Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Zimbabwe (Ratification: 1980)

Article 2, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the Convention. Weekly rest day established by tradition or custom. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that many collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) identify Sunday as the weekly rest day for employees, as far as possible without distinction. It would appreciate receiving copies of CBAs containing such provisions.

Article 4. Total and partial exceptions. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations that the definition of the term “emergency work” contained in CBAs is wide enough to cover both permanent and temporary exceptions within the meaning of Article 4 of the Convention. In this connection, it notes the definitions contained in Statutory Instruments No. 321 of 1996, No. 340 of 1999, No. 269 of 2000 and No. 152 of 2001, copies of which are made available to the Office. They typically define the term as work which must be performed “immediately to prevent harm to, or loss of, the operations, the employer’s property, employees or to nearby persons or properties”, and in this sense, they cannot be deemed to cover anything but temporary exceptions. Recalling that Article 4 of the Convention permits each country to set permanent derogations from the weekly rest standard, provided that due attention is paid to all proper humanitarian and economic considerations and that meaningful consultations are held with the social partners, the Committee requests the Government to take action to ensure that total (or permanent) exceptions to the weekly rest standard are authorized under clearly specified conditions, and also transmit the full list of such exceptions, as required under Article 6 of the Convention.

Article 5. Compensatory rest. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it intends to provide guidance to the employment councils concerning the need to incorporate compensatory rest provisions in collective agreements. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in this regard and to provide copies of new CBAs containing clauses on compensatory rest irrespective of any monetary compensation for work performed on a weekly rest day.

Parts III and V of the report form. The Committee notes the comments made by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) regarding the non-observance of the weekly rest standard in the informal sector where workers need to work seven days a week without rest in order to sustain their livelihoods. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide together with its next report up to date information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, statistics on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, labour inspection results showing the number of offences observed and penalties imposed in connection with weekly rest, copies of applicable collective agreements containing provisions on weekly rest schemes, information on any difficulties encountered in the application and enforcement of relevant legislation, etc.

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 continued to respond to current needs (see GB.238/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 17–18). The Committee accordingly invites the Government to contemplate ratifying Convention No. 106 and to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken or envisaged in this respect.