Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1993)

With reference to the Government’s last report, the Committee wishes to draw its attention to the following points.

Further to its previous comments regarding the application of Articles 3 (minimum standards), 6 (workers medically unfit for night work), 7 (maternity protection), 9 (social services) and 10 (consultation with workers’ representatives) of the Convention, the Committee notes with regret that no concrete progress has so far been achieved other than an inconclusive examination of the Committee’s comments by the tripartite Advisory Labour Commission. While noting the importance of fully consulting with the social partners, the Committee is obliged to recall that the Government bears ultimately the responsibility for introducing the necessary legislative changes and bringing the national legislation and practice into conformity with the requirements of the Convention. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take the necessary steps without further delay to ensure that full effect is given to those provisions of the Convention which are not yet reflected in the national legislation.

Article 4. The Committee takes note of the Government’s statement that the new Act on Social Security is in conformity with the Convention since it provides for health assessment for workers experiencing health problems related to night work. The Committee, however, has not been able to identify any provision in Act No. 87-01 of 9 May 2001 on social security giving effect to the specific requirements set out in subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) of Article 4(1) of the Convention. It therefore requests the Government to supply further clarifications in this respect.

Article 11 and Part V of the report form. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether any collective agreements exist, either at the branch or at the enterprise level, containing provisions on night work regulation, and if so, to forward copies of such documents. The Committee would also be grateful to the Government for providing general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including for instance, extracts from inspection reports, recent studies on the social aspects of night work, and any available statistics on the number and categories of male and female workers employed at night.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2006.]