When the International Labour Organization (ILO) was founded in 1919, providing an immediate solution to the rampant problem of unlimited working hours, which caused health crises (including death) for numerous workers, was its primary and urgent agenda. Accordingly, the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1), which limited daily working hours to eight and weekly working hours to forty-eight, became the first labor convention adopted in the same year the organization was founded. The scope of the Convention’s applicability was limited to workers engaged in factories and industrial sectors. For workers engaged in commercial, office, and service sectors, the Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30) was issued in 1930.
Numerous efforts were made to reduce the forty-eight-hour week, leading to the adoption of the Forty-Hour Week Convention, 1935 (No. 47) in 1935. This Convention, unlike previous ones, did not set a mandatory ceiling. Article 1, which defines the main content of the Convention, reads as follows:
“Each Member of the International Labour Organisation which ratifies this Convention declares its approval of– (a) the principle of a forty-hour week applied in such a manner that the standard of living is not reduced in consequence; and (b) the taking or facilitating of such measures as may be judged appropriate to secure this end; and undertakes to apply this principle to classes of employment in accordance with the detailed provision to be prescribed by such separate Conventions as are ratified by that Member.”
As can be seen from the text, countries that ratified the Convention were not obligated beyond accepting the forty-hour week in principle and ensuring that the standard of living was not reduced as a consequence. However, they were required to take appropriate measures to ensure the practical implementation of the working hours they accepted in principle and to apply the principle to specific employment sectors in accordance with detailed provisions to be prescribed by separate Conventions ratified by that Member. In addition to the three Conventions with general applicability, numerous international labor conventions have been issued for workers engaged in specific sectors (e.g., mining, transport, seafarers, etc.).
Ethiopia was the third African country to join the ILO as a member in 1923. However, despite its early membership, it has been slow to ratify the organization’s international conventions. It has not yet ratified a significant number of major conventions, including the Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1), which sets limits on working hours and is the organization’s first international convention, as well as Conventions No. 30 and 47. To date, Ethiopia is not a signatory to these conventions.
Normal Working Hours
Article 63(2) of the Labor Proclamation No. 1156/2011 stipulates that “the normal working hours of any employee shall not exceed eight per day and forty-eight per week.” ‘Normal working hours’ includes not only the time an employee spends performing their work but also the time they are available and ready for work.
Although our country has not ratified international conventions on working hours, the normal daily and weekly working hours stipulated in current and previous labor laws have not deviated from the fundamental content of these conventions. The maximum ceiling of eight hours per day and forty-eight hours per week, emphasized in the century-old Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 1) and subsequently in Convention No. 30 (Hours of Work (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1930 (No. 30)) issued in 1935, has been the standard working hour applicable in the private sector since the country enacted its labor law.
The working hours stipulated for government employees are significantly lower compared to the private sector. For employees governed by the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation No. 1064/2010, the weekly working hours do not exceed 39 hours. However, the maximum daily working hours are not stipulated in the Proclamation. This working hour is the normal working hour for federal prosecutors. The maximum 39-hour ceiling shows fluctuation for government employees governed by special laws. For example, for National Bank employees, it is 8 hours per day and 39 hours per week, while for employees of the former Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority, which is now divided into the Customs Commission and the Ministry of Revenues, the normal working hours are 8 hours per day and 43 hours per week.
Distribution of Working Hours
Although normal working hours in many countries fluctuate between forty and forty-eight hours per week, there are significant differences in the special circumstances determined by law. These circumstances have the effect of shortening or extending normal working hours. For certain categories of employees, the normal working hours themselves do not apply.
In our country, Article 63(2) of the Proclamation, which begins with “of any employee…”, is not only a general principle but also reflects the practical reality. So far, with the exception of young workers, there is no employee who, as long as they meet the definition of ’employee,’ is excluded from the applicability of working hour provisions by the Proclamation or other laws, or whose working hours are specially extended or shortened. Although the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is empowered to reduce normal working hours by issuing directives for economic sectors, industries, or professions with special working conditions, it has not yet issued any directive under this power.
Unlike exclusion, shortening, and extending normal working hours, the distribution of working hours has gained acceptance in international labor conventions and is widely implemented in many countries. This is an option designed to create a convenient situation for the employer to manage its work, taking into account special working conditions. Under normal circumstances, an employee is expected to work for eight hours daily, six days a week. In this manner, daily and weekly working hours are equally distributed.
However, sometimes, due to the nature of the employer’s work or unforeseen circumstances, an equal distribution of working hours negatively affects the employer’s productivity. To alleviate this pressure, the Proclamation exceptionally allows for flexible working hour distribution to be implemented within a certain time limit without deviating from the average normal working hours.
Distribution: For One Week
A working hour distribution different from the normal is implemented in two ways. The first, stipulated in Article 63, is a distribution made on daily working hours, while the second, found in Article 64, is a distribution made on weekly working hours. To clarify briefly, the first has the effect of shortening and extending the normal eight hours per day within one week, while the second has the effect of extending and shortening the forty-eight hours within four (or less) weeks. Since the necessity of distribution is to create a convenient situation for the employer to work more than eight hours without paying overtime (without deviating from the average), the urgent question that may arise is: by how many hours should extension be allowed? International Labor Convention No. 1 mentioned above allows for daily extension by one hour in number. Convention No. 30 allows for extension by two hours. Two hours has gained wide acceptance in many countries.
When we bring the question to our country’s labor law, due to a “gross legislative drafting error,” the answer is shrouded in confusion. The significant difference between the Amharic and English versions of Article 63 renders the Amharic version “unresponsive.” The Amharic version ends by stating “…it is possible to shorten working hours of the working days of the week and distribute the difference to the remaining days,” silently omitting to indicate “by how many hours” it can be shortened. The English version, however, after translating the basic concept of distribution in the Amharic version, makes the provision complete by adding the phrase “…without extending the daily limits of eight hours by more than two hours.” According to the English version, daily working hours can be extended by up to two hours. This inconsistency in the versions was not present in the old Proclamation No. 377/96.
Taking the English version’s idea, let’s look at an example of the distribution to easily understand the message of Article 63. When it is possible to extend the normal eight hours per day by up to two hours within a one-week working period from Monday to Saturday, the employer can distribute the working hours as follows from the many available options:
Monday – 10 hours Tuesday – 10 hours Wednesday – 10 hours Thursday – 6 hours Friday – 6 hours Saturday – 6 hours
When we do the calculation, although there is a fluctuation in daily working hours, they all add up to forty-eight hours. If the employer wishes, they can distribute it as nine or seven hours. The fundamental point is that in no circumstance is the employer allowed to work more than ten hours per day and an average of forty-eight hours per week. This conclusion can only be reached if we follow the content of the English version.
Distribution: More Than One Week
The second type of working hour distribution is the weekly distribution mentioned in Article 64, where the maximum period allowed for calculating the average is four weeks. In this type of distribution, the employer is provided with a convenient situation to work more than forty-eight hours per week. In this type of distribution, weekly working hours fluctuate, increasing in one week and decreasing in another, extending up to four weeks. For example:
Week 1: 52 hours Week 2: 54 hours Week 3: 44 hours Week 4: 42 hours
The total working hours for the four weeks is 192, which, when divided by four, gives an average of 48 hours.
The fundamental problem with the provision lies in the daily average. The content of the provision only states that when the total working hours are divided by the total working days (in the example above, 192 hours divided by 24 days), the average should not exceed eight hours per day and forty-eight hours per week. The maximum daily working hours for one week are not stipulated in the provision. Therefore, the only option is to apply the two-hour limit of Article 63. With this calculation, the maximum amount for one week extends up to 60 hours. For example, within four weeks, weekly working hours can be distributed as follows:
Week 1: 60 hours Week 2: 60 hours Week 3: 36 hours Week 4: 36 hours
Night Shift Work
Our country’s labor law, while setting the maximum normal daily and weekly working hours, does not differentiate its application between day and night. The nature of night work, on one hand, is exhausting, and on the other hand, its impact on family life is severe, requiring a special legal framework. Among the issues that the law should determine are the definition of night work (when the hour limit begins and ends); the employer’s obligation to provide transportation; the possibility of working overtime at night; and whether the average hour distribution mentioned in Articles 63 and 64 also applies to night work.