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

Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Eswatini (Ratification: 1981)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Duration of the night period and authorized exceptions. The Committee has been commenting on sections101(1) and (3) of the Employment Act of 1980, as amended, which provides for a significantly shorter night period than that prescribed by the Convention and also allows for broader exceptions to the prohibition of night work of women than those permitted under Articles 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the Convention. The Committee has also been drawing attention to the Protocol of 1990 to Convention No. 89, which expands considerably the exemption possibilities with regard to the prohibition of night work for women, and has been inviting the Government to give favourable consideration to its ratification. In its last report, the Government reiterates that there is an ongoing process of revision of the Employment Act of 1980 and that an Employment Bill has already been submitted to the Parliament. In the absence of any concrete indication as to whether the new draft legislation intends to ensure conformity with the Convention or to further relax the prohibition against women’s night work, the Committee once again invites the Government to consider the possibility of ratifying either the 1990 Protocol which affords greater flexibility in the application of Convention No. 89 while remaining focused on the protection of women workers, or Convention No. 171 which shifts the emphasis from a specific category of workers and sector of economic activity to the safety and health protection of all night workers irrespective of gender. The Committee asks the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard and to transmit the text of the new Employment Act once it is adopted.