夜間工作的性平時刻──從國際法規範定位釋字第807號解釋之歷史意涵

A Gender Equality Moment for Night Work: Locating the JYI No. 807 in the Historical Context of Related International Norms

女性夜間工作禁令於國際勞工規範下爭議已久。問題的交叉性使得國際社會難以達成真正的共識，即使相關規範歷經多次修正。部分主要工業國家於1990年代初期藉由司法審查廢止女性夜間工作禁令。而臺灣這項禁令的性平時刻，亦藉由司法院釋字第807號解釋實現，但遲到了30年。本文主張，臺灣實則基於同樣政府面對勞資雙方壓力猶豫不決，乃至仰賴司法審查廢止禁令。然於此同時，釋字第807號亦如同歐洲法院與德國憲法法院般，錯過一個能無關性別而同時保障勞工職業選擇自由與夜間工作受保障權利的機會。

The prohibition of women’s night work is a long-standing problem under international labour norms. The intersectionality of the question makes it difficult to reach a real global consensus in spite of repeated reviews of the ban. Some major industrial societies struck down the ban through judicial review based on gender equality in early 1990s. Taiwan’s gender equality moment regarding the ban, represented by the JYI No. 807, came 30 years later. I argue that Taiwan followed exactly the same pattern due to an indecisive government facing pressures from both employers and trade unions. Meanwhile, the JYI No. 807 also, as the European Court of Justice and German Constitutional Court did, missed an opportunity to balance the gender-indifferent labours’ right to choose their occupation and to be better protected for night work conditions.