CHAPTER VI

GENERAL WORKING CONDITIONS

Section 1

Wage

A. Wage Determination

Article 102:

For the purposes of this law, the term "wage", irrespective of what the determination or the method of calculation is, means the remuneration for the employment or service that is convertible in cash or set by agreement or by the national legislation, and that shall be given to a worker by an employer, by virtue of a written or verbal contract of employment or service, either for work already done or to be done or for services already rendered or to be rendered

Article 103:

Wage includes, in particular:

Wage does not include:

B. Guaranteed Minimum Wage

Article 104:

The wage must be at least equal to the guaranteed minimum wage; that is, it must ensure every worker of a decent standard of living compatible with human dignity.

Article 105:

Any written or verbal agreement that would remunerate the worker at a rate less than the guaranteed minimum wage shall be null and void.

Article 106:

For work of equal conditions, professional skill and output, the wage shall be equal for all workers subject to this law, regardless of their origin, sex or age.

Article 107:

The guaranteed minimum wage is established without distinction among professions or jobs. It may vary according to region based on economic factors that determine the standard of living.

The minimum wage is set by a Prakas (ministerial order) of the Ministry in Charge of Labor, after receiving recommendations from the Labor Advisory Committee. The wage is adjusted from time to time in accordance with the evolution of economic conditions and the cost of living.

Elements to take into consideration for determining the minimum wage shall include, to the extent possible:

a) the needs of workers and their families in relation to the general level of salary in the country, the cost of living, social security allowances, and the comparative standard of living of other social groups;

b) economic factors, including the requirements of economic development, productivity, and the advantages of achieving and maintaining a high level of employment.

Article 108:

For task-work or piecework, whether it is done in the workshop or at home, the wage must be calculated in a manner that permits the worker of mediocre ability working normally to earn, for the same amount of time worked, a wage at least equal to the guaranteed minimum wage as determined for a worker.

Article 109:

Minimum wages established by virtue of this law must be permanently posted in the workplace and in payment and recruitment offices.

Article 110:

The employer shall include the commissions or gratuities, if any, when calculating remuneration for paid holiday, dismissal indemnity in the event of dismissal and for damages in the event of termination of the labor contract without prior notice, or for an abusive breach of the labor contract. The calculation is based on the average monthly commissions or gratuities previously received over a period not to exceed the twelve months of service up to the date of leave or termination of work.

Article 111:

The specifications for a labor contract of government services or of public institutions shall include all necessary stipulations to ensure the enforcement of the provisions of this law pertaining to the guaranteed minimum wage and general work regulations.

Article 112:

The employer must take measures to inform the workers in a precise and easily comprehensible fashion of:

a) The terms regarding wage that apply to the workers before they are assigned to a job or at any time that these terms change.

b) The items that make up their wage for every pay period when there is a change to the items.

 

C. Payment of Wages

Article 113:

The wage must be paid directly to the worker concerned, unless the worker agrees to get paid through other methods. The wage shall be paid in coin or bank note, which is legally circulating, notwithstanding provisions to the contrary.

Article 114:

The employer, however, is prohibited from restricting the worker's freedom to using his wage at his disposal.

Article 115:

Except for acts of God, wages shall be paid at the workplace or in the employer's office if it is nearby.

The payment of wages in the form of alcohol or harmful drugs shall not be allowed in any circumstances. Furthermore, the payment of wages shall not be made in a drink shop or in a retail business or in places of recreation, except for persons being employed in such establishments.

Payment shall not be made on a day-off. If payday falls on such a day-off, the payment of wages shall made a day earlier.

Article 116:

Laborers' wages shall be paid at least two times per month, at a maximum of sixteen-day intervals.

Employees' wages must be paid at least once per month.

Commissions due to sale agents or commercial representatives must be paid at least every three months.

For all task-work or piecework that is to be executed for longer than fifteen days, the dates of payment can be fixed by agreement, but the laborer must receive partial payments every fifteen days and be paid in full in the week following the delivery of the work.

In the event of termination of a labor contract, wage and indemnity of any kind must be paid within forty-eight hours following the date of termination of work.

Article 117:

In case of an unjustified delay in the payment of wages, the Labor Inspector shall serve notice on the employer to pay the wage of his workers by setting the deadline by which payment must be made.

If payment is not made by the deadline, the Labor Inspector shall write up a report and bring the matter, at no cost, before the competent court that may take any measure to keep the asset in the interest of the workers, including appointing a provisional administrator as well.

The Labor Inspector can then take any actions to force the employer to fulfil his obligations toward his workers and employees.

Article 118:

In the event of disputes over the payment of wages, the employer has the duty to prove that he has made the payment.

This proof can be derived from the signature of the worker concerned or those of two witnesses if he is illiterate, put in the payroll ledger that the employer is required to keep.

Article 119:

It is not contradictory to the worker for the confirmation that "all wages and remuneration are already paid," or for any other similar term of confirmation indicating that the worker has renounced all or part of his rights in the contract, either during the execution or after the termination of the labor contract.

Even though the worker accepts payment without protest, this does not mean that he has renounced the right to payment of all or part of his wages, allowances, or other benefits granted him by legislative, regulatory, or contractual provisions.

 

D. Lapse of Lawsuits for Payment of Wages

Article 120:

A lapse of a lawsuit for the payment of wages is three years from the date the wage was due.

Claims subject to the lapse of lawsuit include the actual wage, perquisites and all other claims of the worker resulting from the labor contract, as well as the indemnity in the event of dismissal.

 

E. Guarantees and Priority of Wage Claims

Article 121:

Amounts owed to contractors of any kind cannot be garnished nor can payment be objected with prejudice to workers' wage payments.

Wages owed to workers shall be paid before payment is made to suppliers of supplies used for construction.

Article 122:

Wage claims of the workers, including domestics or household servants, shall take priority over the movable or immovable properties of the debtor within the last six months prior to the declaration of bankruptcy or the court-ordered liquidation of the employer.

Sale agents and commercial representatives have priority for commissions and remittances earned for the last six months prior to the declaration of bankruptcy or court-ordered liquidation.

Priority established by this article also applies to the claims of workers for paid holidays and compensation for notice period and to dismissal indemnity.

Article 123:

Prioritized claims provided for in Article 122 above, are opposable to all other general and special priority, including the priority of the National Treasury.

Amounts deducted by the National Treasury from the money order of the employer after the date when payment of debt was stopped, shall be returned to debtors (sub-creditors).

Article 124:

Workers benefit from outclassing all of creditors for a portion of their claim: the unattachable portion of wages earned by Laborers during the last fifteen days, by employees during the last thirty days, and by commercial representatives during the last ninety days prior to the declaration of bankruptcy or court-ordered liquidation.

This part of their claim is paid to the workers, before other claims, just within ten days following the declaration of bankruptcy or court-ordered liquidation by a simple ruling of a judge, from the funds existing at the time the bankruptcy was declared or the liquidation was ordered, or from the first funds that become available.

Article 125:

In order to determine the amount of wage in view of enforcing the provisions of Article 124 above, not only the actual wages are taken into account but also the other items of remuneration covered in Article 103 of this law, as well as any damages due eventually for the breach of contract.

F. Wage Deductions

Article 126:

Wage deductions for the purpose of job placement that are provided directly or indirectly to an employer, to his representative, or to any intermediary such as a labor recruiter are prohibited.

Article 127:

None of the balance can be made, in favor of the employer, between the worker's wage and the employer's claim for diverse supplies of whatever kind, with the exception of:

1. Tools and equipment required for the work and that are not returned by the worker upon his departure;

2. Items and materials under the control and usage of the worker;

3. Amounts advanced to acquire the said items;

4. Amounts owed to the company store.

However, the total amount deducted from the wage, in any case, cannot surpass the portion deemed necessary to provide the basic living for the worker and his family.

Article 128:

Any employer who makes a cash advance, other than the amount advanced for the purchase of tools, equipment, items and materials that the worker takes charge of and uses, can get reimbursed only by a series of gradual deductions that do not exceed the transferable or attachable portion of the wage.

The deducted amounts are not to be confused with the attachable portion of the wage as determined by laws in effect. The employer has the priority to deduct this attachable portion before a third party to whom the worker owes.

Installments, as stipulated in Article 116 above, and partial wage payments made before the normal deadline but in payment for finished work, can be fully deducted from the following paycheck.

Article 129:

Collective agreements authorizing any wage deductions other than these cases are null and void.

However, the worker can authorize deductions of his wage for dues to the trade union to which he belongs. This authorization must be in writing and can be revoked at any time.

 

G. Garnishment and Assignment of Wages of Workers and Domestics

Article 130:

Wages can be garnished or assigned only as follows:

1 . The portion of wage that is less than or equal to the guaranteed minimum wage cannot be garnished or assigned.

2. A maximum of twenty percent of the portion of wage greater than the guaranteed minimum wage to three times the minimum wage can be garnished or assigned.

3. A maximum of thirty percent of the portion of wage greater than three times the guaranteed minimum wage to ten times the minimum wage can be garnished or assigned.

4. A maximum of fifty percent of the portion of wage greater than ten times the minimum wage can be garnished or assigned.

The wage taken into account for this calculation is the monthly wage.

Article 131:

The limits, stipulated in Article 130 above, do not apply to food creditors, since the purpose of the unattachable portion of the wages is to feed the worker's family. However, food creditors can only claim the current monthly amount of his ration allowance; for overdue amounts, they must participate with the other creditors for the attachable portion.

Article 132:

Family allowances cannot be garnished or assigned except to pay for debts for food.

Article 133:

The garnishment and assignment of wages are to be carried out in accordance with the procedure of law in effect.

 

H. Tips

Supervision and Distribution of Tips

Article 134:

Tips are remuneration made by clients to personnel of certain establishments such as hotels, restaurants, cafés, bars, and hair salons, and received by the employer as a mandatory percentage added to the client's bill with a note "service charge. "These tips must be collected by the employer and distributed in full to the personnel in contact with the clientele.

Article 135:

The employer shall clearly justify the receipt and the payment to his staff of the amount of tips covered by the preceding article.

Article 136:

The method of dividing tips and determining the categories of personnel who should receive them are established by the customs of the occupation or, if not applicable, by a Prakas (ministerial order) of the Ministry in Charge of Labor.

Section 2

Hours of work

Daily and weekly hours

Article 137:

In all establishments of any nature, whether they provide vocational training, or they are of a charitable nature or liberal profession, the number of hours worked by workers of either sex cannot exceed eight hours per day, or 48 hours per week.

Article 138:

The work schedule is set by each enterprise for different jobs based on the nature of their activities and organization of work.

When the work schedule consists of split shifts, the enterprise's management can normally set up only two shifts, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

Article 139:

If workers are required to work overtime for exceptional and urgent jobs, the overtime hours shall be paid at a rate of fifty percent higher than normal hours. If the overtime hours are worked at night or during weekly time off, the rate of increase shall be one hundred percent.

Article 140:

The Ministry in Charge of Labor can issue a Prakas (ministerial order) authorizing an extension of the daily hours in order to make up for hours lost following mass interruptions in the work or a general slowdown from either accidental causes or acts of God, notably bad weather or because of holidays, local festivals, or other local events, in the following cases:

a) Making up for lost hours will not be authorized for more than 30 days per year and will be implemented within fifteen days after the return to work. For agricultural enterprises this period is extended to one month.

b) The extension of the daily working hours cannot exceed one hour.

c) Hours of work cannot exceed ten hours per day.

Article 141:

Prakas issued by the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall determine as follows:

1. The allocation of working hours within the forty-eight hour working week in order to allow for a break on Saturday afternoon or any other equivalent approach, on the condition that the extra hours do not exceed one hour per day of the regular schedule.

2. The allocation of working hours within a period of time other than the week, on the condition that the average length of working time calculated by the number of weeks does not surpass forty-eight hours per week, that the daily hours do not surpass ten hours, and that the extra hours do not exceed one hour per day.

3. Permanent dispensations that can be allowed for preparatory or supplementary work that must be performed outside of the limit set for general work of the establishment, or for certain categories of workers whose work is essentially intermittent.

4. Temporary dispensations are allowed in favor of seasonal businesses and industries and certain enterprises in the following cases:

a) For serious or imminent accidents, for acts of God, or for urgent work to be performed on machines or equipment, but only to the extent that this avoids a serious disruption to the normal operations of the enterprise.

b) To prevent the loss of perishable materials or avoid compromising the technical outcome of the work.

c) To allow special work to take place, such as establishing inventory and balance sheet, setting deadlines, liquidating and settling accounts.

To allow the enterprise to handle periods of extra work due to exceptional circumstances when it is unable to wait for other measures to be taken by the employer.

5. The measures for monitoring work hours, rest times and the full working period, as well as the procedures for allowing and implementing dispensations.

6. The region to which the dispensations apply.

Article 142:

The Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor will set equivalent standards for the hours of presence and the actual hours worked suitable to the profession or occupation for which the work is intermittent.

Article 143:

The provisions of the present Section can be suspended for war or other events that threaten national security.

Section 3

Night work

Article 144:

For the purposes of this law, the term "night" represents a period of at least eleven consecutive hours that includes the interval between 2200 and 0500 hour.

Besides continuous work that is performed by rotating teams who sometimes work during the day and sometimes at night, the work at the enterprise can always include a portion of night work. Night work is paid at the rate set in Article 139 of this law.

Section 4

Weekly time off

Article 145:

The provisions of the present Section shall apply to workers employed in enterprises of any kind as specified in Article 1 of this law.

However, these provisions do not apply to rail transport workers, whose time off is covered by special provisions.

Article 146:

It is prohibited from using the same worker for more than six days per week.

Article 147:

Weekly time off shall last for a minimum of twenty-four consecutive hours. All workers shall be given in principle a day off on Sunday.

Article 148:

When it is established that having all staff take Sunday off would be detrimental to the public or jeopardize the normal operation of the enterprise, the rest must be arranged as follows:

a). Give all staff rest on a day other than Sunday.

b). Rest from Sunday noon to Monday noon.

c). Rest by rotating all staff. Necessary authorizations must be requested from the Ministry in Charge of Labor.

Article 149:

It is permitted by law to give the weekly time off, by rotating the day off, to establishments belonging to the following categories:

1. Manufacturers of foodstuffs intended for immediate consumption;

2. Hotels, restaurants, and bars;

3. Natural flower shops;

4. Hospitals, hospices, asylums, homes for retired persons, mental institutions, dispensaries, health clinics, and pharmacies;

5. Bathhouses;

6. Publishers of newspapers, information and show business; museums and exhibitions;

7. Vehicle rental firms;

8. Enterprises supplying electricity, water and power for machinery;

9. Businesses providing land transportation other than railroads;

10. Industries using materials that rapidly deteriorate;

11. Industries where any interruption of operations could cause the product being manufactured to spoil or deteriorate; and

12. Industries performing work for safety, sanitation, or public utility.

A Prakas (ministerial order) of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall list the types of industries containing in categories 10 and 11, as well as other categories of establishments that are entitled to benefit from rotating the weekly time off.

Article 150:

A Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall determine the methods of enforcing weekly time off in factories that operate around the clock and for specialists employed in the round-the-clock manufacturing operations.

Article 151:

In case of urgency that the work is immediately carried out necessarily for salvageable measures or preventing imminent accidents, or to repair damages to materials, facility installations, or buildings of the establishment, the weekly time off can be suspended for staff needed to perform the urgent work.

The right to suspend this rest shall apply not only to workers of the enterprise where the urgent work is necessary, but also to another enterprise making repairs in the interests of the first enterprise. In the second typical enterprise, each worker must be given a compensatory break equal to the missed time off, in the same way as for workers in the first typical enterprise who are normally involved in maintenance and repair .

The provisions of this article can not apply to children less than eighteen years of age and to women.

Article 152:

Guards and caretakers in industrial and commercial establishments who cannot have their time off on Sunday must have a compensatory time off on another day of the week.

Article 153:

In retail food stores, the weekly break can be given from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon or by rotating the shift for a one-day break per week.

Article 154:

In retail stores, the weekly break can be cancelled upon authorization from the Labor Inspector if it coincides with a local holiday.

Each worker deprived of the weekly break must be given compensatory time off in the week that follows.

Article 155:

In enterprises where bad weather results in days off, these forced days off can be deducted from weekly breaks to a maximum of two days per month.

Article 156:

In seasonal industries or industries that process perishable goods or foodstuffs that are sensitive to bad weather, the weekly break can be suspended as an exception upon authorization from the Labor Inspector.

Article 157:

A Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall list the particular industries that are included in the general categories laid out in Articles 155 and 156 above, as well as the provisions for providing compensatory time off.

Article 158:

When the weekly break is given to the workers collectively, a legible notice indicating the days and hours of the time off must be posted in a conspicuous place.

Article 159:

When the weekly break is not given to the workers collectively, there must be a special list including the names of the workers subject to a particular rest schedule, and indicating this break scheme.

Newly hired workers must be added to this list after a period of six days.

The list must be constantly updated and must be made available to the agents in charge of labor control for [visaing] it during their visits.

Article 160:

Any business owner, director, or manager who wants to suspend the weekly break must request authorization from the Labor Inspector and, except for acts of God, must do so before the work commences.

He must explain to the Labor Inspector about the circumstances that justify the suspension of the weekly break, indicate the date and duration of the suspension, specify the number of workers to which the suspension applies, and indicate the plan for providing compensatory time off. If the Labor Inspector refuses to authorize the suspension of the weekly break, he must inform the business owner, director, or manager of his refusal in writing within four days upon receipt of the request. Lack of notification is considered valid authorization for suspension of the weekly break.

Section 5

Paid holidays

Article 161:

Each year, the Ministry in Charge of Labor issues a Prakas (ministerial order) determining the paid holidays for workers of all enterprises.

These paid holidays do not break off the length of service required to obtain paid annual leave, nor do they reduce this type of leave.

Article 162:

In case the public holiday coincides with a Sunday, workers will have the following day off. Time off for holidays cannot be the reason for reducing monthly, bi-monthly, or weekly wages.

Article 163:

Workers paid by the hour, the day, or by the amount produced shall be entitled to an indemnity equal to the wage lost as a result of holidays as defined in Article 161. This indemnity shall be paid by the employer.

Article 164:

In establishments or enterprises where work cannot be interrupted because of the nature of their activities requiring the workers to occupy with working during holidays; those workers shall be entitled to an indemnity in addition to wages for the work performed. The amount of this indemnity to be paid by the employer shall be set by a Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor.

Article 165:

Hours lost because of holidays as indicated above can be made up according to the conditions laid down in laws in effect. The made-up hours shall be considered as normal work hours.

Section 6

Paid annual leave

Article 166:

Unless there are more favorable provisions in collective agreements or individual labor contracts, all workers are entitled to paid annual leave to be given by the employer at the rate of one and a half work days of paid leave per month of continuous service.

Any worker who has not worked for two continuous months is entitled, at the termination of his labor contract, to compensation for paid leave calculated in proportion to the amount of time he worked in the enterprise.

For jobs that are not performed regularly throughout the year, a worker is considered to have met the condition of continuous service if he works an average of 21 days per month.

The length of paid leave as stated above is increased according to the seniority of workers at the rate of one day per three years of service.

Official paid holidays and sick leave are not counted as paid annual leave.

Article 167:

The right to use paid leave is acquired after one year of service.

If the contract is terminated or expires before the worker has acquired the right to use his paid-leave, an indemnity calculated on the basis of Article 166 above is granted to the worker.

Apart from this, any collective agreement providing compensation in place of paid leave, as well as any agreement renouncing or waiving the right to paid annual leave, shall be null and void.

Acceptance by the worker to defer all or part of his rights to paid leave until the termination of the contract is not considered as renunciation. Deferment of this leave cannot exceed three consecutive years and can only apply to leave exceeding twelve working days per year.

Article 168:

Before the worker departs on leave, the employer must pay him an allowance that is at least equal to the average wage, bonuses, benefits, and indemnities, including the value of benefits in kind, but excluding reimbursement for expenses, that the worker earned during the twelve months preceding the date of departure on leave. This allowance shall in no case be less than the allowance that the worker would have received had he actually worked.

Article 169:

The length of continuous service set out in Article 166 must cover the entire period during which the worker has a labor contract with the employer, even if the work was suspended without a termination of the contract.

Included in the period for which the worker is entitled to paid leave each year is as follows:

On the contrary, special leave for personal reasons is not included when calculating the eligibility period for paid annual leave if the time off was not made up.

Article 170:

In principle, annual leave is normally given for the Khmer New Year unless there is a different agreement between the employer and the worker. In this case, the employer must inform the Labor Inspector of this arrangement.

In every case of the paid annual leave exceeding fifteen days, employers have the right to grant the remaining days off at another time of the year, except for the leave for children and apprentices less than eighteen years of age.

Section 7

Special leave

Article 171:

The employer has the right to grant his worker special leave during the event directly affecting the worker's immediate family.

If the worker has not yet taken his annual leave, the employer can deduct the special leave from the worker's annual leave.

If the worker has taken all his annual leave, the employer cannot deduct the special leave from the worker's annual leave for the next year.

Hours lost during the special leave can be made up under the conditions set by a Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor.

Section 8

Child labor - women labor

A. Joint Provisions

Article 172:

All employers and managers of establishments in which child laborers or apprentices less than eighteen years of age or women work, must watch over their good behavior and maintain their decency before the public. All form of sexual violation (harassment) is strictly forbidden.

Article 173:

A Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall determine the different types of work that are hazardous or too strenuous and that shall be prohibited to children aged less than eighteen years.

The Prakas shall also establish the special conditions under which minors can be employed in insalubrious or hazardous establishments where the staff is exposed to arrangements harmful to their health.

Article 174:

Minors less than eighteen years old cannot be employed in underground mines or quarries.

The Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall determine the special conditions of work and apprenticeship for minors aged from sixteen to less than eighteen years for underground work.

Article 175:

Children, employees, laborers, or apprentices aged less than eighteen years cannot be employed to perform night work in any enterprise covered in Article 1 of this law.

The Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall determine the conditions under which special dispensations can be allowed for teenagers over sixteen years of age:

a) for work performed in the industries listed below, which, because of their nature, must operate continuously day and night:

b) For an inevitable case that obstruct the normal operations of the establishment.

Article 176:

The nighttime break for children of either sex must be a minimum of eleven consecutive hours.

B. Child Labor

Article 177:

1. The allowable minimum age for wage employment is set at fifteen years.

2. The minimum allowable age for any kind of employment or work, which, by its nature, could be hazardous to the health, the safety, or the morality of an adolescent, is eighteen years. The types of employment or work covered by this paragraph are determined by a Prakas (ministerial order) of the Ministry in Charge of Labor, in consultation with the Labor Advisory Committee.

3. Regardless of the provisions of paragraph 2 above, the Ministry in Charge of Labor can, after having consulted with the Labor Advisory Committee, authorize the generation of occupation or employment for adolescents aged fifteen years and over on the condition that their health, safety, or morality is fully guaranteed and that they can receive, in the corresponding area of activity, specific and adequate instruction or vocational training.

4. Regardless of the provisions of paragraph 1 above, children from twelve to fifteen years of age can be hired to do light work provided that:

a) The work is not hazardous to their health or mental and physical development.

b) The work will not affect their regular school attendance, their participation in guidance programs or vocational training approved by a competent authority.

5. Prakas issued by the Ministry in Charge of Labor in consultation with the Labor Advisory Committee will determine the types of employment and establish the working conditions, particularly the maximum number of hours of work authorized as per paragraph 4 above.

6. After having consulted with the Labor Advisory Committee, the Ministry in Charge of Labor can wholly or partially exclude certain categories of occupation or employment from having to implement this article if the implementation of this article for these types of occupation or employment create considerable difficulties.

Article 178:

The Labor Inspector can request a physician, who is in public service, to examine children less than eighteen years of age employed in an enterprise in order to establish that their jobs are not beyond their physical capabilities. If this is the case, the Labor Inspector is empowered to demand that their job be changed or that they be let out of the establishment upon the advice or examination of the physician, if their parents so protest.

Article 179:

All employers must keep a register of children aged less than eighteen years old, whom they employ, indicating their date of birth. This register must be submitted to the Labor Inspector for visa, observation and warning.

Article 180:

In orphanages and charitable institutions in which primary education is given, occupational or vocational training for children less than fourteen years old must not exceed three hours per day. A record must be kept indicating the date of birth, manual labor conditions for children, and the daily schedule i.e. the assignment of hours of study, manual labor, rest, and meals.

The record must be submitted to the Labor Inspector for visa, observation and warning at the end of each year.

Article 181:

No unemancipated child of either sex less than eighteen years old can contract to work without the consent of his guardian.

C. Women Work

Article 182:

In all enterprises covered by Article 1 of this law, women shall be entitled to a maternity leave of ninety days.

After the maternity leave and during the first two months after returning to work, they are only expected to perform light work.

The employer is prohibited from laying off women in labor during their maternity leave or at a date when the end of the notice period would fall during the maternity leave.

Article 183:

During the maternity leave as stipulated in the preceding article, women are entitled to half of their wage, including their perquisites, paid by the employer.

Women fully reserve their rights to other benefits in kind, if any.

Any collective agreement to the contrary shall be null and void.

However, the wage benefits specified in the first paragraph of this article shall be granted only to women having a minimum of one year of uninterrupted service in the enterprise.

Article 184:

For one year from the date of child delivery, mothers who breast-feed their children are entitled to one hour per day during working hours to breast-feed their children. This hour may be divided into two periods of thirty minutes each, one during the morning shift and the other during the afternoon shift. The exact time of breast-feeding is to be agreed between the mother and the employer. If there is no agreement, the periods shall be at the midpoint of each work shift.

Article 185:

Breaks for breastfeeding are separate from and shall not be deducted from normal breaks provided for in the labor law, in internal regulations of the establishment, in collective labor agreements, or in local custom for which other workers in the same category enjoy them.

Article 186:

Managers of enterprises employing a minimum of one hundred women or girls shall set up, within their establishments or nearby, a nursing room and a crèche (day-care center).

If the company is not able to set up a crèche on its premises for children over eighteen months of age, female workers can place their children in any crèche and the charges shall be paid by the employer.

Article 187:

A Prakas (ministerial order) of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall determine the conditions for setting up hygienic environment and supervising these nursing rooms and crèches.

Section 9

Workers recruited outside the work place

Article 188:

All workers who were recruited far from the work place and whose trip to the work place was paid for by the employer are, at the expiration of the contract or during leave period, entitled to a return trip to the place of recruitment at the expense of the employer under the same conditions as the original trip.

The same obligation applies to the employer if there is a lay-off as a result of a work stoppage, the closing of the enterprise or an individual dismissal. If the reason for the dismissal is a serious misconduct on the part of the worker, the employer must reimburse travelling expenses only in proportion to the period the worker has worked in the enterprise.

Article 189:

The worker whose services were terminated under the conditions specified above can demand a return expense from his former employer only within a maximum of one year from the day he stopped working for the employer.

Article 190:

A Prakas of the Ministry in Charge of Labor shall determine the procedure for implementation of this Section.

CHAPTER VII

SPECIFIC WORKING CONDITIONS FOR AGRICULTURAL WORKS

Article 191:

Besides the general provisions set out in this law, the following provisions apply to agricultural workers.

Article 192:

An agricultural worker is a worker employed on:

Section1

Plantations

Article 193:

For the purposes of this law, the term "plantation" means all agricultural business that regularly employs paid workers and that primarily cultivates or produces the following for commercial purposes: coffee, tea, sugar cane, rubber, bananas, coconuts, peanuts, tobacco, citrus fruits, oil palm, cinchona, pineapple, pepper, cotton, jute, and other commercial crops.

The provisions in the present Section do not apply to family enterprises or small- sized plantations whose produce is only for the local market and that do not regularly employ paid workers.

A. Hours of Work

Article 194:

The normal number of working hours for plantation workers is eight hours per day, or forty-eight hours per week. For certain categories of workers, the daily number of hours can be increased to nine as long as the weekly total does not exceed forty-eight.

Article 195:

For regular resident workers, i.e. those accommodated by the enterprise, any time over one hour required for travelling between workplace and home is considered to be part of the workday.

For regular non-resident workers as well as casual workers, the daily working hours is determined according to the hours worked.

Article 196:

For certain jobs, a maximum of two hours may be added to the actual eight hours of work in order for workers to be present at the work site. These jobs shall be listed in a Prakas (ministerial order) of the Ministry in Charge of Labor. During the two hours for which workers are required to be present at the work site, workers cannot be forced to perform any work and can use the time freely.

Article 197:

If hours worked are more than eight hours of work per day, the extra hours are paid at the overtime rate. Overtime hours cannot be added to the actual workday to exceed ten hours in the same day, except for a case of preventing a disaster or repairing damage caused by a disaster.

B. Partial Payment in Kind

Article 198:

Partial payment of wages in kind is allowed but cannot be imposed.

In case that the employer makes such payment in kind, each regular worker shall be allocated, in addition to the portion of the payment he receives in cash, an allotment of 900 grams of uncooked rice per paid workday.

Article 199:

The payment in rice covered in the preceding article can be replaced by a payment in cash if the parties so agree.

The cash value of the portion of the wage paid in kind, in any case, must be calculated exactly and recorded in a ledger kept for this purpose.

C. Family Benefits

Article 200:

All regular plantation workers are entitled to a daily allocation of rice as indicated below for their wife and dependent minor children, legitimate or illegitimate, less than sixteen years old:

These benefits are due to the worker as head of the household for each day worked entitling him to wage or to any interruption of work for hospitalization or for a justified illness.

Children more than sixteen years of age and less than twenty-one years of age, who are studying in a public secondary or tertiary education institution or in an authorized private secondary or tertiary education institution, or who are working as apprentices, receive the same family benefits as minor children less than sixteen years old.

To be entitled to family benefits, the wife must meet the following requirements:

a) She must not be gainfully employed.

b) She must live with her husband, either on the plantation if he is a regular resident worker or at home or in the husband's normal place of residence outside the plantation if he is a non-resident.

To be entitled to family benefits, minor children must live with the head of the household, either at the plantation if he is a resident worker, or at his home or normal place of residence outside the plantation if he is a non-resident. However, children who study at a distant school or who attend apprenticeship and therefore cannot live with their parents are entitled to benefits if a statement attesting to this situation is issued by the public or authorized private school. If the school is a private institution, the signature of the head of the institution must be notarized by the competent ministry.

Article 201:

Family benefits are due to the worker as of the date of hiring on the condition that the employer was given all required supporting documents.

Article 202:

The worker who wants to benefit from the provisions of the present Section must present the following supporting documents:

a) an excerpt of marriage certificate;

b) an excerpt of birth certificate for each child;

c) a declaration by the head of the household claiming responsibility for his own that his wife is not gainfully employed;

d) eventually, proof of schooling or apprenticeship attendance as provided for in Article 200.

Article 203:

If the worker finds himself unable to procure the certificates enumerated in paragraphs a) and b) of Article 202 above, they can be replaced by either a court decision or by an attested affidavit as prescribed by the laws or regulations in effect regarding civil status.

D. Housing

Article 204:

Regular full-time workers shall be entitled to free housing (main house and outbuildings) provided by the employer under the conditions set by a Prakas (ministerial order) of the Ministry in Charge of Labor.

Article 205:

Housing (main house) provided to a married worker living with his family should have a minimum inhabitable area of twenty-four square meters. A house of this size can be provided to single workers at the rate of one house per a maximum of four single persons of the same sex.

Article 206:

The housing must be constructed in conformance with sanitation and public health regulations issued by the competent authorities. To this end, enterprises shall submit the plans and specifications for one or more types of housing to the Bureau of Labor Inspection who will directly advise and then send them to the competent provincial or municipal authorities. If the authorities voice no reservation within thirty days from the submission, the enterprise can undertake any construction conforming to the submitted project. Special authorization can be requested for the construction of temporary housing during the installation period or the clearing of new lots as long as the temporary housing is not occupied longer than three years and that it conforms to general standards of sanitation, hygiene and health as established by the competent authorities.

Article 207:

Workers are prohibited from housing anyone other than their wife and legitimate or illegitimate children registered with the employer in the houses putting at their disposal, unless otherwise authorized by the employer.

Article 208:

Workers must always keep their house, as well as their outbuildings, courtyard, and garden, clean. They are liable for damage to the housing they are provided.

E. Housing Allowance

Article 209:

When the plantation cannot furnish housing to regular full-time workers, the employer is required to pay them a monthly housing allowance under the conditions determined by a Prakas from the Ministry in Charge of Labor in accordance with the recommendation of the Labor Advisory Committee.

F. Water

Article 210:

Workers must be supplied with water for all their needs, in every season, and under the best conditions possible.

Article 211:

The source of water shall be found, protected and the water shall be distributed first for consumption.

Article 212:

In case that the water are suspected to be tainted, the employer shall take all necessary measures (sterilization by boiling or chlorinating, etc.) recommended by the public health service.

G . Provision of Supplies

Article 213:

Plantations or work sites that are located far from regular markets and that do not have adequate supplies of their own, the employer can set up a store that provides staples such as rice, dry salted fish, smoked fish, salt, tea, etc. The store must operate according to the conditions defined in Articles 42 and 43 of this law.

H. Latrines

Article 214:

In each community of workers, the number of latrines must equal at least one-quarter of the number of houses. These latrines shall be in covered buildings placed at a sufficient distance from the living areas. They shall be enclosed and maintained permanently in a sanitary state.

Article 215:

Household refuse and garbage of all kinds shall be placed in a pit away from water sources and buried daily or burned.

Article 216:

Dead animals must be buried far from water sources, wells, cisterns, and inhabited areas.

I. Death - Interment or Cremation

Article 217:

Deaths shall be certified by the competent authorities and interment or cremation shall be organized as prescribed by the regulations in effect.

Article 218:

Upon the death of each regular worker, the employer shall furnish:

J. Day Nursery

Article 219:

When a plantation employs one hundred or more regular working resident women, the Labor Inspector can, on the advice of the health service and the provincial or municipal governors, require the employer to construct, organize, and maintain a day nursery near the workers' housing.

This day nursery will be placed under the supervision of a female caretaker, who will be eventually assisted as needed by one or more helpers, depending on the number of children, and will be provided with necessary supplies such as milk and rice.

For infants more than two years old, the owner of the plantation shall distribute, in addition to rice, a variety of food. The rations shall be monitored by the health service of the enterprise.

Article 220:

The maximum age of admittance for children to the day nursery is six years.

Article 221:

A day nursery shall be opened and operated according to the conditions specified above, provided that there are at least ten children enrolled.

K. School

Article 222:

When there are at least twenty children aged at least six years of regular resident workers at the plantation, the employer must construct and maintain, at his own expense, a sufficient number of primary schools located close to the workers' housing.

Article 223:

The employer must equip these schools with furniture and teaching materials, at his own expense, in conformance with the directives of the competent administrative services.

Article 224:

Teacher salaries are to be paid by the plantation.

Article 225:

If the school is located more than 1500 meters from the village, the employer is required to provide transportation for the school children at his expense in vehicles that provide protection from sun and rain.

Article 226:

The children of regular non-resident workers can be admitted to the schools on the plantation, but the employer is not responsible for their transportation.

Section 2

Other agricultural works

Article 227:

The particular working conditions in agricultural enterprises other than plantations shall be established specifically by proposal of the Minister in Charge of Labor after having consulted with the Labor Advisory Committee.