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

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Belgium (Ratification: 1926)

Article 2(c) of the Convention. Shift work. The Committee notes that section 22(1) of the Labour Act of 16 March 1971, as amended, allows normal hours of work (eight hours a day and 38 hours a week) to be exceeded when the work is carried on by successive shifts. It notes that, in such cases, sections 26bis(1) and 27(1) of the same Act provide that the average weekly hours of work may not exceed 40 over a reference period of three months, which may be extended to one year, and that actual working time may not exceed 11 hours a day or 50 hours a week. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 2(c) of the Convention allows normal working hours in the context of shift work to be exceeded only if the average number of hours over a period of three weeks or less does not exceed eight per day and 48 per week. It requests the Government to indicate whether it intends to take steps to ensure that, in the context of shift work, the number of working hours does not exceed eight per day and 48 per week on average over a period of three weeks at most.

Article 5. Cases in which the normal limits of working hours cannot be observed. The Committee notes that, according to section 23 of the Labour Act, the King may authorize the limits the Act sets on working hours in branches of activity, enterprise categories or enterprise branches to be exceeded where these limits cannot be applied. It further notes that section 24 of the Act also allows the King to authorize these limits to be exceeded in the case of workers engaged in transport, loading and unloading, and workers in branches of activity where the time needed to perform the work cannot be determined precisely because of the nature of the work, or where the materials used are liable to deteriorate very rapidly. The Committee requests the Government to provide up to date information on the activities, enterprises and workers subject to a special regime governing hours of work under these provisions and to provide copies of the relevant texts.

The Committee notes the introduction of the so-called “plus minus conto” system by the Act of 27 December 2006 issuing various provisions. It notes that this special regime is largely intended for enterprises which are involved in the construction and assembly of automotive vehicles and the manufacture of parts and accessories for such vehicles and which meet a number of requirements, including that of belonging to a sector characterized by strong international competition and having production cycles that extend over several years involving the enterprises in substantial and prolonged increases or decreases in work. It notes that, in the context of the “plus minus conto” system, normal working-hour limits may be exceeded provided that the daily limit may not exceed ten hours and the weekly limit 48 hours, that in this case, the reference period may be extended to six years and that the work done in such a context is not treated as overtime. The Committee also notes that the establishment of such a system requires the conclusion of a collective labour agreement declared compulsory by the competent works council. While noting the many precautions that have been taken to prevent abuse in the establishment of such systems, and particularly the requirement for unanimity among the unions represented in the enterprise concerned, the Committee points out that a necessary consequence of establishing a reference period of six years is that the workers concerned may face very great flexibility in working hours without compensation for the overtime worked during periods of intense activity. The Committee requests the Government in its next report to provide any available information on the implementation of “plus minus conto” systems (number of enterprises and workers concerned, spread of working hours, results of any surveys conducted among workers in order to evaluate their conditions of work, etc.).

Article 6, paragraph 2. Remuneration of overtime. The Committee notes that section 29(1) of the Labour Act provides that overtime shall be remunerated in an amount exceeding by at least 50 per cent that of ordinary remuneration and that this additional amount shall be increased to 100 per cent when the overtime is worked on a Sunday or a holiday. It notes, however, that, pursuant to section 29(4), a collective labour agreement may allow this additional pay to be replaced by supplementary compensatory rest. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Article 6(2) of the Convention prescribes additional pay of at least 25 per cent in the case of temporary exceptions to normal limits of hours of work, whether or not there is compensatory rest for overtime worked. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of any collective agreements authorizing additional payment for overtime to be replaced by compensatory rest, as allowed by section 29(4) of the Labour Act.

Part VI of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government regarding the work of the labour inspection services between 2003 and 2008. It requests the Government to continue to provide information of this kind, specifying the number of inquiries, infringements noted, situations remedied and statements of offences, concerning regulations on hours of work. The Government is also asked to provide statistics on the number of workers protected by the legislation, and on the number of additional hours worked in the context of permanent or temporary exceptions.