Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Holidays with Pay (Agriculture) Convention, 1952 (No. 101) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Ratification: 1998)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report, in particular the adoption of the new Wages Regulation (Agricultural Workers) Order, 2003.

Article 5 of the Convention. The Committee notes that apart from the increase in the duration of the annual paid leave with the length of service, which is set out in section 3 of the Schedule of the Wages Regulation (Agricultural Workers) Order, 2003, there appear to be no specific provisions in the national legislation applicable to agricultural workers dealing with: (i) a more favourable treatment of young workers, including apprentices, with respect to annual leave; (ii) the granting of proportionate holidays, or payment in lieu, in the case of a worker’s insufficient continuous service to qualify him/her for annual holiday with pay; and (iii) the exclusion from the annual holiday with pay of public and customary holidays and weekly rest periods. The Committee would appreciate receiving any clarifications the Government might wish to provide on the law and practice relating to the above points.

Article 6. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify whether the division of annual holidays into parts is authorized in the agricultural sector, and if so, to indicate the relevant legal provisions.

Article 7, paragraph 3. While noting that the partial payment in kind is, in principle, authorized under section 13(2) of the Wages Council Act of 1953, the Committee observes that the Wages Regulations (Agricultural Workers) Order, 2003, makes no provision for any allowances in kind except for section 3(4) that requires employers to provide protective gears for workers in hazardous conditions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to clarify whether holiday remuneration for agricultural workers may at times include payments in kind, and if so, whether it is so calculated as to include the cash equivalent of any such benefits in kind.

Article 8. The Committee requests the Government to specify the legal provision(s) giving effect to this Article of the Convention.

Article 9. The Committee notes that under section 10(3) of the Wages Council Act of 1953, wages regulation proposals may contain provisions for securing that any holiday remuneration which may have been accrued to a worker during his/her employment will effectively become payable by the employer to the worker, in the event of his/her ceasing to be employed before he/she becomes entitled to annual holidays. It also notes that the Wages Regulation (Agricultural Workers) Order, 2003, does not contain any provision in this regard. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure the application of this provision of the Convention.

Article 11 and Part V of the report form. While noting the statistical information provided by the Government in an earlier report concerning the number of workers employed in sheltered and unsheltered agricultural undertakings, the Committee would thank the Government for continuing to supply all available information on the practical application of the Convention, including, for instance, extracts from reports of inspection services showing the number and nature of contraventions reported, sanctions imposed, etc.

Finally, the Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, based on the conclusions and proposals of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body has decided that Convention No. 101 should be classified as an outdated instrument and consequently States parties should be invited to denounce it and ratify at the same time the more recent Holidays with Pay Convention (Revised), 1970 (No. 132), which may no longer be fully up to date but remains relevant in certain respects (see GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraph 12). The Committee asks the Government to keep the Office informed of any decisions in this respect.