Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee notes with regret that the information provided by the Government contains no new elements in respect of the matters raised in its previous comments over a number of years. It urges the Government to envisage amending its legislation so as to bring it into full conformity with the Convention in line with the following remarks.

Article 1, paragraph 1(d), of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to ensure by its legislation, administrative regulations or other measures that the application of the Convention is guaranteed in the establishments of the transport sector, as defined under section 72(2) of the Labour Proclamation No. 42 of 1993.

Article 2, paragraph 1, and Articles 4 and 5. The Committee reiterates that despite the prevailing national practice of granting weekly rest to persons holding managerial positions, in accordance with the management regulations of each enterprise, it still remains necessary to amend any legislation which contravenes this practice. The Labour Proclamation, therefore, needs to be amended in a manner that it no longer excludes managerial staff from its scope and, as a consequence, from its provisions on weekly rest. The Committee asks the Government to take the appropriate steps to ensure that for the persons concerned effect is given to Article 2, paragraph 1, by law or at least without any legal restrictions to the prevailing practice. If the Government considers the exemption of this category of persons from the scope of the Labour Proclamation as an exception made in virtue of Article 4, the Committee requests the Government to make provision for compensatory periods of rest for any suspensions and diminutions made, in conformity with Article 5.

Article 7(a) and (b). The purpose of this Article is to facilitate the proper administration of weekly rest arrangements, thus complementing the supervision by labour inspection. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its legislation or otherwise the obligation of employers to make known collective rest to workers by means of notices posted at the workplace and workers subject to a special system of rest by means of rosters, in order to give full effect to the Convention in this respect.