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The Committee notes the indication in the Government’s report that the national legislation implementing the provisions of the Convention is currently under comprehensive review with a view to incorporating into the national legal order all the requirements of international legal instruments ratified by Bulgaria. It requests the Government to keep it informed of the review process in so far as the application of the Convention is concerned, and to transmit a copy of any new legal text as soon as it is adopted.

Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Validity of medical certificates. The Committee notes under section 9 of the Ordinance on Medical and Psycho-physiological Certification of Persons Applying for Employment and the Re-examination of Persons Working in Merchant Shipping and Deep Sea Fishing, persons occupying certain positions and, in some cases, persons over 50 years of age, are liable to compulsory medical examination once every two years, whereas others must undergo medical examination once every three years. Recalling that the Convention requires the validity of the medical certificate for young persons of less than 21 years of age not to exceed a period of one year from the date on which it was granted, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide additional explanations as to how the Convention is given effect in this regard. It would also appreciate receiving a copy of the above Ordinance.

Part V of the report form. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide in its next report up to date information on the practical application of the Convention including, for instance, statistical data on the number of fishers covered by the Convention, the number of medical examinations conducted and medical certificates issued annually, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services or the Maritime Administration Executive Agency related to the enforcement of the provisions of the Convention, etc.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw attention to the new Convention on work in the fishing sector, which was adopted by the 96th Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2007, with a view to revising and bringing up to date in an integrated manner most existing ILO fishing instruments. The new Convention provides a modern and flexible regulatory framework covering large fishing operations, but also addressing the concerns of small-scale fishers. The Committee invites the Government to give due consideration to the new comprehensive standard on fishers’ working and living conditions and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken with a view to its formal ratification.