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

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Viet Nam (Ratification: 1994)

Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions – Compensatory rest. The Committee notes that section 110 of the new Labour Code 2012, which came into effect on 1 May 2013, essentially reproduces section 72(3) of the Labour Code 1994, which provides that employees who perform work of a special nature and are deprived of their weekly rest day, must be ensured at least four days off in a month. Moreover, the Committee draws attention to section 106(2)(c) of the Labour Code 2012, which provides that after a period of a number of consecutive days of overtime work during one month, the employer must arrange for compensatory leave for the duration in which the employee has not taken leave. 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. Finally, the Committee notes that under Chapter 2, section 4(3)(b), of Decree No. 45/2013/ND-CP of 5 October 2013, where compensatory rest periods are not available, overtime pay must be given as prescribed in section 97 of the Labour Code. 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. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to consider appropriate steps in order to ensure that the national legislation is fully aligned with the provisions of the Convention in this respect.