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

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Chile (Ratification: 1925)

Article 2 of the Convention. Maximum daily hours of work. Further to its numerous previous comments, the Committee recalls that, under section 28 of the Labour Code, working hours can be set at ten hours a day, provided that they do not exceed 45 hours in a week. The Committee nevertheless wishes to recall that, in accordance with Article 2(b) of the Convention, in industrial undertakings, when the hours of work on one or more days of the week are less than eight, the limit of eight hours may be exceeded but in no case shall the daily hours of work ever exceed nine hours in a day. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures, in the near future, to bring the national legislation into full conformity with Article 2(b) of the Convention.

In addition, the Committee notes the comments by the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) received on 22 May 2013 and forwarded to the Government on 8 October 2013. The CGT indicates that the draft Act of 7 January 2013 to adapt labour standards in the tourism sector, and which was approved on first reading by the Chamber of Deputies on 19 June 2013, is not in conformity with the standards on hours of work. The CGT indicates, in particular, that the right to an eight-hour working day and a 48-hour working week is not guaranteed to workers in the tourism sector and that some workers already work up to 60 hours in a week. According to the CGT, the draft Act would provide for a 13-hour working day and would have a serious impact on work–life balance. The CGT further states that the catering sector alone comprises 270,000 workers, 75 per cent of whom live far from their workplace. The Committee wishes to recall, however, that the Convention covers only industrial undertakings, while the Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30), does not apply, in accordance with Article 1(2)(b), to hotels, restaurants, boarding houses, clubs, cafes and other refreshment houses. The Committee nevertheless invites the Government to forward any comments it may wish to make in response to the observations of the CGT.

Article 6. Temporary exceptions. Additional hours. The Committee requests the Government to refer to the comments made under Article 7(2) and (3) of the Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30).