CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report, and in particular the information concerning the application of Article 5 of the Convention.

Article 8. The Committee notes that the new list of occupational diseases contained in sections 4-6 of the General Regulations on Employment Injury Insurance of 1990, although incorporating a number of the details suggested by the Committee in its previous comments, has not, in accordance with the Convention, taken into account the following points:

(a) Under section 5 of the Regulations it is necessary to prove, in all cases, the causal relationship between work and the disease, whereas the double-list system used in Schedule I to the Convention is intended to establish a presumption in favour of the worker as regards the occupational origin of the disease, thus exempting him or her from the burden of proof; the text of section 5 of the Regulations should therefore be completed in this sense.

(b) The statement in section 5 of the new Regulations concerning work involving exposure to the risk of contracting anthrax infection (bacillus anthrax - No. 27, section 4) should be completed so as to indicate the activities giving rise to the presumption of the occupational origin of this disease, as they appear in the right-hand column of item 15 of Schedule I to the Convention.

(c) No. 19, section 4 of the new Regulations should be amended to read as follows: "Chloride derivatives of hydrocarbons ...".

Article 9, paragraphs 1 and 2. The Committee notes that under sections 12 and 19 of the General Regulations on Employment Injury Insurance of 1990, benefits due in the event of occupational disease are provided to insured persons who have paid at least six monthly contributions. In view of the fact that, under the terms of the Convention, eligibility for benefits, both medical and cash, in the event of occupational disease, may not be made subject to the payment of contributions, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which, in accordance with the Convention, the provision of benefits is guaranteed in the case of occupational disease suffered by workers who have not made the six contributions set out in the above Regulations.

Articles 13, 14 and 18 (in conjunction with Articles 19 and 20) (amount of periodical benefits paid in the event of temporary incapacity, permanent incapacity and also the death of the family breadwinner). The Committee notes the levels of the minimum pensions. However, it notes that the Government has not been able to determine whether it intends to have recourse to Article 19 or Article 20 of the Convention and that the report does not contain the information that is necessary to determine whether the amount of the benefits payable in cases of temporary incapacity, permanent incapacity or death for standard beneficiaries reaches the level set out by the Convention. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will be able to supply in its next report the information requested in the report form adopted by the Governing Body with regard to Articles 19 or 20, according to whether it has had recourse to the former or the latter. If the Government selects Article 19, please supply information with particular regard to the maximum amount of periodical benefits paid in respect of each of the three above contingencies and the wage of a skilled manual male employee selected in accordance with paragraph 6 or 7 of Article 19. If the Government selects Article 20, please indicate the minimum amount of periodical benefits paid in respect of each of the above contingencies, and the wage of an ordinary adult male labourer selected in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5 of Article 20.

Article 21. The Committee notes the information concerning the increase in the level of pensions. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information on any new adjustment of pensions in line with fluctuations in the cost of living, in accordance with Article 21 of the Convention. Moreover, so that it can assess the real impact of these increases, the Committee once again requests the Government to supply in its next report all the statistics requested in the report form under this Article of the Convention.