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

The Committee notes with regret 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:

In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, under section 101(1) of the Employment Act, No. 5 of 1980, the prohibition of night work for women extends to a period of eight hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., whereas according to Article 2 of the Convention the term "night" signifies a period of at least 11 consecutive hours. The Committee notes with regret that no progress was made in this respect despite the adoption of the Employment (Amendment) Act, No. 5 of 1997.

In addition, the Committee observes that, under section 101(1) and (3) of the Employment Act, the employment of women workers in industrial undertakings during the night may be authorized by the Labour Commissioner subject to certain conditions such as the existence of adequate means for the transport of employees, the availability of rest-room facilities and facilities for eating meals, or the provision for rest and meal breaks. This provision is not consistent with the Convention to the extent that the only exceptions permitted by the Convention to the general ban on women’s night work are those provided for in Articles 3, 4, 5 and 8 of the Convention.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that there is an ongoing review of the Employment Act of 1980 which may consider the comments of the Committee, and hopes that the next report will contain information on the measures adopted to bring national legislation into conformity with the Convention.

The Committee takes this opportunity to invite the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of either the Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171) or the Protocol of 1990 to Convention No. 89.