Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention, 1919 (No. 6) - Portugal (Ratification: 1932)

The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP–IN) and the General Workers’ Union (UGT) communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 2(2) of the Convention. Exceptions to the prohibition of night work by young persons. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that under section 76(2) of Legislative Decree No. 7/2009 (Labour Code of 2009), a young person of 16 years or more cannot work between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. except in the conditions determined by section 76(3)(a). Noting that section 76(3)(a) of the Labour Code allows young persons of 16 years or more to perform night work in sectors of activity determined by a collective agreement, except during the period between midnight and 5 a.m., the Committee requested the Government to take the necessary measures to specify the activities in which night work may be authorized for children over 16 years of age.

The Committee once again notes the allegations made by the CGTP–IN reiterating its previous observations that the national legislation does not expressly state the sectors of activity in which night work is authorized for young persons over 16 years of age. The CGTP–IN further alleges that this task is left to collective bargaining, which could lead to a generalization or widespread habit in practice, which is not permitted by the Convention. The Committee also notes the UGT’s statement that child labour in Portugal, particularly night work, is a residual phenomenon.

In reply to those comments, the Government reiterates that the regulations governing the protection of minors performing hazardous work, as indicated in section 72(2) of the Labour Code, should be taken into account. According to the Government, national legislation enumerates the activities, processes and conditions of work which, by virtue of their hazardous nature, are forbidden or restricted to young people between 16 and 18 years. Such legislation applies both to work performed by day or at night, and in all sectors, including in undertakings in which only members of the same family are employed and in industrial undertakings on work which, by reason of the nature of the process, is required to be carried on continuously day and night in the industries specifically enumerated in the Convention. The Government further highlights that, in recent years, collective bargaining agreements have addressed the issue of night work by children and prohibited it. The Committee notes with interest the examples of collective agreements provided by the Government, which forbid night work by children over 16 years of age in certain sectors. Those collective agreements apply notably to the goldsmiths industry nationwide, to commerce and services at the district level, and in various occupations and activities in the agricultural, livestock and forestry sector at district and local levels. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether there are any sectors where, in practice, collective agreements authorize children over 16 years of age to undertake night work, as per section 76(3)(a) of the Labour Code of 2009, and to specify the number of working children in such sectors, if any.