Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1952)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes that no concrete progress has as yet been made for either the ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), or the denunciation of Convention No. 89, even though the Government affirms that the employment of women in night work positions is a reality in the country and that the Convention has long ceased to be implemented. The Committee wishes to point out, in this respect, that contrary to the opinion given by the legal services of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (Opinion No. 124-2013, a copy of which was attached to the Government’s latest report), the eventual ratification of Convention No. 171 will not ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of Convention No. 89, which would need to be formally denounced in accordance with the procedure and within the time limits set out in Article 15(2). The Committee again invites the Government to take steps to move towards the ratification of Convention No. 171 and the denunciation of Convention No. 89 and to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken in this regard.

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it observed that the Convention had for all practical purposes ceased to apply and that the Government should consider the ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990, (No. 171), which offered protection to all night workers irrespective of gender in all branches and occupations. In its reply, the Government indicates that a study was previously undertaken by services of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which recommended the ratification of Convention No. 171 but until now there have been no technical studies to follow up on such recommendation. It adds that the Ministry’s Department for the Promotion of the Woman Worker has suggested the establishment of a technical committee in order to undertake an in-depth analysis of the social and economic dimensions of night work and present its results to all interested organizations and public authorities. The Committee notes, in particular, that in a letter dated 26 May 2008, the Director of the Department for the Promotion of the Woman Worker recommended the denunciation of Convention No. 89 and the ratification of Convention No. 171, bearing in mind that night work was a reality in the country and that Convention No. 89 had long ceased to be implemented. It also notes that in another communication, dated 24 September 2007, the Director of the International Labour Affairs Unit, the General Labour Inspector, the Director General of Labour and the Coordinator of the Technical Council and Legal Affairs, called for the denunciation of Convention No. 89 and cautioned that failing such action the Government was bound to reintroduce the prohibition on women’s night work in order to comply with its international obligations.

The Committee feels once more obliged to refer to paragraph 93 of its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry in which it expressed the view that any contradiction between the legal obligations arising out of the ratification of an international labour Convention and existing domestic legislation should be properly removed in the interest of preserving a coherent body of international labour standards and giving full meaning to the Organization’s supervisory organs. 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. The Committee again invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of Convention No. 171 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken with respect to Convention No. 89. It also requests the Government to provide documented information on any concrete measures or plan of action that might be undertaken following the recommendations of the Department for the Promotion of the Woman Worker and the results obtained.

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

The Committee takes note of the information supplied in the Government’s report and attached documents, as well as the comments made by the Trade Union Confederation of Guatemala (UNSITRAGUA). It notes, in particular, that the national legislation does not contain at present any prohibition relating to the employment of women at night. The Committee recalls that the Government remains fully bound by the provisions of the Convention until such time as a formal act of denunciation takes effect in accordance with Article 15, paragraph 1, of the Convention. This implies that, as long as the Government does not proceed to denounce the Convention, it has the obligation to honour the commitments made on account of the acceptance of that instrument. In this connection, the Committee wishes to refer to paragraphs 92 and 93 of the General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry in which it noted with concern that the same situation prevails in several countries and appealed to the governments concerned to take all necessary measures to ensure that their international commitments are consistent with national laws in this respect.

In addition, the Government’s attention is drawn to paragraphs 191-202 of the same General Survey in which the Committee, referring to the continued relevance of the ILO instruments on women’s night work, concluded that there can be no doubt that the present trend is to move away from a blanket ban on night work for women in industry and that more attention is now being paid to regulating night work for both men and women. In this latter respect, the Committee indicated that the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), was drafted for those countries which would be prepared to eliminate women-specific restrictions on night work and to introduce gender-neutral regulations for all night workers.

Therefore, bearing in mind the fact that for all practical purposes the Convention has long ceased to apply, but also the need for an appropriate legal framework addressing the problems and hazards of night work in general, the Committee invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171). It asks the Government to keep it informed of any decisions taken in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

The Committee notes that the Government refers to its report of 1989 regarding the list of relevant legislation.

However, the Committee notes that the provision of section 148, subsection (b), of the Labour Code (Decree No. 1441 of 1961), which used to prohibit women's night work was deleted by virtue of Decree No. 64-92 regarding the reform of the Labour Code (Diario de centroam rica, 2 Dec. 1992, No. 23, pp. 521-524). Section 148 of the Labour Code now prohibits night work only of minors, but not of women in general.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on any measures taken to prohibit the night work of women without distinction of age in any public or private industrial undertaking, in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of the Convention.