Experts in legal and labour rights activists have called for urgent amendment of the existing legal provisions in order to avoid conflicts that might arise from the mismatch between them and the Cabinet resolution on working hours. On November 11, 2022, the Office of the Prime Minister issued a communiqué of cabinet meeting decisions, including that the official working hours will be eight, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm , excluding a one-hour lunch break. Overall, the implementation of this decision started on January 4 this year. Speaking to The New Times, Germain Mirimo, Executive Director of Rwanda Labour Rights Organization (RLRO) said that the labour law provides that the maximum working hours are 45 a week. “This means that an employer can say that they are not going to comply with the Cabinet decision while there is a labour law ... And, they would be right because the Cabinet decision is less powerful than the labour law,” he said. Also, he said, the employee might say that there is a Cabinet resolution that allows them to work for the indicated hours, and they will also be right. “So, there is a concern that there might be conflict or misunderstanding between an employee and an employer. That is why we have called for social dialogue until the legal instruments in question get amended,” he said. Tom Mulisa, a lecturer of constitutional law at the University of Rwanda told The New Times that the Cabinet decision on working hours is not in contradiction with the constitution, adding that working more than eight hours per day is not effectively productive. He said that when the Cabinet makes a decision in response to development trends, it implies that all (ordinary) laws providing for otherwise will have to align to it. “The labour law is an ordinary law, which comes from the executive (arm of the Government). The Cabinet decision is also a decision of the Executive,” he said, indicating that the decision is binding because it is not contravening the constitution. “However, for the purpose of building a firm foundation for that, it requires that the concerned labour law provisions on working hours be amended,” he said. Mirimo said that as the number of hours reduces, the productivity of workers increases as they work for a short time but they are not exhausted, pointing out that an employee is less productive during the time beyond eight hours a day.
