Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Mauritius (Ratification: 1969)

Article 2(3) of the Convention. Weekly rest day established by tradition or custom. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it referred to the principle of uniformity (weekly rest to be granted, whenever possible, simultaneously to all the persons concerned and to coincide, wherever possible, with the traditional day of rest) as being one of the basic principles of the Convention. The Committee also expressed the view that any exceptions to the general weekly rest scheme for operational or technical reasons should be strictly limited and clearly defined. In reply to the concerns raised by the Confederation of Private Sector Workers (CTSP) regarding the workers’ obligation to work on two Sundays every month, by virtue of section 14(5) of the Employment Rights Act 2008, the Government indicates that under section 3 of the Employment Rights Act 2008, the Act does not apply to approximately 80 per cent of the workers in the private sector whose employment conditions are governed by the 30 existing remuneration orders regulations. The Committee observes, in this connection, that section 3 of the Act excludes from its scope of application workers of statutory bodies who are governed by the recommendations made by the Pay Research Bureau whereas remuneration orders regulations are issued by the Minister of Labour on recommendation of the National Remuneration Board, as provided for in section 93 of the Employment Relations Act 2008. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide additional explanations on the categories of workers excluded from the scope of the Employment Rights Act.

Moreover, irrespective of the number of workers covered by section 14(5) of the Employment Rights Act, the Committee reiterates its view that the provision that permits to fix Sunday as the day of rest at least twice a month unless another day is agreed between the worker and the employer, is not fully consistent with the requirements of Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee recalls, in this regard, that the Convention allows for total or partial exceptions by means of drawing up a list which needs to be communicated to the Office (Articles 4 and 6). Noting the Government’s statement that consideration is given to the re-examination of section 14(5) of the Employment Rights Act in light of the Committee’s comments, the Committee would appreciate receiving detailed information on: (i) the categories of workers who may be exceptionally required to perform Sunday work due to the inherent requirements of the sector concerned; and (ii) the measures taken to ensure that the Employment Rights Act reflects in unqualified terms the principle of Sunday rest. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to reply to the points raised in the direct request addressed to the Government in 2008, particularly as regards compensatory rest (Article 5).

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.