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The Committee takes note of the Government's reply to its earlier comments and notes the information concerning the effect given, in practice, to Article 17 of the Convention (safety measures and necessary equipment for the rescue of persons occupied in work carried on in proximity to any place where there is a risk of drowning).

1. Article 13, paragraph 2. In its reply, the Government refers to article 65 of the country's new political Constitution as containing the provision that gives effect to the Convention. However, this article merely fixes the age of majority at 18 years, whereas the above provision of the Convention prescribes that no person under the minimum age laid down by national laws or regulations for being in control of hoisting machines or for giving signals to the operator shall be employed in such occupations. The Government none the less adds that, in practice, the persons employed to drive cranes or operate hoisting appliances are skilled workers who have received appropriate training from the competent bodies, and that the responsibility for recruiting them for such occupations falls on the employer.

The Committee takes note of this information and hopes that the Government will have no difficulty in confirming this practice in its laws or regulations by inserting, for example, in the Resolution of 23 March 1983 (containing the general safety and health provisions for the building industry), a provision establishing the minimum age for being in control of hoisting machines or giving signals to the operator, in conformity with the Convention. The Committee hopes that the next report will contain information on the progress made in this respect.

2. The Committee also takes note of the statistics on the occupational accidents that have occurred to persons employed in the building industry and requests the Government to continue supplying such statistics in its future reports, in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention.