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Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Senegal (RATIFICATION: 1962)

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Previous comment: C.14

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 14 (weekly rest (industry)) and 89 (night work (women)) together.

Weekly rest

Article 5 of Convention No. 14. Compensatory rest. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government indicates in its report that the exceptions set out in sections 10 and 11 of Decree No. 73-085 of 30 January 1973 establishing procedures for the application of the weekly rest period in undertakings other than public services, are exceptional in nature and are not intended to call into question the principle of weekly rest and its compensation by rest. The Committee notes that, according to the aforementioned sections, these exceptions give rise to the payment of overtime. The Committee also notes that, according to section 12 of this Decree, for loading and unloading work in ports, landing places and stations, work is authorized on the weekly day of rest and also gives rise to the payment of overtime. Recalling the importance of ensuring in so far as possible that provision is made so that persons called upon to work on a weekly rest day receive compensatory rest, as such weekly rest is justified by the need to protect the health and well-being of workers (see paragraph 242 of the General Survey concerning working time instruments), the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any measures adopted or envisaged to ensurethat, as far as possible, compensatory rest is granted to the different categories of workers covered by sections 10 to 12 of Decree No. 73-085.

Night work

Article 3 of Convention No. 89. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee welcomes the adoption of Decree No. 2021-1469 of 3 November 2021, on the work of pregnant women, which repeals General Order No. 5254 IGTLS/AOF of 19 July 1954, on the work of women and pregnant women, which prohibited women from working at night. The Committee notes that, in factories, plants, mines, pits and quarries, construction sites, particularly building and public works sites, and workshops, and their outbuildings, pregnant women cannot be employed to perform any night work. Recalling that the Convention will be open for denunciation from 27 February 2031 and 27 February 2032, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), which is not devised as a gender-specific instrument, but focuses on the protection of all persons working at night (2018 General Survey on Working Time, paragraph 408).

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Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. Further to its previous comment, the Committee once again refers to the growing trend towards the progressive relaxation or outright elimination of legal restrictions on women’s employment during the night with the aim of improving women’s opportunities in employment and promoting gender equality. Equally important is the general trend to regulate night work for both men and women alike focusing on the safety and health protection of night workers rather than on gender-specific considerations. The Committee therefore invites the Government to favourably consider the possibility of ratifying either the 1990 Protocol to Convention No. 89, which offers greater flexibility by allowing exemptions from the prohibition of night work and variations in the duration of the night period through agreements between the employers and workers, or the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), which shifts the emphasis from a specific category of workers and sector of economic activity to the protection of night workers, irrespective of gender, in all branches and occupations. The Committee recalls that the Government may wish to draw upon the expert advice and technical assistance of the International Labour Office for the purpose of revising and adapting existing legislation. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this respect.

In addition, the Committee notes the comments made by the National Confederation of Senegalese Workers (CNTS), dated 1 September 2008, which drew attention to the absence of any statistical information concerning the actual practice of women’s employment during the night and called upon the Government to take appropriate action to this direction. The Committee requests the Government to provide any comments it may wish to make in reply to the observations of CNTS.

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The Committee notes the Government’s report. It notes, in particular, that the general prohibition against the night work of women, without distinction of age, in all industrial undertakings continues to apply by virtue of sections L.140 and L.141 of the Labour Code, Act No. 97-17 of 1 December 1997, and sections 3 to 5 of Order No. 5254/IGTLS/AOF of 19 July 1954 concerning the employment of women and pregnant women. The Committee takes this opportunity to refer to paragraphs 191 to 202 of its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry, in which it referred to the continued relevance of the instruments on women’s night work and observed that the present trend is no doubt to move away from a blanket ban on women’s night work and to give the social partners at the national level the responsibility for determining the extent of the permitted exemptions. In this respect, the Committee considered that the Protocol of 1990 to Convention No. 89 was designed as a tool for smooth transition from outright prohibition to free access to night employment, especially for those States that wished to offer the possibility of night employment to women workers but felt that some institutional protection should remain in place to avoid exploitative practices and a sudden worsening of the social conditions of women workers. It also suggested that greater efforts should be made by the Office to help those constituents who are still bound by the provisions of Convention No. 89, and who are not yet ready to ratify the new Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), to realize the advantages of modernizing their legislation in line with the provisions of the Protocol. The Committee wishes therefore to draw the Government’s attention to the 1990 Protocol which affords greater flexibility in the application of the Convention while remaining focused on the protection of female workers. Finally, the Committee would be grateful to the Government for providing, in accordance with Part V of the report form, all available information concerning the practical application of the Convention, including for instance extracts from reports of inspection services, statistics on the number of workers covered by relevant legislation, the number and nature of contraventions reported, the application of the exceptions allowed under Articles 4 and 6 of the Convention, etc.