Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Belize (Ratification: 1983)

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on working time, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 14 (weekly rest (industry)), and 89 (night work of women) together.

Weekly rest

Articles 4 of the Convention. Total or partial exceptions. The Committee notes that section 119(2) of the Labour Act (as revised in 2020) allows the Minister to exempt by Order from the granting of weekly rest entitlements any undertaking, business or establishment or any part thereof or any class of workers, subject to such conditions as may be specified in such Order. With regard to the foregoing, the Committee recalls the importance of keeping recourse to authorized exceptions to the normal 24-hour weekly rest period to what is strictly necessary, and for such exceptions to be authorized under clearly specified conditions, having special regard to all proper humanitarian and economic considerations and after consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations (2018 General Survey concerning working-time instruments, paras 226 and 260). The Committee requests the Government to bring the Labour Act in line with these requirements. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate whether orders under section 119 of the Labour Act or any other orders have been issued and if so, to indicate what categories of business, undertakings and workers have been exempted from weekly rest entitlements, and under which conditions these exceptions were made. It also requests the Government to communicate any new legislation adopted on this subject.

Article 5. Compensatory rest. The Committee notes that section 118(1)(c) of the Labour Act provides that if workers work for and at the request of their employers on a Sunday or other agreed rest day, they shall be paid wages for such extra work. The Committee observes that the Labour Act does not provide for compensatory periods of rest in case of work during weekly rest periods. Recalling that the rationale for compensatory rest is the need to protect the workers’ health and well-being, the Committee emphasizes the importance that any financial compensation is in addition to, and not in lieu of, the requisite compensatory rest. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that as far as possible, provision is made for compensatory periods of rest in case of exceptional work during weekly rest periods.

Night work

Article 3 of the Convention. General prohibition of night work for women. The Committee notes that section 161(1)(a) of the Labour Act prohibits the night work of women. The Committee also notes that the Labour Act provides for exceptions from this principle (sections 162(1) and 162(5)). In this regard, the Committee wishes to recall that protective measures applicable to women’s employment at night which go beyond maternity protection and are based on stereotyped perceptions regarding women’s professional abilities and role in society, violate the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in occupation and employment (2018 General Survey concerning working-time instruments, para. 545). The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that Convention No. 89 will be open for denunciation between 27 February 2031 and 27 February 2032.

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

Article 3 of the Convention. General prohibition of night work for women. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Advisory Board has recommended the elimination of all restrictions on night work for women and consequently the denunciation of Convention No. 89 and the ratification of the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171). The Committee recalls, in this respect, that Convention No. 89 will be next open to denunciation as from 27 February 2021. In the meantime, the Committee encourages the Government to move towards the ratification and effective implementation of Convention No. 171 and requests it to keep the Office informed of any steps taken or envisaged in this regard.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of night work of women. The Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the fact that even though the national legislation may be in substantial conformity with the provisions of the Convention, Convention No. 89 has been severely criticized in recent years as being contrary to the overriding principle of gender equality and restricting the individual worker’s freedom of choice on working time solely on the basis of sex. For this reason, the International Labour Conference decided to partially revise the Convention by adopting the 1990 Protocol to Convention No. 89, and also adopted a new Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171), which no longer applies to a specific category of workers and sector of economic activity but to all night workers irrespective of gender in all branches and occupations. For the same reasons, the Committee has been inviting States parties to the Convention to ratify either the Protocol if they considered that women’s protection from the harmful effects and risks of night work was still relevant, or the new Night Work Convention if they were prepared to eliminate all restrictions on night work for women.

The Committee recalls, in this connection, paragraphs 168–169 of its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry, in which it noted that the full realization of the principle of non-discrimination requires the repealing of all laws and regulations which apply different legal prescriptions to men and women, except for those related to pregnancy and maternity. 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 Belize is a party since May 1990), as later reaffirmed in point 5(b) of the 1985 ILO resolution on equal opportunities and equal treatment for men and women in employment.

In light of these observations, the Committee invites the Government in consultation with the social partners, and in particular with women workers, to consider the possibility of ratifying 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. It requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken or envisaged in this regard.

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

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee notes that the prohibition against the employment of women during the night continues to apply by virtue of sections 160(1)(a), 161(1)(a) and 162(1), (5) of the Labour Act (Cap. 297), as amended through to 31 December 2000. The Committee takes this opportunity to refer to paragraphs 191 to 202 of its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry, in which it referred to the continued relevance of the instruments on women’s night work and observed that the present trend is no doubt to move away from a blanket ban on women’s night work and to give the social partners at the national level the responsibility for determining the extent of possible variations in the duration of the night period or exemptions from the prohibition of night work. 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. The Committee wishes, therefore, to draw the Government’s attention to the 1990 Protocol which affords greater flexibility in the application of the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide, 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 number and nature of contraventions reported, the application of the exceptions allowed under Articles 4 and 6 of the Convention, etc.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

The Committee notes the Government’s report. It notes, in particular, that the prohibition against the employment of women during the night continues to apply by virtue of sections 160(1)(a), 161(1)(a) and 162(1), (5) of the Labour Act (Cap. 297), as amended through to 31 December 2000. The Committee takes this opportunity to refer to paragraphs 191 to 202 of its General Survey of 2001 on the night work of women in industry, in which it referred to the continued relevance of the instruments on women’s night work and observed that the present trend is no doubt to move away from a blanket ban on women’s night work and to give the social partners at the national level the responsibility for determining the extent of possible variations in the duration of the night period or exemptions from the prohibition of night work. 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. The Committee wishes, therefore, to draw the Government’s attention to the 1990 Protocol which affords greater flexibility in the application of the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide, 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 number and nature of contraventions reported, the application of the exceptions allowed under Articles 4 and 6 of the Convention, etc.