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Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes that sections 3 and 4 of Decision No. 91-008 AT of 17 January 1991 continue to give effect to the main requirement of the Convention, that is a general prohibition against the employment of women in industry during at least 11 consecutive hours comprising the period between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. It also notes, however, the Government’s indications that most collective agreements do not contain any express prohibition on night work for women – as contrasted to night work of minors – and that discussions aiming at relaxing the current limitations on the employment of women during the night could be undertaken within the framework of the planned social pact.

The Committee has been inviting the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of either 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, or the 1990 Protocol which affords considerable flexibility in the application of Convention No. 89 while remaining focused on the protection of women workers.

In this connection, the Committee feels once more obliged to draw 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 also the widely ratified United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

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. Whereas the Government of France denounced the Convention on 27 February 1992, no declaration modifying the terms of the acceptance of the obligations of the Convention on behalf of French Polynesia has so far been communicated (as provided for in article 35 of the ILO Constitution) and therefore the Government of French Polynesia remains bound by the provisions of the Convention until such a declaration is made and a formal instrument of denunciation takes effect in accordance with Article 15(2) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the outcome of discussions concerning a social pact in so far as women’s night work is concerned, and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken with respect to Convention No. 89.

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The Committee notes the Government’s report and the information related to Decision No. 91-008 AT of 17 January 1991, which was taken in application of certain provisions of Act No. 86-845 of 17 July 1986, and which gives effect to the main provisions of the Convention.

The Committee takes this opportunity to refer to paragraphs 191-202 of its 2001 General Survey on the night work of women in industry, in which it observed that the present trend is no doubt to move away from a blanket prohibition against women’s night work and to give the social partners the responsibility for determining the extent of the permitted exemptions. It also noted that evidently more attention is now being paid to regulating night work for both men and women alike and that many countries are in the process of easing or eliminating legal restrictions on women’s employment during the night with the aim of improving women’s opportunities in employment and strengthening non-discrimination. The Committee further recalled that member States are under an obligation to review periodically their protective legislation in light of scientific and technological knowledge with a view to revising all gender-specific provisions and discriminatory constraints. This obligation stems from Article 11(3) of the 1979 United Nation Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (to which parenthetically France became party in 1983), as later reaffirmed in point 5(b) of the 1985 ILO resolution on equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women in employment.

More concretely, the Committee drew attention to the Protocol of 1990 to Convention No. 89, which 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, and to the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), which was drafted for those countries which would be prepared to abolish all restrictions on night work of women and offer appropriate protection to all night workers irrespective of gender and occupation. The Committee suggested that, in addition to promoting the ratification of the new Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), 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 Convention No. 171, to realize the advantages of modernizing their legislation in line with the provisions of the Protocol.

In the light of the preceding observations, the Committee invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of either Convention No. 171, which shifts the emphasis from a specific category of workers and sector of economic activity to the safety and health protection of all night workers, or the 1990 Protocol which affords considerable flexibility in the application of Convention No. 89 while remaining focused on the protection of female workers. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide, in accordance with Part V of the report form, general information concerning the application of the Convention in practice, including for instance extracts from reports of inspection services, the application of the exceptions allowed under the provisions of the Convention, etc.