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1. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

2. Article 3 of the Convention. Prohibition of the employment of young persons under 18 years of age in any painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead or sulphate of lead or other products containing these pigments. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that the General Directorate of Occupational Risks of the Ministry of Social Protection is formulating a standard to determine the occupations and conditions of work that are prohibited for young persons. In the standard that is being prepared, it will be prohibited to employ young persons under 18 years of age in any painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead, sulphate of lead or any other product containing these pigments. The Committee trusts that the standard, which is of great importance in giving effect to this provision, will be adopted in the near future and it requests the Government to provide information on this subject, as well as a copy of the text once it has been adopted.

3. Article 7. Statistics on lead poisoning among working painters. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the General Directorate of Occupational Risks is compiling information on the occupational diseases diagnosed in the context of the contributory scheme of the General Social Security Health System. During the course of 2003, five cases of lead poisoning were diagnosed out of almost 6 million contributing members. The Committee requests the Government to transmit with its next report the Occupational Disease Report for 2003.

4. Part IV of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied, including extracts from the reports of the inspection services and the number of contraventions reported.