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

Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1973)

Article 7(1)(a) of the Convention. Permanent exceptions. Intermittent work. The Committee recalls that, under the terms of section 46 of the General Labour Act, the limits of maximum hours of work of 48 hours in the week and eight hours in the day do not apply to persons engaged in discontinuous work, who may work for up to 12 hours a day. The Committee notes, however, the Government’s indications that no text specifies the types of work covered by this exception. In this respect, the Committee recalls that, under Article 7(1)(a) of the Convention, regulations made by the public authority shall determine the permanent exceptions which may be allowed for classes of persons whose work is intermittent. The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary measures to determine the types of work covered by this exception.

Article 7(2). Additional hours of work. Further to its previous comments, the Committee recalls that the possibility of working additional hours under section 37 of Decree No. 224 of 1943 is covered by the temporary exceptions allowed under Article 7(2)(a) of the Convention. However, under the terms of section 50 of the General Labour Act, the possibility of working additional hours up to a maximum of two hours per day does not appear to be limited to the cases provided for in section 37 of Decree No. 224, a point on which the Committee has been commenting for more than 30 years. The Committee hopes that, in the context of drafting the new General Labour Act, the Government will take the necessary legislative measures to limit temporary exceptions to the rules on working hours to the cases provided for in Article 7(2) of the Convention.