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1. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, and the text of the Decisions and Instructions appended to the report. The Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of any new legislative or regulatory provisions that are adopted to improve the occupational health and safety of nursing personnel in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the Convention.

2. As regards the other matters raised in its previous comments, the Committee would like to point out the following:

Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Convention. The Committee requested the Government (a) to indicate whether the persons providing voluntary nursing services to the victims of the battle of Kadissiyat Saddan who sustained paralysis must fulfil the same conditions as other workers in this sector, particularly with regard to occupational and technical training and the authorisation to provide such services, and (b) whether voluntary nursing care is also provided in circumstances other than those mentioned above and, if so, which provisions cover the personnel involved. In reply, the Government refers the Committee to Decision No. 569 of 26.5.1988 amending Decision No. 944 of 13 August 1985, which does not contain the information requested. The Committee hopes that this information will be provided with the next report.

Article 5. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the manner in which the representation of nursing personnel is ensured in the private and public sectors, the way in which the representative organisations of these workers participate in determining their conditions of employment and the procedures followed in the public sector for the settlement of disputes arising in connection with the determination of these conditions of employment. In reply, the Government indicates that, in the socialist sector, labour law and the legislation on retirement guarantee the rights of nursing personnel, and the latter may appeal to the courts of law if their interests are harmed. The Government adds that, as regards the private sector, the rights of nursing personnel are guaranteed by the competent union and the conditions of employment are also determined by the laws and regulations in force. The Committee notes this information and asks the Government to indicate (a) any measures that may have been taken, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 5 of the Convention, to promote the participation of nursing personnel, in both the public and private sectors, in the planning of nursing services and consultation with such personnel in decisions concerning them, and (b) whether the disputes arising in connection with the determination of the terms and conditions of employment of nursing personnel can be settled not only by the appeal procedure referred to by the Government in its report, but also by negotiation between the parties or by procedures such as mediation, conciliation or voluntary arbitration, in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 5 of the Convention.

Point V of the report form. The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Convention, called for in the above report form, including statistics on the number of nursing personnel by sector of activity and by level of training and functions, and in relation to the population and the number of patients and of other health workers. The Committee also requested information, if available, on the number of persons leaving the profession. Since the Government has not supplied this information, the Committee can only raise the question again in the hope that it will be provided with the next report.