Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 90) - Mexico (Ratification: 1956)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Period during which night work is prohibited. In its previous comments, the Committee repeatedly pointed out that, by defining night work as work performed between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., i.e. a period of ten hours, section 60 of the Federal Labour Act fails to give effect to Article 2(1) of the Convention, which defines “night” as a period of at least 12 consecutive hours.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that, although national legislation does not contain a prohibition for young persons under 18 years of age to work during the night for 12 consecutive hours, the Government has taken measures to regulate night work of minors and sanction any contravention. The Committee notes the Government’s reference in this regard to the Federal Regulation on Safety, Health and the Working Environment, of 21 January 1997. Yet the Committee observes that the Regulation in question does not contain any provision on the night work of minors. The Committee furthermore notes that section 175(2) of the Federal Labour Act prohibits night work for young persons under 18 years of age in industrial undertakings and section 995 provides for aggravated sanctions for the non-respect of any of the provisions relating to the protection of minors. As regards application in practice, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that the Federal Attorney’s office for Labour Defense has not received any cases relating to the subject matter of the Convention. It also notes that the labour inspectorate between 2008 and May 2012 carried out more than 218,000 inspections of workplaces likely to be concerned by the application of the federal labour legislation governing night work and that they found no minors working at night in these enterprises. The Committee also notes the extracts of collective agreements provided by the Government which contain provisions on the night work of women. Yet, like section 60 of the Federal Labour Act, they establish that “night” is the interval between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m., establishing a period of ten consecutive hours during which work by minors is prohibited.

The Committee points out again that section 60 of the Federal Labour Act is not in conformity with Article 2 of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee reminds the Government that Article 2 of the Convention lays down that night signifies a period of 12 consecutive hours (paragraph 1). For young persons under 16 years of age this period shall include the interval between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. of the following day (paragraph 2), and for young persons between the ages of 16 and 18 years, the interval of at least seven consecutive hours falling between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. (paragraph 3). The Committee notes with deep regret that, despite the request which it has repeatedly made since 1972, no measures have been taken to give effect to the Convention. The Committee therefore again urges the Government to finally take the necessary measures to amend the Federal Labour Act in order to ensure conformity with Article 2 of the Convention.