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

Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) - Serbia (Ratification: 2000)

Article 6 of the Convention. Right to weekly rest. The Committee notes the comments of the Trade Union Confederation (NEZAVISNOST), dated 18 October 2013, concerning the application of the Convention. The NEZAVISNOST alleges that despite section 67 of the Labour Code, which provides for a weekly rest of no less than 24 consecutive hours, in practice, overtime is required so frequently that it prevents workers from exercising their right to weekly rest. According to the NEZAVISNOST, such work is often misleadingly referred to by employers as “redistribution of working hours”, and is often recorded as “volunteering”. The NEZAVISNOST also alleges that the labour inspectorate is not effectively detecting infringements of the working-time legislation and imposing sanctions, as the inspectors do not exercise their powers to initiate inspections but only respond to complaints. In addition, the NEZAVISNOST gives examples of public and private enterprises, including banks, large public companies and retail chains, which regularly require their employees to perform overtime work and prevent them from using their entitlement to weekly rest. The Committee requests the Government to submit any comments it may wish to make in response to the observations of the NEZAVISNOST.

Article 10. Adequate inspection – Penalties. The Committee notes the explanations provided by the Government in response to previous comments of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) concerning poor enforcement of working-time legislation. The Government indicates that employers generally do not comply with the requirement to formally notify employees of extended working-time schedules; fail to pay overtime compensation and neglect their record-keeping obligations. The Government also indicates that the Labour Code does not provide for sanctions in the event of non compliance with sections 55 and 56 which are the core provisions on hours of work. The Government adds that infringement of the working-time legislation are observed in nearly all industries and all types of employers, including the banking sector, trade, catering and the construction industry. Moreover, the Government considers that in order to ensure greater efficiency of oversight, record-keeping should be regulated by a new legislative text which would provide for serious sanctions for violations of the provisions of the Labour Code on overtime.

In this connection, the Committee notes the new comments made by CATUS, according to which working-time legislation continues to be insufficiently implemented. The CATUS considers that maintaining appropriate records is essential to facilitate supervision – including filing of complaints before the courts, and enable workers to benefit from weekly rest. In view of the enforcement deficit that the Government acknowledges in its report, the Committee requests the Government to consider appropriate measures to ensure the proper administration of legal provisions concerning weekly rest, especially by means of adequate inspection and effective sanctions. The Committee also requests the Government to transmit any comments it may wish to make in response to the latest comments of the CATUS.