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

Working Conditions (Hotels and Restaurants) Convention, 1991 (No. 172) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1995)

Article 3 of the Convention. National policy for the hotel and catering sector. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 18.856 of 16 December 2011, which provides that workers in hotels and restaurants are entitled to 36 consecutive hours of weekly rest following 44 hours of work while the minimum period of rest may not be less than 16 hours in each 24-hour period. The Committee also notes the 2012 collective agreement for the hotel and restaurant sectoral group (Notice No. 47647/012, published on 27 November 2012) which sets minimum wage rates for the period 2012–15. Further, the Committee notes the Government’s indications concerning the technical training courses provided by the University of Labour of Uruguay as well as the introduction of a new programme for food, hotel and tourism which was launched on 26 March 2012. The Committee understands that tourism plays an important role for the national economy – representing 6 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product – and is also crucial in terms of employment creation. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate any steps taken or envisaged – in consultation with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned – with a view to adopting and implementing a national policy for the improvement of the working conditions of hotel and restaurant workers, as required under this Article of the Convention.