Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 (No. 89) - Costa Rica (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s reports.

The Committee notes that, even though women’s night work remains, in principle, generally prohibited in accordance with article 88 of the Labour Code, article 1 of Decree No. 26898-MTSS of 30 March 1998 authorizes the employment of women during the night in industrial undertakings for reasons of national interest. According to the text of the Decree, there was an imperative need to update the regulation of night work since restrictions on women’s night work constituted sex discrimination contrary to the constitutional principle of equality and the principle of free access to employment. The Committee is led, therefore, to conclude that by adopting Decree No. 26898-MTSS the Government has lifted the general prohibition of night work for women and has thus ceased to apply the Convention.

In addition, the Committee notes that the Decree refers to Article 5 of the Convention, which, however, only relates to suspension "when in case of serious emergency the national interest demands it", and has therefore no bearing with the Decree of 1998.

The Committee recalls that the principal obligation for a government arising out of the ratification of an international labour Convention is to take such action as may be necessary to make effective the provisions of the ratified Convention, and to continue to ensure its application for as long as it does not decide to denounce it. Therefore, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures it intends to take 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.