Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that both the Federation of BiH and the Republika Srpska are in agreement that the Convention is no longer implemented and therefore steps should be taken towards its denunciation. It also notes that the authorities of the Republika Srpska are in favour of the eventual ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171). The Committee recalls that Convention No. 89 will next be open to denunciation as from 27 February 2021. In the meantime, the Committee encourages the Government to consider the ratification of Convention No. 171 and requests it to keep the Office informed of any decision 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. Further to its previous comment in which the Committee observed that effect was no longer given to the Convention in either law or practice in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in the Republika Srpska, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that it intends to consider the possibility of ratifying the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171).

In this regard, the Committee wishes to refer to paragraph 93 of its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry in which it firmly encouraged those governments which opted to no longer apply one of the relevant night work Conventions Nos 4, 41 or 89 for reasons of gender equality and non-discrimination in employment to take concrete measures under ILO constitutional procedures with a view to formally terminating their obligations arising out of those Conventions. While recognizing that certain international treaty obligations might have grown outdated over time, the Committee considered that any contradiction between those obligations and domestic legislation should be properly removed in the interest of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 once 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.

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

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its first two detailed reports. It notes, in particular, that following the amendments to the Labour Law of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation No. 43/99) introduced in 2000, section 35 which gave effect to most of the provisions of the Convention was repealed. It also notes that the Labour Law of the Republika Srpska (Official Gazette of the Republic No. 38/00) contains no general prohibition against women’s night work except for pregnant women as from the sixth month of pregnancy and nursing mothers of a child up to one year of age, the compulsory daily rest period being limited in this case to eight consecutive hours. In addition, both labour laws prohibit the employment during the night of young persons under 18 years of age. The Committee is therefore bound to conclude that the Convention has for all practical purposes ceased to apply in both entities.

The Committee takes this opportunity to draw the Government’s attention to paragraphs 191 to 202 of the General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry in which the Committee, referring to the present-day relevance of the ILO instruments on women’s night work, concluded that there can be no doubt that the present trend is clearly in favour of lifting all restrictions on women’s night work and formulating gender-sensitive night work regulations offering safety and health protection to both men and women. It also noted that many countries are in the process of easing or eliminating legal restrictions on women’s employment during the night with the aim of improving women’s opportunities in employment and strengthening non-discrimination. The Committee further recalled that member States are under an obligation to review periodically their protective legislation in light of scientific and technological knowledge with a view to revising all gender-specific provisions and discriminatory constraints. This obligation stems from Article 11(3) of the 1979 UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (to which parenthetically Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party since 1993), as later reaffirmed in point 5(b) of the 1985 ILO Resolution on equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women in employment.

More concretely, the Committee considered that the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), was drafted for those countries which would be prepared to eliminate all women-specific restrictions on night work (except for those aimed at protecting women’s reproductive and infant-nursing role) while seeking to improve the working and living conditions of all night workers.

Considering, therefore, that effect is no longer given to the Convention in either law or practice, and also recalling 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), which shifts the emphasis from a specific category of workers and sector of economic activity to the safety and health protection of night workers irrespective of gender in nearly all branches and occupations. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision which might be taken, in this regard, in full consultation with its social partners.