Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Belize (Ratification: 1999)

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

Articles 4 and 5 of the Convention. Total and partial exceptions – Compensatory rest. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that the revision of the labour legislation has now been initiated and that the Labour Advisory Board has already concluded its examination of the provisions of the Labour Act (Chap. 297) on weekly rest. In this respect, the Committee notes with interest that the Board recommended to amend section 118 of the Labour Act so as to provide for a compensatory rest for work done on rest days. It also notes that it was proposed to allow for the postponement or accumulation of weekly rest over a certain period of time for those workers who are employed far from their place of residence and for whom it would not be impracticable to benefit from a day off every week. The Committee wishes to recall, in this connection, that Paragraph 3(a) of the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Recommendation, 1957 (No. 103), advises 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. However, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to section 119 of the Labour Act, which excludes broad categories of workers, such as shop assistants, from the coverage of the weekly rest provisions, and also gives wide discretionary power to the Minister of Labour to exempt any undertaking, business or class of workers from the application of the same provisions upon application being made to the commissioner by any employers’ or workers’ organization. The Committee is bound to recall that in view of the importance of the weekly rest for the workers’ health and well-being, any exceptions to the general 24-hour weekly rest rule must be in compliance with the conditions set out in the Convention (i.e. account taken of all social and economic considerations, and employers’ and workers’ organizations properly consulted) and recourse to such exceptions should be kept to what is strictly necessary. The Committee therefore requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any further progress in the process of revision of the Labour Act and to transmit a copy of the new text once it has been adopted.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Articles 2–7 of the Convention. Weekly rest. The Committee recalls its previous comment, in which it drew the Government’s attention to several provisions of the Convention, in particular Articles 4 (total or partial exceptions), 5 (compensatory rest) and 7 (posting of notices) of the Convention, that need to be given effect before legislative conformity is attained. In its last report, the Government indicates that, following the reactivation of the Labour Advisory Board in March 2009, the process for the revision of the labour legislation will be initiated and that the Ministry of Labour is currently in the process of identifying a consultant who will work along with the Labour Advisory Board to conduct the review of the legislation. While noting these explanations, the Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any further developments concerning the revision of the Labour Act and hopes that the Committee’s comments will be given due consideration in drafting the new labour legislation. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that the Government may draw upon the Office’s advisory services to ensure that any draft legislative text effectively reflects the requirements of the Convention.

Finally, with regard to the possibility of ratifying the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106), the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the one of the key functions of the newly appointed tripartite Labour Advisory Board is to review international labour Conventions adopted by the International Labour Conference and to make recommendations, regarding their eventual ratification or incorporation into the national legislation. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to keep the Office informed of the outcome of the tripartite consultations concerning the possible ratification of Convention No. 106.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that under section 119(2) of Labour Act (Cap. 297), 2001, the Minister is empowered to exempt from the provisions on the hours of work, overtime and holidays, any undertakings, business or establishment or any part thereof or any class of workers. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether any such Ministerial Orders have so far been issued concerning workers covered by the Convention, and if so, to transmit the text and specify how weekly rest is regulated for those workers.

Article 4, paragraph 1, read in conjunction with Article 6, paragraph 1. The Committee understands that even though the Labour Act contains no provision on total or partial exceptions from the provisions on weekly rest, work on a day of rest is, in principle, permitted on the sole condition that the employer and the worker have so agreed and cash compensation is paid at the overtime rate. The Committee is obliged to observe, in this respect, that any exceptions to the general standard must be in compliance with the conditions set out in the Convention (i.e. account taken of all proper humanitarian and economic considerations and consultations with responsible associations of employers and workers) and that therefore recourse to such exceptions must be limited to what is strictly necessary. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide additional information on the conditions under which and the limits within which exceptions to the weekly rest may be authorized with a view to protect workers from any risk of abuse.

Article 5. The Committee notes that, whereas section 118(1) of the Labour Act requires work performed on Sunday or other agreed rest day to be remunerated at a rate of not less than one-and-one-half times the ordinary rate of pay, no provision is made for compensatory rest. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that according to the terms of the Convention the rest period cannot be replaced by the payment of compensation but must be granted, as far as possible, regardless of any such cash compensation. It therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure conformity with the Convention by providing, as far as possible, compensatory rest periods for the workers concerned.

Article 7. The Committee notes that there is no legislative provision to ensure that workers are kept duly informed of the days and hours of collective rest, for instance, by notices posted at the workplace, rosters or other suitable means. It therefore asks the Government to take appropriate action to give full effect to the requirements of the Convention in this respect.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for instance, statistics on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services showing the number of violations observed and sanctions imposed, full particulars on authorized total or partial exceptions, etc.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, based on the conclusions and proposals of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body has decided that the ratification of up to date Conventions, including the Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14), and the Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106), should be encouraged because they continued to respond to current needs (see GB.238/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 17–18). The Committee accordingly invites the Government to contemplate ratifying Convention No. 106 and to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken or envisaged in this respect.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and wishes to draw attention to the following points.

Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that under section 119(2) of Labour Act (Cap. 297), 2001, the Minister is empowered to exempt from the provisions on the hours of work, overtime and holidays, any undertakings, business or establishment or any part thereof or any class of workers. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether any such Ministerial Orders have so far been issued concerning workers covered by the Convention, and if so, to transmit the text and specify how weekly rest is regulated for those workers.

Article 4, paragraph 1, read in conjunction with Article 6, paragraph 1. The Committee understands that even though the Labour Act contains no provision on total or partial exceptions from the provisions on weekly rest, work on a day of rest is, in principle, permitted on the sole condition that the employer and the worker have so agreed and cash compensation is paid at the overtime rate. The Committee is obliged to observe, in this respect, that any exceptions to the general standard must be in compliance with the conditions set out in the Convention (i.e. account taken of all proper humanitarian and economic considerations and consultations with responsible associations of employers and workers) and that therefore recourse to such exceptions must be limited to what is strictly necessary. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to provide additional information on the conditions under which and the limits within which exceptions to the weekly rest may be authorized with a view to protect workers from any risk of abuse.

Article 5. The Committee notes that, whereas section 118(1) of the Labour Act requires work performed on Sunday or other agreed rest day to be remunerated at a rate of not less than one-and-one-half times the ordinary rate of pay, no provision is made for compensatory rest. The Committee recalls, in this connection, that according to the terms of the Convention the rest period cannot be replaced by the payment of compensation but must be granted, as far as possible, regardless of any such cash compensation. It therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure conformity with the Convention by providing, as far as possible, compensatory rest periods for the workers concerned.

Article 7. The Committee notes that there is no legislative provision to ensure that workers are kept duly informed of the days and hours of collective rest, for instance, by notices posted at the workplace, rosters or other suitable means. It therefore asks the Government to take appropriate action to give full effect to the requirements of the Convention in this respect.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply general information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for instance, statistics on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services showing the number of violations observed and sanctions imposed, full particulars on authorized total or partial exceptions, etc.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its first report. It asks the Government to supply with its second report a copy of the Labour Act, as revised in 2000 and of any other relevant legislation applying the Convention. Moreover, the Committee requests the Government to provide full and detailed information for each Article of the Convention on the provisions of legislation, including administrative regulations, or other measures applying it and on each of the questions set out in the report form.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes from information received with the Government report, that the number of complaints and inspections has dramatically declined in the period from 1999 to 2001, from 637 to 150 complaints and from 169 to three inspections. The Committee asks the Government to provide further explanations for this phenomenon, indicating also whether the statistics referred to only relate to matters concerning weekly rest. The Government is requested to continue to provide the relevant statistics for the following years in its next report.