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Further to its observation, the Committee asks the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

Article 4. Prevention and control of, and protection against, occupational hazards; Article 8. Establishing criteria for determining hazards due to exposure to air pollution, noise and vibration and exposure limits; Article 9. Technical measures to ensure that the working environment is free from any hazard due to air pollution, noise and vibration; and Article 10 of the Convention. Personal protective equipment. The Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. 74 of 17 May 2005, amending article 15, paragraph 1, of Decree No. 25 of 26 February 2002, which provides for the applicability of internationally recognized exposure levels including as regards noise. The Committee also notes the reference to Law No. 94 of 28 June 2005 on the use, processing and disposal of asbestos prescribing, inter alia, the use of personal protective equipment made to the specifications of the European Committee for Standardization (CEN/TC 79). The Committee notes that according to the Government’s report the definition of the relevant benchmark technical standards with regard to air pollution more generally and vibration, is still pending and that the criteria determining when personal protective equipment is to be provided is directly related to these benchmark technical standards. The Committee reiterates its hopes that the technical standards that are reportedly in preparation will be adopted in the near future and asks the Government to provide information on the progress made and copies of them once they have been adopted.

Article 5. Consultations between the competent authority and the most representative organizations of employers and workers. The Committee welcomes information provided concerning the extensive consultations held between the Department of Public Health and the most representative organizations of employers and workers on measures to be taken to improve occupational safety and health conditions in small enterprises resulting in the adoption of Decree No. 4 of 14 January 2008 revising Annex I of Decree No. 123/2001. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of this decree.

Article 11, paragraph 3. Alternative employment or other measures to maintain the income of transferred workers. The Committee notes with interest the detailed guidelines on the application of the medical supervision based on Law No. 31/98 and subsequent legislation issued on 20 December 2002 following a thorough process of consultation. This guideline expressly refers to the Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161), and sets out detailed instructions on the way medical examinations have to be done as well as on the legal and medical obligations resulting from this examination. It also notes that workers who show reduced capacity for work in relation to the work performed have the possibility to be employed in protected activities in the state integrating sites (Cantieri Integrativi dello Stato). It also notes that according to article 9 of Decree No. 15/2006, the workers included in the Decree could be employed by the public administration in the terms fixed in the agreement between the State and the union. The Committee asks the Government to indicate if the alternative employment referred to is only for workers with disabilities or if it also covers the situation in which exposure to air pollution, noise or vibration is found to be medically inadvisable, even in cases where there is no disability. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on cases where alternative employment or other measures to maintain the income of transferred workers have been provided in relation to this Article of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Article 16. Penalties and inspection service. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government containing information on the inspections carried out and the following findings: 21 infringements in large enterprises, four in medium enterprises and one in small enterprises. The Committee requests the Government to provide information regarding the measures taken to address these trends and continue to provide detailed information on the application of the Convention in practice, including statistical information disaggregated by sex, if possible; on the number of workers covered by relevant legislation; and the number and nature of contraventions reported.