Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 1989, Publicación: 76ª reunión CIT (1989)

Convenio sobre las horas de trabajo (industria), 1919 (núm. 1) - Arabia Saudita (Ratificación : 1978)

The Committee notes the information communicated by the Government in its report. It would be grateful if the Government would furnish additional information on the following points:

Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee refers to its previous direct request in which it noted that the question of working hours in continuous shift work was still under study. Please provide information on any developments there may have been in this connection and indicate whether any ministerial orders have been issued on the basis of section 148 of the Labour Code.

Article 6, paragraph 2. Please communicate a copy of Ministerial Order No. 16 of 18/1/1397 H, which is not available in the Office, and/or any order issued under section 152 of the Labour Code relevant to working hours in the cases contemplated in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) of this section.

As concerns temporary exceptions, as the Committee has already pointed out in its previous comments, section 150(c) of the Labour Code allows normal working hours to be exceeded by two hours per day to deal with a heavy workload. This limit might imply considerably too many weekly, monthly or annual working hours which, in the Committee's opinion, could be in direct contradiction to the spirit in which this Convention was drafted (see in this connection the Committee's 1967 General Survey on this instrument, International Labour Conference, 51st Session, 1967, Report III (Part 4), third part, paragraph 239). The Committee requests the Government to fix a reasonable annual limit, in conformity with the Convention's objectives and on the basis of what is provided in section 150 of the Labour Code, for cases listed in paragraph (a) of section 150, for recourse to additional hours to deal with an overload of work.

Article 8, paragraph 1. The Committee notes that the Government is examining the possibility of taking measures through regulations to supplement section 9 of the Labour Code and require establishments employing fewer than 20 workers to post working hours as required by this Article of the Convention. It trusts that the Government will soon take the measures necessary to give full effect to this provision of the Convention.