Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Bangladesh (Ratification: 1972)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee recalls its previous comment in which it noted that, following the adoption of the Labour Act 2006, the prohibition against the employment of women during the night has been significantly relaxed to the extent that women may not be employed without their consent between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., which implies that they may freely decide to hold night jobs if they so wish. The Committee also drew attention to the fact that action was needed with regard to the outdated Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4), which had not yet been denounced, and therefore the Government remained formally bound by that instrument. In its reply, the Government indicates that, in accordance with the Labour Act, special attention is paid to the protection of women when they are employed during night-time. The Government adds, however, that since the provisions of the Labour Act give effect to Convention No. 89, it does not matter if no action is taken with regard to the original Convention No. 4. The Committee observes, in this respect, that in its current reading section 109 of the Labour Act is not in conformity with either the general prohibition against women’s night work laid down in Article 3 of the Convention or the definition of the term “night” as a period of at least 11 consecutive hours set out in Article 2 of the Convention. In addition, as regards Convention No. 4, the Committee considers that the Government should take the necessary action to remove any contradiction between its international obligations arising from ratified Conventions, that might have grown outdated over time, and domestic legislation in the interest of preserving a coherent body of international labour standards and maintaining a meaningful dialogue with the Organization’s supervisory organs. In this connection, the Committee recalls that Convention No. 89 will again be open to denunciation as from 27 February 2021, while Convention No. 4 may be denounced at any time. The Committee once again invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of Convention No. 171, and to keep the Office informed of any steps taken with respect to Conventions Nos 89 and 4.

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes that following the adoption of the new Labour Act 2006, the general prohibition against the employment of women during the night has been removed. According to section 109 of the Labour Act, women may not be employed without their consent between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., which of course implies that female workers can henceforth make their own free decisions as to whether they wish to perform night work. The Committee is therefore obliged to conclude that the Convention is no longer given effect in either law or practice.

Under the circumstances, and while noting that the Government is currently in the process of finalizing the Rules under the new Labour Act, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to 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 once again invites the Government to consider the possibility of ratifying Convention No. 171 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

In addition, the Committee notes that the Government remains bound by the provisions of the Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4), and, therefore, action needs also to be taken in this regard. In its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry, the Committee concluded that Convention No. 4 was a rigid instrument, ill-suited to present-day realities and manifestly of historical importance only (paragraph 193). Similarly, the ILO Governing Body, based on the recommendations of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, decided to retain Convention No. 4 as a candidate for possible abrogation considering that it no longer corresponded to current needs and had become obsolete (see GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraphs 31–32 and 38). The Committee takes this opportunity to recall that contrary to most other Conventions which may be denounced after an initial period of five or ten years but only during an interval of one year, the denunciation of Convention No. 4 is possible at any time provided that the representative organizations of employers and workers are fully consulted in advance. The Committee, therefore, strongly encourages the Government to take appropriate action in respect of obsolete Convention No. 4.

Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

The Committee recalls its previous observation in which it noted the Government’s indication that the Tripartite Consultative Council has recommended the ratification of the Protocol of 1990 to the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89), and that the matter should then be referred to the Cabinet and the respective Parliamentary Commission for examination. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, there have been no further developments in this regard.

The Committee takes this opportunity to refer to paragraphs 191-202 of its 2001 General Survey on the night work of women in industry, in which it observed that the present trend is no doubt to move away from a general prohibition against women’s night work and to give the social partners 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. Therefore, the Committee once again invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of the 1990 Protocol which affords greater flexibility in the application of the Convention while remaining focused on the protection of female workers. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any progress made or decisions taken in this regard. Finally, the Committee would be grateful to the Government for providing in its next report, 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 application of the exceptions allowed under the provisions of the Convention, etc.

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

Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government's report. It notes the Government's indication that the Tripartite Consultative Council has recommended the ratification of the Protocol of 1990 to the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948. This recommendation will therefore be submitted to the Cabinet and the respective Parliamentary Commission.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this respect.

Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

The Committee notes the Government's report. It also notes the comments of the Bangladesh Employers' Association, which were attached to the Government's report, to the effect that the Government should consider ratifying the Protocol of 1990 to the Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on any development in this respect.