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

Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Serbia (Ratification: 2000)

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes that under the new Labour Law of 2005, there is no general prohibition against women’s night work except for young workers under 18 years of age (section 88) and pregnant women during the last eight weeks of pregnancy but also during the first 32 weeks of pregnancy, if such work would be detrimental for their health or the health of their child, as certified by a competent medical authority (section 90). The Committee is therefore bound to conclude that the Convention is no longer implemented in either law or practice.

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 requested 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 While recognizing that certain international treaty obligations might have become outdated over time, the Committee considered that any contradiction between those obligations and domestic legislation should be properly removed in the interest of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.