Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - China - Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Ratification: 1997)

normal'>(notification: 1997)

Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions. Compensatory rest. The Committee notes that section 19(3) of the Employment Ordinance provides that if any employee is required to work on a rest day by reason of a breakdown of machinery or plant or other unforeseen emergency, the employer is required to give an alternative rest day within the period of 30 days following the rest day that was worked. It further notes that section 20 of the Ordinance envisages the possibility for employees to work voluntarily on the weekly rest day, without the requirement that a compensatory rest period should be granted. While noting that this provision was the subject of a special notification when the Convention was ratified, the Committee recalls that Article 5 of the Convention establishes that provision shall be made, as far as possible, for compensatory periods of rest to be granted where the weekly rest period is suspended or diminished. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the importance of compensatory rest periods to protect the health and well-being of workers and to the risk of abuse arising out of the difficulties involved in ensuring the truly voluntary nature of decisions by workers to work on their weekly rest day. The Committee therefore requests the Government to consider favourably the adoption of measures with a view to ensuring, on the one hand, periods of compensatory rest in all cases of the suspension or diminution of the weekly rest period and, on the other, that the application of section 20 referred to above does not give rise to a situation in which workers are entitled to purely and simply relinquish their right to weekly rest in exchange for monetary compensation, since the spirit of the Convention requires all workers to be able to benefit from a period of rest of at least 24 consecutive hours in each period of seven days. Even where the decision is voluntary, the fact of authorizing under certain conditions a working week of seven days would leave the Convention bereft of any significance.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the number of labour inspectors, the number of workers covered by the Convention and the number of summonses involving failure to grant rest days which resulted in convictions. The Committee 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 labour inspection services indicating the number of contraventions reported in relation to the weekly rest period and the penalties imposed, copies of collective agreements containing clauses relating to weekly rest, etc.

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). In this respect, it reminds the Government that it may, if it so wishes, request technical assistance from the Office, particularly in relation to legislative amendments arising out of the possible ratification of Convention No. 106. The Committee invites the Government to envisage ratifying Convention No. 106 and to keep the Office informed of any decision adopted or envisaged in this respect.