Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Libya (Ratification: 1971)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Scope of application – Entitlement to weekly rest. The Committee notes that under section 15 of the new Labour Code No. 12 of 2010, which reproduces section 89 of the previous Labour Code of 1970, shift workers, cleaners, watchmen and persons working to meet public need are excluded from provisions respecting the entitlement to weekly rest. The Committee requests the Government to indicate if any special regulations have been issued concerning these categories of workers and to provide a copy of any relevant text that may have been adopted in this respect.

Article 5. Compensatory rest periods. The Committee notes that under section 16 of the Labour Code, if an employee has worked on his/her weekly rest day, he or she shall be entitled either to an another rest day within the next three days or to cash payment for the hours worked at double the ordinary wage rate. The Committee wishes to recall that under Article 5 of the Convention, when workers are required to perform work on their day of rest, they should receive, as far as possible, compensatory rest regardless of any cash compensation, with a view to protecting their health and well-being. Moreover, the Committee notes that section 14 of the Labour Code, which reproduces section 88 of the previous Labour Code of 1970, allows workers employed in remote locations or far from built-up areas, or workers employed in work which by its nature or circumstances requires continuous presence, to accumulate their weekly rest over a period that does not exceed eight weeks. The Committee wishes to recall, in this respect, that according to the spirit of the Convention workers should enjoy a minimum period of rest and leisure at reasonably short intervals. In this connection, it refers to Paragraph 3 of the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Recommendation, 1957 (No. 103), which indicates that persons to whom special weekly rest schemes apply should not work for more than three weeks without receiving the rest periods to which they are entitled. Noting that a new draft Labour Code is currently under preparation, the Committee requests the Government to consider appropriate steps in order to ensure that the national legislation is fully aligned with the requirements of the Convention.