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

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

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 The Committee also drew attention to the fact that action was needed with regard to the outdated Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 (No. 4), which had not yet been denounced, and therefore the Government remained formally bound by that instrument.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remove any contradiction between its international obligations arising from ratified Conventions, that might have grown outdated over time, and domestic legislation in the interest of preserving a coherent body of international labour standards and maintaining a meaningful dialogue with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.