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

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Belize (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that under section 119(2) of Labour Act (Cap. 297), 2001, the Minister is empowered to exempt from the provisions on the hours of work, overtime and holidays, any undertakings, business or establishment or any part thereof or any class of workers. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether any such Ministerial Orders have so far been issued concerning workers covered by the Convention, and if so, to transmit the text and specify how weekly rest is regulated for those workers.

Article 4, paragraph 1, read in conjunction with Article 6, paragraph 1. The Committee understands that even though the Labour Act contains no provision on total or partial exceptions from the provisions on weekly rest, work on a day of rest is, in principle, permitted on the sole condition that the employer and the worker have so agreed and cash compensation is paid at the overtime rate. The Committee is obliged to observe, in this respect, that any exceptions to the general standard must be in compliance with the conditions set out in the Convention (i.e. account taken of all proper humanitarian and economic considerations and consultations with responsible associations of employers and workers) and that therefore recourse to such exceptions must be limited to what is strictly necessary. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide additional information on the conditions under which and the limits within which exceptions to the weekly rest may be authorized with a view to protect workers from any risk of abuse.

Article 5. The Committee notes that, whereas section 118(1) of the Labour Act requires work performed on Sunday or other agreed rest day to be remunerated at a rate of not less than one-and-one-half times the ordinary rate of pay, no provision is made for compensatory rest. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that according to the terms of the Convention the rest period cannot be replaced by the payment of compensation but must be granted, as far as possible, regardless of any such cash compensation. It therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure conformity with the Convention by providing, as far as possible, compensatory rest periods for the workers concerned.

Article 7. The Committee notes that there is no legislative provision to ensure that workers are kept duly informed of the days and hours of collective rest, for instance, by notices posted at the workplace, rosters or other suitable means. It therefore asks the Government to take appropriate action to give full effect to the requirements of the Convention in this respect.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for instance, statistics on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services showing the number of violations observed and sanctions imposed, full particulars on authorized total or partial exceptions, 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.