Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Home Work Convention, 1996 (No. 177) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 2009)

Article 3 of the Convention. National policy on home work. The Committee notes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention, in particular the Law Amending the Labour Code (State Gazette No. 33 of 26 April 2011) by adding new section VIII(a) “Additional conditions for home work” in Chapter Five, “Formation and Alteration of Employment Contract Relationships”. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that this legislative amendment was based on the National Agreement on the regulation of home work, signed on 24 November 2010 by several representative employers’ associations and workers’ organizations. The Committee would appreciate receiving a copy of the National Agreement of 2010 on the regulation of home work.

Article 4(2)(g) and (h). Equality of treatment – Minimum age and maternity protection. The Committee notes that section 107(d) of the Labour Code which sets out the employer’s obligation to ensure equality of treatment between homeworkers and other employees in areas such as remuneration, health and safety, social security or training, does not make any specific reference to either minimum age or maternity protection. The Committee also notes that the Government’s report is silent on this point. In this connection, it is noted that section 301 of the Labour Code provides that the general minimum age for admission to employment is 16 years and that section 163 of the Labour Code provides for 135 days of maternity leave. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to clarify whether the provisions of the Labour Code on minimum age and maternity protection, including maternity leave entitlement, apply also to home workers without exception.

Article 9 and Part V of the report form. Enforcement measures – Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, as the legislation regulating home workers has only recently come into effect, inspection reports and labour statistics on home work are not yet available. The Committee understands, however, that surveys on the employment conditions of homeworkers have been carried out in the context of the preparation of the National Agreement of 2010 showing that the homeworking sector includes more than 500,000 people, mostly women working in the garment and footwear sectors and paid on a piece-rate basis. The Committee requests the Government to provide together with its next report information of a general nature concerning the application of the Convention in practice, including statistics on the number of workers covered by the Convention, if possible broken down by gender and age, inspection results, and copies of official reports or research studies concerning the working conditions of homeworkers.