94 is being examined by the public authorities. It also provides information on the provisions of section 1 of Order No. 105/94, which, according to the Government, only authorizes exceptions from the normal hours of work within the limits set out in Order No. 104/94. The Committee notes this information and hopes that the Government will therefore amend accordingly paragraph 3 of Order No. 105/94, which refers to the Labour Law in the Private Sector (No. 38/64). An amendment of this nature would make it possible to overcome any ambiguity which may still exist with regard to the provisions which are applicable concerning the authorized limits for overtime work. Finally, the Government indicates its commitment to extending the application of the new Labour Law in the Private Sector, which is still in draft form, to all categories of workers, including temporary workers and workers in small and medium-sized enterprises. The Committee once again hopes that it will be adopted in the near future and requests the Government to keep the ILO informed of the progress achieved in this respect.

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1. With reference to its previous observation, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of Ministerial Order No. 104/94 fixing maximum permissible overtime in the private sector at six hours a week and 180 hours a year, in accordance with Article 7, paragraph 3, of the Convention. The Committee notes however that this new regulation applies only to workers in private sector enterprises. It recalls that Article 1 of the Convention provides that the Convention applies to workers in both private and public establishments, and trusts that similar provisions will shortly be adopted for public sector establishments.

2. The Committee draws the Government's attention to the ambiguous wording of section 1(3) of Order No. 015/94 concerning the prohibition of forced labour in private sector enterprises. The text refers to the Law on labour in the private sector (No. 38/64) on which the Committee commented earlier pointing out that it contained no provisions on maximum permissible monthly or yearly overtime, which could give rise to infringements. Since Order No. 104/94 takes account of these comments, the Committee hopes that the Government will shortly take the necessary steps to remove this ambiguity by referring either to Order No. 104/94 as supplementing the provisions of Law No. 38/64, or to the relevant sections of the forthcoming law on labour in the private sector.

3. The Committee notes the draft revision of Law No. 38/64 as amended by the Committee on Labour Standards and Conventions. It would be grateful if the Government would keep the ILO informed of developments regarding the draft revision and hopes that it will be adopted in the near future. In this connection, the Committee asks the Government to state whether the scope of the new Law will be extended to temporary workers and workers in small enterprises, as was mentioned in the Government's last reply to the Committee's comments.

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See the comments made in the observation concerning Convention No. 1 and the application of Articles 1, 2 and 6, paragraphs 1(b) and 2, of that Convention, as follows:

1. Private sector

The Committee notes the Government's statement that the Labour Bill, which has been submitted to the Council of Ministers, provides for extension of the new Code to temporary workers and workers in small enterprises. The Committee trusts that the Bill, to which the Government has been referring for many years, will be adopted shortly and that it will give full effect to Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention.

Article 6, paragraphs 1(b) and 2. The Committee notes that the Government maintains its previous position according to which the fixing of a limit of two hours' overtime per day to meet exceptional increases in workload is sufficient to give effect to these provisions of the Convention. The current legislation (Act No. 38 of 1964) also limits overtime to two hours a day in the event of serious accidents which are imminent or which have taken place, to repair the damage caused by such accidents, or to avoid certain loss. While the Convention does not provide for limits in such cases, which are comtemplated in Article 3, it does provide under Article 6, paragraph 1(b), for recourse to overtime so that establishments may deal with exceptional cases of pressure of work, and paragraph 2 of that Article requires that a maximum number of additional hours be fixed. The limit of two hours per day fixed by the Government might permit unduly high weekly or annual working hours which, in the Committee's opinion, might will lead to violation of the spirit of this Convention (see in this connection the Committee's 1967 General Survey on this instrument, ILC, 51st Session, 1967, Report III (Part IV), third part, paragraph 239). The Committee therefore again expresses the hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to fix, in the case in question, a reasonable monthly or annual limit in conformity with the Convention's objectives.

2. Public sector

Article 6, paragraph 1(b). With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the legislation currently in force (Ministerial Order No. 34 of 1977 concerning overtime in the public sector), still does not determine with sufficient precision the conditions and limits within which exceptions to normal working hours may be authorized. The Committee recalls that these exceptions must remain within limits which are in conformity with the Convention's objectives. It therefore again asks the Government to take the necessary steps to determine the conditions in which recourse to overtime is permitted, and to fix a reasonable annual or monthly limit on the number of additional hours which may be authorized.

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See comments made under Articles 1, 2 and 6, paragraphs 1(b) and 2, of the observation on Convention No. 1, as follows:

1. Private sector

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. In its previous reports the Government had mentioned draft labour legislation which would cover temporary workers and workers in small undertakings. These workers are not covered by the 1964 Labour Act which is now in force. The Committee requests the Government to communicate information on the present state of this draft.

Articles 6(1(b) and 2) of the Convention. The Government has repeated its previous position according to which the fixing of a limit of two hours of supplementary work per day to meet extraordinary increases in workload is sufficient to give effect to these provisions of the Convention. The national legislation also limits to two hours per day recourse to supplementary hours in case of serious accidents which are imminent or which have taken place, to repair the damage caused by such accidents, or to avoid certain losses. While the Convention does not provide for limits to be set for such cases, which are contemplated in its Article 3, it does provide for instance under Article 6, paragraph 1(b), for recourse to supplementary hours so that establishments may deal with exceptional cases of pressure of work, and paragraph 2 of that Article requires that the maximum number of additional hours be fixed. The limit of two hours per day fixed by the Government might imply considerably too many weekly or annual working hours which, in the Committee's opinion, could be in direct contradiction to the spirit in which this Convention was drafted (see in this connection the Committee's 1967 general survey on this instrument, International Labour Conference, 51st Session, 1967, Report III (Part IV), third part, paragraph 239). The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would take the measures necessary to fix a reasonable monthly or annual limit in this case, in conformity with the Convention's objectives.

2. Public sector

Article 6, paragraph 1(b). As the Committee has already pointed out in previous comments, Ministerial Order No. 34 of 1977 with respect to overtime in the public sector does not determine with sufficient precision the conditions and limits on the authorization of exceptions to normal working hours. It recalls that such exceptions must remain within limits which are in conformity with the Convention's objectives. The Committee therefore again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to determine the conditions under which recourse to overtime is permitted, and to fix a reasonable annual or monthly limit on the number of additional hours which may be authorized.

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See the comments made under Articles 1, 2 and 6, paragraphs 1(b) and 2, of the observation on Convention No. 1, as follows:

The Committee notes the information communicated by the Government in its last report. It notes with regret that no measures have yet been taken to give effect to the following provisions of the Convention, which have been the subject of comments for many years.

1. Private sector

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. In its previous reports the Government had mentioned draft labour legislation which would cover temporary workers and workers in small undertakings. These workers are not covered by the 1964 Labour Act which is now in force. The Committee requests the Government to communicate information on the present state of this draft.

Articles 6(1(b) and 2) of the Convention. The Government has repeated its previous position according to which the fixing of a limit of two hours of supplementary work per day to meet extraordinary increases in workload is sufficient to give effect to these provisions of the Convention. The national legislation also limits to two hours per day recourse to supplementary hours in case of serious accidents which are imminent or which have taken place, to repair the damage caused by such accidents, or to avoid certain losses. While the Convention does not provide for limits to be set for such cases, which are contemplated in its Article 3, it does provide for instance under Article 6, paragraph 1(b), for recourse to supplementary hours so that establishments may deal with exceptional cases of pressure of work, and paragraph 2 of that Article requires that the maximum number of additional hours be fixed. The limit of two hours per day fixed by the Government might imply considerably too many weekly or annual working hours which, in the Committee's opinion, could be in direct contradiction to the spirit in which this Convention was drafted (see in this connection the Committee's 1967 general survey on this instrument, International Labour Conference, 51st Session, 1967, Report III (Part IV), third part, paragraph 239). The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would take the measures necessary to fix a reasonable monthly or annual limit in this case, in conformity with the Convention's objectives.

2. Public sector

Article 6, paragraph 1(b). As the Committee has already pointed out in previous comments, Ministerial Order No. 34 of 1977 with respect to overtime in the public sector does not determine with sufficient precision the conditions and limits on the authorisation of exceptions to normal working hours. It recalls that such exceptions must remain within limits which are in conformity with the Convention's objectives. The Committee therefore again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to determine the conditions under which recourse to overtime is permitted, and to fix a reasonable annual or monthly limit on the number of additional hours which may be authorised.