For companies in which work is organised on the basis of successive teams operating in continuous shifts, that is to say who work 24 hours a day and 7 days a week (24/7), a company agreement may derogate, subject to the conditions and arrangements laid down in it, from the prohibition of Sunday work, provided that this is in the interests, on the one hand, of optimum utilisation of production equipment and, on the other, of an increase or consolidation of the number of existing jobs.
The company agreement must be concluded by a specific company with all the representative trade union organisations at national level representing the staff falling within its scope, provided that they are represented within the principal staff committee of the establishment concerned or, in the case of companies with multiple establishments, within at least one of the principal committees.
Such company agreements then have the same effect as the collective work agreement to which it is attached, if appropriate.
However, a company agreement will take effect only after being officially approved by the Minister of Labour and it will cease to be operative in the event of any withdrawal of approval by the Minister of Labour, following an opinion from the Minister of the Economy.
Where at least one or all of the above-mentioned trade union organisations withhold their consent for the conclusion of a company agreement, the Minister of Labour may grant a derogation from the prohibition of Sunday work after a referendum, that is to say after prior consultation of all the staff concerned in the company. The staff of the company will express its views in such case by secret ballot, under the supervision of the ITM.
When a new company is started up, it may be authorised by the Minister of Labour, subject to the conditions and the arrangements and for the duration determined by him, to derogate from the prohibition of Sunday work, doing so to ensure, first, better utilisation of production equipment and, second, the creation of new jobs.
In companies working in continuous shifts, the team employed at night from Saturday to Sunday may be compelled to work only until 6 o’clock on Sunday morning. The workers in those teams will, from that time, enjoy an uninterrupted rest period lasting until 6 o’clock on Monday morning.