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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, together with the information supplied by the Government representative to the Conference Committee in June 1996 and the discussion which took place there on the following matters.

1. Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee refers to the conclusions reached in June 1996 by the Conference Committee relating to the national safety and health policy in the working environment (i.e. that it is "reliable" and effective). In this respect, the Government states in its report that: (i) the policies introduced by the Mexican authorities in respect of safety and hygiene have corresponded to the development of knowledge of the different disciplines, which stipulates the conditions and provides the framework for establishing and applying effective measures designed to protect workers' health; (ii) the basis for determining the responsibilities of the Government, employers and workers in order to protect and improve workers' quality of life has been fixed in the national legislation; and (iii) each sector has assumed the obligations corresponding to it.

The Government states that through the competent bodies and other institutions the Federal Executive is carrying out activities, both relating to legislation and plans and programmes, and is examining with the relevant sectors the possibility of strengthening the legal framework for the safety, hygiene and protection of the working environment. As a result of broad consultations, new General Regulations on Safety, Hygiene and the Working Environment (RFSHMAT) were published in order to formalize the many policies, strategies, activity methods and experiences acquired, so that the Government, workers and employers may fulfil their corresponding obligations, the dynamic mechanism for adapting standard setting to the pace of the technological development of the country's production sectors may be established and the conditions for protecting workers' health be strengthened.

The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in this respect.

2. Article 4, paragraph 2. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the adoption on 21 January 1997 of the Federal Regulations on Safety, Hygiene and the Working Environment (RFSHMAT), which unify the various provisions in respect of safety, hygiene and the working environment. According to the statement made by the Government representative during the discussion in the Conference Committee in June 1996, the Regulations were designed to establish a series of standards which will operate better in practice and will ensure that accidents and risks are prevented. In this respect, the Government indicates that it is promoting the establishment of preventive safety, hygiene and working environment programmes in enterprises which, when supported by diagnoses of individual situations, will contribute to a reduction in the risks faced by workers.

Furthermore, the Government indicates that the trend towards a reduction in risks for workers in the six border States which began to develop in 1995 appears to be confirmed by the labour statistics for two four-month periods in 1996.

The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to make the necessary efforts to reduce to a minimum, as far as this is reasonably practicable, the causes of the risks inherent in the working environment. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any progress made with a view to ensuring that the Convention is applied, in particular in the maquiladora enterprises which were the subject of the observations made by the Latin American Central of Workers (CLAT) in 1995.

3. Article 17. In its previous comments, the Committee indicated the particular importance of collaboration in certain sectors between employers when two or more undertakings engage in activities simultaneously at one workplace. The Committee requested the Government to indicate the progress made towards guaranteeing such collaboration between employers, whereby each employer is obliged to observe the provisions established in respect of safety, health and the environment. Since it has not received any information on the matter in question, the Committee is once again obliged to request the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged which may oblige enterprises in the situation referred to in this Article to collaborate, pursuant to the measures provided for in the Convention.

4. The Committee is addressing a direct request to the Government on a particular matter.