Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Bahrain (Ratification: 1981)

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Article 3 of the Convention. General prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes the adoption of the new Labour Law for the Private Sector No. 36 of 2012, in particular section 30 which provides for a ministerial decision to determine the occupations and circumstances in which women may not be employed at night. The Committee requests the Government to specify whether such a decision has already been issued and also to clarify the current status of Order No. 18/1976 and Order No. 44 of 2007 respecting the circumstances, occupations and occasions in which women may be required to work at night between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. following the adoption of the new Labour Law.

The Committee wishes to draw once more the Government’s attention to the fact that general protective measures for female workers, such as blanket prohibitions – as contrasted to special measures aimed at protecting women’s reproductive and maternal capacity – are increasingly regarded as obsolete and unnecessary infringements on the fundamental principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. The Committee accordingly suggests that the Government might wish to consider the possibilities offered by the 1990 Protocol to Convention No. 89 for broader exemptions from the night work prohibition and variations in the duration of the night period, while maintaining the focus on women’s protection from arduous working conditions or, alternatively, ratify 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 requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Article 3 of the Convention. General prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to Order No. 44 of 2007, which authorizes women’s employment during the night in banks and foreign exchange offices, thus supplementing Order No. 18/1976 respecting the circumstances, occupations and occasions in which women may be required to work at night between 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. The Government adds that it will endeavour to study the possibility of ratifying the 1990 Protocol in consultation with representative employers’ and workers’ organizations.

In this connection, the Committee wishes to draw, once more, 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 which would be 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 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (to which, parenthetically, Bahrain acceded in 2002).

The Committee is fully cognizant, however, that as a long-term goal, the full application of the principle of gender equality and non-discrimination in employment will only be attained progressively through appropriate legal reforms and varying periods of adaptation, depending on the stage of economic and social development or the influence of cultural traditions in a given society. It is in this sense that the Committee concluded in paragraph 164 of its General Survey of 2001 on night work of women in industry, that the gender-specific prohibition against employment during the night should progressively become irrelevant and that the prohibition should be overtaken by laws and practices that offer adequate protection to all workers. This is, though, subject to the understanding that national, regional and even sectoral conditions and progress in achieving the elimination of discrimination vary considerably, and therefore some women workers may still need protection along with the pursuit of genuine conditions of equality and non-discrimination.

In the light of these observations, the Committee hopes that the Government will give favourable consideration to the possibility of modernizing its legislation by ratifying either the 1990 Protocol to Convention No. 89, which opens up the possibility for women to work at night under certain well-specified conditions, or 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. The Committee recalls that the Government may wish to seek the assistance of the Office with a view to better understanding the possibilities and implications of each of these two instruments and revising existing legislation accordingly. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

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

The Committee notes the Government’s report. It notes, in particular, that the Government is in the process of extensively revising the Labour Law for the private sector of 1976 taking into account the provisions of this and other relevant international labour Conventions and also new developments intervened in recent years. The Government further indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has undertaken consultations to this effect with the social partners. The Committee takes this opportunity to draw the Government’s attention 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 possible variations in the duration of the night period or exemptions from the prohibition of night work. In this respect, the Committee concluded that Convention No. 89, as revised by the 1990 Protocol, retains its relevance for some countries as a means of protecting those women who need protection from the harmful effects and risks of night work in certain industries, while acknowledging the need for flexible and consensual solutions to specific problems and for consistency with modern thinking and principles on maternity protection. The Committee also considered that, in addition to encouraging the ratification of the new Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), greater efforts should be made by the Office to help those member States which are still bound by the provisions of Convention No. 89, and which 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. Recalling, therefore, that the Protocol of 1990 to Convention No. 89 was designed for those States that wish to offer the possibility of night employment to women workers but feel that some institutional protection should remain in place to avoid exploitative practices and a sudden worsening of the social conditions of women workers, the Committee invites the Government to give proper consideration to its provisions in the context of the current revision of the Labour Law for the private sector and to examine favourably the possibility of its ratification. It also requests the Government to keep it informed of all progress made or any decisions taken in this regard.

Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with satisfaction the adoption of the Civil Service Regulation 301, of 23 October 1988, which extends the application of the Convention to industrial enterprises in the public sector.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Further to its previous direct request concerning the application of the Convention in public sector industrial enterprises, the Committee notes from the report that draft regulations for this purpose have been prepared by the Civil Service Bureau. It hopes that the text will shortly be adopted and requests the Government to indicate any progress made in this respect.