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

Night Work Convention, 1990 (No. 171) - Portugal (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 99/2003 issuing the Labour Code, Act No. 35/2004 adopting regulations under the Labour Code and Legislative Decree No. 326-B/2007 concerning the Authority for Working Conditions (ACT).

Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Health assessment of workers, at their request, during their assignment. While noting section 195(1) of the Labour Code, the Committee requests the Government to specify the legal provisions or regulations guaranteeing workers the right to undergo, at their request and without charge, a health assessment during their assignment to night work.

Article 6, paragraph 3. Protection against the dismissal of temporarily unfit workers. Following the repeal of Legislative Decree No. 398/83, which previously gave effect to this provision of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the legislative provisions or regulations guaranteeing that the night worker certified as temporarily unfit for night work is granted the same protection against dismissal or notice of dismissal as other workers who are prevented from working for reasons of health.

Article 9. Social services. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning collective labour agreements which contain clauses relating to social services provided to workers, such as canteens, meal allowances, or transport. In this respect, the Committee recalls that the Convention requires the provision of social services for night workers, thereby acknowledging that these workers have special needs with respect to rest, transport, organization of family life, safety, recreational activities, etc. The Committee therefore asks the Government once again to indicate whether the Bill providing appropriate social services for night workers, mentioned in a previous report, is still being prepared and, if this is the case, to provide it with a copy as soon as it has been adopted.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee notes the statistical information concerning the number of night workers covered by legislation, the extracts from collective agreements and the statistical data provided by the ACT for the period 2003–07. It also notes the comments by the General Union of Workers (UGT), which stress the difficult nature of night work and its interference with workers’ family and social lives. The UGT points out that, in practice, collective agreements stipulate a salary increase of 30 per cent – compared to 25 per cent provided for under the Labour Code – and they also increasingly make available means of transport outside normal public transport working hours. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing general information on the way in which the Convention is applied in practice, by submitting, extracts from the ACT’s activity reports, copies of relevant collective agreements, statistics on the number of workers covered by legislation, recent surveys on the social dimension of night work, etc.