Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30) - Lebanon (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Daily and weekly limits of hours of work. With reference to its previous comment concerning permanent exceptions, the Committee notes a copy of Regulation No. 30 of 20 February 1956 provided by the Government, which allows working time, under section 31 of the Labour Code, to be increased to 54 hours per week in commercial establishments. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the Convention only provides for exceptions to the general rule of eight hours per day and 48 hours per week under strict conditions set out in Article 4 (distribution throughout the week within the limit of ten hours’ work per day), Article 5 (general interruption of work), Article 6 (exceptional cases) and Article 7 (permanent and temporary exceptions) of the Convention. The abovementioned decree, however, does not specify the circumstances under which working time could be increased to 54 hours per week. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on this point.

Articles 5, 6 and 7(1). Permanent exceptions. The Committee had previously noted that section 32 of the Labour Code authorizes increases in hours of work “in certain cases”, without specifying the specific circumstances. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the cases in which this is allowed in order to ensure that this provision is in full conformity with the abovementioned Articles of the Convention.

Article 7(2). Temporary exceptions. With reference to its previous comment concerning temporary exceptions for public employees, the Committee notes a copy of Decree No. 3379 of 11 July 2000 provided by the Government. It further notes that, according to section 5(3) of this Decree, additional hours worked by public employees may not exceed 100 hours per month. It notes, however, that the Government’s report is again silent on the specific circumstances in which temporary exceptions may be authorized for this category of employees. The Committee further notes that, while the additional hours worked may not exceed 100 hours per month, according to section 5(4) the compensation for overtime pay should not exceed 75 per cent of the monthly wage. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide further information on this matter.

Furthermore, the Committee had previously noted that section 43 of the draft amendment to the Labour Code would amend section 33 of the Labour Code and would reduce the daily hours of work authorized in the case of temporary exceptions from 12 to ten hours. In this regard, the Committee once again recalls that Article 7(2) of the Convention authorizes the establishment of temporary exceptions only in the following cases: (i) in case of accident, actual or threatened, force majeure, or urgent work to machinery or plant, but only so far as may be necessary to avoid serious interference with the ordinary working of the establishment; (ii) in order to prevent the loss of perishable goods or avoid endangering the technical results of the work; (iii) in order to allow for special work, such as stocktaking and the preparation of balance sheets, settlement days, liquidations, and the balancing and closing of accounts; and (iv) in order to enable establishments to deal with cases of abnormal pressure of work due to special circumstances, in so far as the employer cannot ordinarily be expected to resort to other measures. Moreover, Article 7(3) of the Convention requires, in the case of temporary exceptions, that regulations determine the number of additional hours of work which may be allowed in the day and in the year. The Committee trusts that the relevant draft amendments to the Labour Code will specify the precise circumstances in which temporary exceptions may be authorized, and the number of additional hours of work which may be authorized in the year. More generally, the Committee requests the Government to indicate any progress made regarding the draft amendments to the Labour Code, to which the Government has been referring to for over 15 years.