Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Article 3 of the Convention. General prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Ministerial Order No. 46/1 of 1980 which specifies the tasks in which the employment of women is allowed during the night, i.e. the period from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. While most of the types of work contained in the Order do not relate to industrial undertakings, and therefore are not strictly relevant to the application of the Convention, the Committee notes that “work for the purpose of meeting abnormal work pressures” goes beyond the permissible exceptions set out in Articles 4, 5 and 8 of the Convention. In this respect, the Committee suggests that the Government might wish to consider the possibilities offered by the 1990 Protocol to Convention No. 89 for broader exemptions from the night work prohibition and variations in the duration of the night period, while maintaining the focus on women’s protection from arduous working conditions.

The Committee wishes to draw once more the Government’s attention to the fact that general protective measures for female workers, such as blanket prohibitions – as contrasted to special measures aimed at protecting women’s reproductive and maternal capacity – are increasingly regarded as obsolete and unnecessary infringements of the fundamental principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. The Committee is fully aware, however, that the specific needs of each country vary and that the universal acceptance of non-discrimination in employment and occupation as a fundamental human right may in some situations call for a phased approach. It is in this sense that the Committee concluded in paragraph 201 of its 2001 General Survey on the night work of women in industry that “Convention No. 89, as revised by the 1990 Protocol, retains its relevance for some countries as a means of protecting those women who need protection from the harmful effects and risks of night work in certain industries, while acknowledging the need for flexible and consensual solutions to specific problems and for consistency with modern thinking and principles on maternity protection”. In light of these observations, the Committee invites the Government, in consultation with the social partners, and in particular with women workers, to consider the possibility of modernizing its legislation by ratifying either the 1990 Protocol to Convention No. 89, which opens up the possibility for women to work at night under certain well-specified conditions, or the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), which applies to all night workers in all branches and occupations. The Committee recalls that the Government may wish to seek the assistance of the Office with a view to better understanding the possibilities and implications of each of these two instruments and revising existing legislation accordingly. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.