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Repetition

Article 3 of the Convention. General prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes that sections 164–169 of the Labour Code of 2004 essentially reproduce the provisions of the previous Labour Code of 1963 with respect to night work of women and children. More concretely, it remains generally prohibited to employ women for night work in factories, works, mines and quarries, worksites, workshops and any premises attached thereto, while exceptions may be granted only for work to preserve perishable material or with respect to women employed in health and welfare services.

In this connection, the Committee wishes to draw once more the Government’s attention to the fact that member States are increasingly required to initiate a review process of their protective legislation aiming at the gradual elimination of any provisions contrary to the principle of equal treatment between men and women, except those connected with maternity protection, and with due account being taken of national circumstances. This trend reflects also the growing expectation that the same standards of protection should apply to men and women alike in accordance with the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and the widely ratified UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will give favourable consideration to 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 is not devised as a gender-specific instrument but focuses on the protection of 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.