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Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Romania (RATIFICATION: 1957)

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CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition
Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it noted that the national legislation no longer contains a general prohibition against the employment of women during the night with the exception of section 128(2) of the Labour Code which provides that pregnant, recently confined, or nursing women may not be obliged to perform night work, and that therefore the Convention has ceased to apply in law and practice. In its latest report, the Government indicates that it will examine the possibility of denouncing the Convention at the next suitable occasion – in line with action taken by the majority of EU Member States – and will also consider the ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171). The Committee recalls, in this respect, that Convention No. 89 may be denounced every ten years and will again be open to denunciation for a period of one year as from 27 February 2021. The Committee once again strongly encourages the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of Convention No. 171 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard.

CMNT_TITLE

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it noted that the national legislation no longer contains a general prohibition against the employment of women during the night with the exception of section 128(2) of the Labour Code which provides that pregnant, recently confined, or nursing women may not be obliged to perform night work, and that therefore the Convention has ceased to apply in law and practice. In its latest report, the Government indicates that it will examine the possibility of denouncing the Convention at the next suitable occasion – in line with action taken by the majority of EU Member States – and will also consider the ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171). The Committee recalls, in this respect, that Convention No. 89 may be denounced every ten years and will again be open to denunciation for a period of one year as from 27 February 2021. The Committee once again strongly encourages the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of Convention No. 171 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard.

CMNT_TITLE

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations that the Labour Code of 2003 no longer contains a general prohibition against the employment of women during the night with the exception of section 125(2) which provides that pregnant women, women after childbirth and nursing women may not be obliged to perform night work. As the Committee noted in its previous comment, therefore, the Convention has ceased to apply in law and practice.

In this regard, the Committee wishes to refer to paragraph 93 of its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry in which it firmly encouraged those governments which opted to no longer apply Convention No. 89 for reasons of gender equality and non-discrimination in employment to take concrete measures under ILO constitutional procedures with a view to formally terminating their obligations arising out of those Conventions. While recognizing that certain international treaty obligations might have grown outdated over time, the Committee considered that any contradiction between those obligations and domestic legislation should be properly removed in the interest of preserving a coherent body of international labour standards and giving full meaning to the Organization’s supervisory organs. For all useful purposes, therefore, the Committee recalls that Convention No. 89 may be denounced every ten years and will again be open to denunciation for a period of one year as from 27 February 2011. It also recalls that, to date, all EU member States which were previously bound by the Convention have proceeded to its denunciation, except for Romania and Slovenia. The Committee once again invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of Convention No. 171 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee takes note of the information supplied in the Government’s report. It notes, in particular, that following the adoption of the new Labour Code, Act No. 53/2003 of 24 January 2003, the general prohibition against the employment of women at night has been repealed and therefore effect is no longer given to the provisions of the Convention. In this connection, the Government’s attention is drawn to paragraphs 191 to 202 of the General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry in which the Committee referring to the continued relevance of the ILO instruments on women’s night work concluded that there can be no doubt that the current trend is to move away from a blanket ban on the employment of women at night and to formulate gender-neutral night work regulations offering safety and health protection to both men and women. The Committee further indicated that the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), was drafted for those countries which would be prepared to eliminate all women-specific restrictions on night work (except for those aimed at protecting women’s reproductive and infant-nursing role) while seeking to improve the working and living conditions of all nightworkers. Considering, therefore, that for all practical purposes the Convention has ceased to apply in Romania, and also recalling the need for an appropriate legal framework addressing the problems and hazards of night work in general, the Committee invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171). It asks the Government to keep it informed of any decisions taken in this regard.