Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

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.