Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) - Djibouti (Ratification: 1978)

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 133/AN/05/5e L of 28 January 2006 issuing the Labour Code. It notes in particular that, under the terms of section 1, the Labour Code is applicable throughout the national territory, with the exception of “free trade zones”. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide a copy of the legislation governing hours of work in industrial establishments installed in free trade zones.

Article 2. Maximum daily hours of work – Averaging of hours of work over the week. The Committee notes that, in accordance with section 84 of the Labour Code, in establishments subject to its application, with the exception of agricultural undertakings, the statutory duration of working hours for employed persons, irrespective of their gender or the manner in which they are paid, is set at 48 hours a week, and that decrees issued following the opinion of the National Labour, Employment and Vocational Training Council, establish modalities for the averaging of hours of work over the various days of the week, as well as the maximum working day. The Committee recalls in this respect that the Convention establishes limits on both the weekly and daily hours of work. It also recalls that Order No. 984 of 4 August 1953, issued under the former 1952 Labour Code, provided that daily hours of work could not in principle exceed eight in number. The Committee therefore requests the Government to clarify whether this Order is still in force and, if not, to provide a copy of any new decree issued determining the modalities for the averaging of hours of work over the various days of the week, and the maximum daily hours of work.

Article 3. Exceptions in cases of accidents or urgent work. The Committee notes section 87 of the Labour Code which provides that, unless exemptions are established by order of the minister responsible for labour following the opinion of the National Labour, Employment and Vocational Training Council relating either to urgent work required to be carried out immediately to prevent accidents threatening personnel, materials, installations, enterprise buildings or for their repair, or preparatory or supplementary work, the performance of overtime cannot have the effect of bringing effective working hours in excess of 60 per week, or 12 per day. The Committee recalls that section 6 of Order No. 1283 of 23 October 1953 previously gave effect to this provision. The Committee therefore requests the Government to clarify whether the Order is still in force and, if not, to provide a copy of any new order regulating urgent work required to be carried out immediately to prevent accidents threatening the personnel, materials, installations or enterprise buildings, or for their repair.

Article 5. Period for the calculation of hours of work when it is longer than a week. The Committee notes that section 84 of the Labour Code provides that the duration of 48 working hours in a week may be exceeded through the application of rules respecting, among other matters, differences in hours of work set out in collective agreements. The Committee also notes that, in accordance with section 93 of the Labour Code, to be applicable, agreements modifying hours of work have to be approved by the Minister of Labour. However, the Committee notes that no provisions in the Labour Code establish that average hours of work shall not in any case exceed 48 hours per week, as required by Article 5 of the Convention. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the manner in which effect is given to this provision of the Convention and to provide copies of collective agreements setting out practical schemes modifying hours of work.

Article 6. Permanent exceptions. The Committee recalls that Order No. 1283 of 1953 regulated permanent exceptions for preparatory or supplementary work. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate whether this Order is still in force and, if not, to provide a copy of any new text issued under section 87 of the new Labour Code.

Temporary exceptions. The Committee recalls that section 6 of Order No. 1283 allowed additional hours, among other reasons, in the event of exceptional or seasonal work or work justified by the need to maintain or increase the level of production, or by a lack of labour, within a limit of 20 hours per week. The Committee also recalls its previous comments in which it drew the Government’s attention to the fact that the Convention only allows for temporary exceptions in exceptional cases of pressure of work. Finally, the Committee recalls that the Government indicated in its report provided in 2000 that it envisaged repealing the exceptions envisaged in section 6(2) of Order No. 1283 in the context of the preparation of the new Labour Code. However, the Committee observes that section 86 of the new Labour Code provides that the employer may, at his or her discretion, subject to the posting of notices and notification to the labour inspector, require employed persons to perform additional hours within a limit that may not exceed five hours per week for each employed person. The Committee is therefore bound once again to recall that the Convention only allows temporary exceptions to deal with exceptional cases of pressure of work and requests the Government to take all the necessary measures to limit the circumstances in which such exceptions are possible to the sole instance set out in the Convention.

The Committee also recalls that an increase of from 25 per cent to 75 per cent for additional hours was envisaged by Order No. 1372 of 12 November 1953, as amended by Order No. 75355/SG/CC of 28 February 1975. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether this Order is still in force.

Article 8. Notices of rest periods – Maintenance of records of additional hours – Penalties. The Committee notes that the Labour Code does not contain any provision on the posting of notices of rest periods which are not reckoned as part of the working hours, records of additional hours worked, and that it is an offence to exceed the hours of work indicated, as required by Article 8 of the Convention – points on which the Committee has been commenting for several years. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring the legislation into full conformity with this provision of the Convention.