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

Serbia

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) (Ratification: 2000)
Weekly Rest (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1957 (No. 106) (Ratification: 2000)

In order to provide an overview of all the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 14 (weekly rest in industry) and 106 (weekly rest in commerce and offices) in a single comment.

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation “Nezavisnost” on the implementation of Convention No 106, communicated with the Government’s report. It also notes the observations of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) on the implementation of Conventions Nos 14 and 106 communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 2(1), (2) and (3) of Convention No. 14 and Article 6(1), (2) and (3) of the Convention No. 106. Right to weekly rest. Uniformity of weekly rest. Respect of traditions and customs. The Committee notes that in reply to the previous comments of “Nezavisnost”, the Government indicates in its report that following amendments to the Labour Law in 2014, section 67 stipulates that the employee has the right to a weekly rest period of at least 24 continuous hours, which, as a rule, should be taken on Sundays. The Committee notes that in its observations, “Nezavisnost” reiterates its previous indication according to which, despite section 67 of the Labour Law 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 “Nezavisnost”, such work is often misleadingly referred to by employers as “redistribution of working hours” and is often recorded as “volunteering”. For its part, the CATUS indicates that, while section 67(2) sets Sunday rest as a rule, this is commonly disregarded in the trade sector. It also indicates that despite having submitted several initiatives on the legal prohibition of work on Sundays and national holidays in the trade sector to various governmental bodies since 2016, no concrete action has been taken to address them. Furthermore, recent amendments to the Labour Law in 2014, 2017 and 2018 were made without consulting trade unions, thus failing to align with their goals. The Committee recalls that the principle of uniformity enshrined in Article 2(2) of Convention No. 14 and Article 6(2) of Convention No. 106 refers to the collective character of weekly rest with a view to ensuring, wherever possible, that it is taken at the same time by all workers on the day established by tradition or custom. The social purpose of this principle is to enable workers to take part in community life and in the special forms of recreation available on certain days (2018 General Survey on working-time instruments, paragraph 202). The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments with respect to the observations of “Nezavisnost” and CATUS and to take the necessary measures to ensure the application in practice of the principles enshrined in Article 2 of Convention No. 14 and Article 6 of Convention No. 106.

Article 10 of Convention No. 106. Adequate inspection – Penalties. In reply to its previous comments on the lack of provisions in the Labour Law on sanctions in the event of non-compliance with sections 55 and 56 on hours of work, the Committee notes that the Government refers to: (i) section 269 of the Labour Law, which empowers labour inspectors to issue decisions mandating employers to remedy violations within a specified time frame and established the obligation of employers to inform the labour inspection of compliance within 15 days after the deadline expires; (ii) section 273 which prescribes a penal provision for not acting on the mentioned decisions of the labour inspectors. The Committee also notes that in its observations, the CATUS indicates that the sections referred to by the Government are not an adequate and effective sanction for non-compliance with sections 55 and 56 of the Labour Law. In this sense, the Committee observes that section 269 referred to by the Government does not specifically refer to sanctions. The Committee also notes that the CATUS indicates that: (i) the Government should consider appropriate measures for ensuring proper implementation of legal provisions regarding weekly rest including through adequate inspection mechanisms and effective sanctions for violations of Labour Law provisions on overtime work; (ii) employers generally do not comply with the requirement to formally notify employees of extended working-time schedules and neglect their record-keeping obligations; (iii) there is need for enhanced regulation of working time records under Labour Law given the inadequate application of existing regulations. Furthermore, in its observations, “Nezavisnost” indicates that it maintains its previous comments according to which 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. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.It once again requests the Government to adopt appropriate measures to ensure the proper administration of legal provisions concerning weekly rest, especially by means of adequate inspection and effective sanctions. The Committee refers to its comments under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129).

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