Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Lebanon

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) (Ratification: 1977)
Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30) (Ratification: 1977)
Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) (Ratification: 1977)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 1 and 30 (hours of work) and 106 (weekly rest in commerce and offices) together.

Hours of work

Article 2 of Convention No. 1 and Articles 3 and 4 of Convention No. 30. Daily and weekly limits of hours of work. Further to its long-standing comments on the lack of a daily limit on hours of work, which the Government had previously indicated would be resolved through amendments to the Labour Code, the Committee notes the Government’s reiteration in its report that, while the Labour Code does not fix limits to daily hours of work, section 57 of a draft Labour Code fixes a daily limit of 8 hours of work and a weekly limit of 48 hours of work. The Government also indicates that the new draft Labour Code could not be passed as soon as desired, due to successive political, economic and social crises. Recalling that the Conventions establish a double cumulative limit on normal working hours of 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week (2018 General Survey concerning working-time instruments, paragraph 119), the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, including through the finalization of the labour law reform in consultation with social partners and in the near future, to ensure that a specific daily limit on normal hours of work is established in law and practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Weekly rest

Article 8(1) and (3) of the Convention. Temporary exemptions and compensatory rest. Following its previous comments on the non-compliance of section 37 of the Labour Code with Article 8, which requires compensatory rest to be granted when temporary exemptions are made, regardless of any monetary compensation, the Committee notes that the Government once again refers to planned amendments of the Labour Code. According to the Government, these amendments would provide that, in emergency situations and for humanitarian and economic considerations, temporary exemptions from weekly rest shall be permitted, provided that the concerned persons are granted compensatory rest periods equal to at least the weekly rest period that they have forfeited. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, including through the finalization of the labour law reform in consultation with social partners, to define the circumstances in which temporary exemptions from weekly rest are allowed and to provide for compensatory rest, in accordance with Article 8 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.