Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 (No. 14) - Lesotho (Ratification: 1966)

Article 4 of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions. In previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to provide information on the progress made to reach agreement on the weekly rest scheme for workers in the mining company Letseng Diamonds (Pty) Ltd through consultations. The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that the Labour Code (Exemption of Diamond Mining Industry from sections 117 and 118) Regulations 2021, adopted in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations within the National Advisory Committee on Labour (NACOLA), provides for special weekly rest arrangements for this category of workers. The Committee takes note of this information, which addresses its previous request.

Article 5. Compensatory rest. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that the Labour Code Order did not contain a general provision guaranteeing compensatory rest in case of total or partial exceptions to the ordinary weekly rest period. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Code Bill 2021 is at an advanced stage of promulgation and that it will give effect to Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that provision is made, as far as possible, for compensatory periods of rest in case of permanent or temporary exceptions to the weekly rest principle irrespective of any monetary compensation, including in the framework of the Labour Code Order’s revision process, as required by Article 5 of the Convention. It also requests the Government to transmit a copy of any new relevant legal text, once adopted.