Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 2005, Publicación: 95ª reunión CIT (2006)

Convenio sobre las horas de trabajo (industria), 1919 (núm. 1) - India (Ratificación : 1921)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the explanations provided in reply to its previous observation. It wishes to raise the following points in this regard.

Article 6 of the Convention. Permanent exceptions. Referring to its previous comments following the observation made by Central Railway Mazadoor Sangh, the Committee notes that, by virtue of section 132(1) of the Railways Act of 1989, a railway servant whose employment is essentially intermittent may not be employed for more than 75 hours in any week. Moreover, the Committee notes that, according to the indications supplied by the Government in its latest report, the Hours of Employment Regulations were adopted following the recommendations made by the Railway Labour Tribunal, 1969. The Government also specifies that this Tribunal was established following an agreement concluded between the trade union organizations and the management of the railways. The Government therefore considers that the Tribunal’s recommendations ensue from an agreement between the trade union organizations and the Government.

The Committee recalls, however, that the regulations establishing permanent exceptions to the normal duration of work must be made after consultations carried out directly with employers’ and workers’ organizations and must specifically address the issues dealt with as a part of those consultations. Consequently, it requests the Government to indicate whether these organizations have been effectively consulted on the setting of a 75-hour limit to the duration of the working week for railway servants whose work is essentially intermittent. The Committee considers that the agreement concluded between the trade union organizations and the management of the railway regarding the establishment of the Railway Labour Tribunal does not seem to suffice in this regard. The Government is also invited to forward a copy of the regulation on the hours of work and the recommendations adopted by the abovementioned tribunal, which have, as yet, not been made available to the Office.

Temporary exceptions. The Committee notes that, by virtue of section 132(4) of the Railways Act of 1989, the competent authority may make temporary exceptions to the duration of the normal working week if it is of the opinion that such exceptions are necessary to avoid serious interference with the ordinary working of the railway; or in cases of accident, actual or threatened; or when urgent work is required to be done, in any emergency which could not have been foreseen or prevented; or in other cases of exceptional pressure of work. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that the introduction of such temporary exceptions requires, as in the case of the permanent exceptions examined above, consultations with employers’ and workers’ organizations. It therefore requests the Government to indicate whether and in which manner consultations have been carried out.

Article 10. Special provisions applicable to India. The Committee notes the Government’s new declaration stating that the use of the term "British India" in Article 10 of the Convention is highly objectionable. The Committee appreciates the concerns and understands that the Office is currently studying the possibility of a suitable arrangement which is both pragmatic and in line with the constitutional procedures of the Organization. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to accept, through a declaration, the application of all the provisions of the Convention in this regard, as has been suggested in the past.

Part IV of the report form. The Committee notes that, in its report of 1996, the Government indicated that, following an observation made by the Bijli Mazdour Panchayat organization, legal proceedings were launched in the Province of Gujarat against the enterprise M/S Shital Traders, accused of having employed certain workers for 12 hours a day without paying them overtime. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of these proceedings. The Committee also notes that, according to the information forwarded by the Government in 2002 and 2003 concerning the legal proceedings launched against the enterprise M/S Model Construction (P) Ltd. in the Province of Goa, the courts have still not handed down a definite ruling. It therefore requests the Government to continue to keep the Office informed of any progress regarding these proceedings. The Government is invited to indicate in general whether courts have handed down rulings on questions of principle regarding the application of the Convention, and if so, to forward the text of these decisions.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to provide general indications on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, providing, for example, labour inspectorate reports and, if possible, statistical data on the number of workers protected by the relevant legislation and the nature of the violations recorded.