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The Committee takes note of the information supplied by the Government in its last report.

1. Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention. In the comments it has been making for a number of years, the Committee has drawn the Government's attention to the need to take the necessary measures to ensure that, in the case of persons of under 21 years of age employed, or working underground in mines, periodical examinations are carried out at intervals of not more than one year in accordance with this provision of the Convention.

In its 1986 report the Government indicated that the general regulations to apply the Convention could be issued when the National Council of Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare, envisaged in Legislative Decree No. 16998 of 1979, came into operation. The Committee notes from the information in the Government's last report that the above Council still is in the process of being reconstituted and that it is expected to deal with this matter in due course. It also notes the Government's indication that the regulation of the medical examination and underground work of young persons is the joint responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and other state bodies, and trusts that, regardless of the future of the National Council of Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare which is provided for in the Legislative Decree of 1979 but which has not yet been constituted, the necessary steps will be taken at an early date to adopt regulations giving effect to the Convention, and that the Government will not fail to report on the matter.

Article 4, paragraph 4. In its previous comments, the Committee drew the Government's attention to the need to ensure that employers include in the records they are required to keep for all persons under the age of 21 employed or working underground: (a) the date of birth, duly certified wherever possible; (b) an indication of the nature of their occupation; (c) a certificate which attests their fitness for employment.

The Committee notes with interest the indications in the Government's last report that the Ministry of Labour is in the process of devising a record form for compulsory use by public and private sector enterprises employing persons under 21 years of age, to record the nature of their occupation, wages, training, medical examinations, level of education and other particulars. The Committee hopes that these particulars will include the date of birth, duly certified where possible and a certificate attesting fitness for work. It asks the Government to provide a sample of the form as soon as it has been approved along with a copy of the provisions requiring employers to keep the corresponding records.

3. Article 4, paragraphs 1 and 2. The Committee asks the Government to provide information in its next report on the practical steps taken to ensure the effective enforcement of the Convention and the relevant legislation, specifying the number of inspection visits carried out by the various departments involved, any infringements registered and the sanctions imposed.