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The Committee notes with interest the adoption in December 1984 and January 1985 respectively of the General Safety Rules against Occupational Accidents in Machinery and the General Rules concerning Guarding and Safe Use of Woodworking Machinery, prepared by the Turkish Standards Institute.

Article 16 of the Convention. The Committee notes from the Government's report that, after examining the relevant files, no information has been found indicating that employers' and workers' organisations were consulted during the formulation of the General Safety Rules against Occupational Accidents in Machinery and the General Rules concerning Guarding and Safe Use of Woodworking Machinery.

The Committee points out that by virtue of Article 16 of the Convention, any national laws or regulations giving effect to the provisions of the Convention shall be made by the competent authority after consultation with the most representative organisations of employers and workers concerned.

The Committee hopes that in future the requirements of the Convention in this respect will be taken into account.

Article 15. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report that the 1983 Regulations on the Guarding of Machinery are enforced partly through inspection activities designed to ensure the practical application of these provisions and partly through the penalties specified in Labour Act No. 1475, which can be imposed in cases of violations of the above Regulations.

The Committee requests the Government to supply information on any measure that is taken to ensure the effective application of the 1983 Regulations on the Guarding of Machinery. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to supply information on the effect given in practice to section 16 of the Regulations, particularly by supplying copies of inspection reports on the application of the 1983 Regulations on the Guarding of Machinery and by indicating the number of violations of its provisions reported and the sanctions imposed.

Article 17. The Committee has been referring for many years to the exclusion of the agricultural sector and sea and air transport from the scope of the provisions that give effect to the Convention. It notes that the above sectors are explicitly excluded from the scope of the Labour Act under the terms of section 5(1) and (2) of the Act, and that the scope of the 1983 Regulations on the Guarding of Machinery is restricted to the commercial and industrial sectors.

The Committee points out that, by virtue of the requirements of Article 17 of the Convention, its provisions shall be applied in all branches of economic activity.

In its last report, the Government indicates that the exclusion of certain sectors from the scope of the Labour Act has not prevented the adoption of other measures to give effect to the Convention in these sectors.

As regards sea transport, the Government referred to the Sea Labour Act No. 854. The Committee notes that this Act does not contain provisions on the guarding of machinery.

The Government also indicates that the provisions of Labour Act No. 1475 are applied to the production, repair and maintenance of agricultural machinery and to the land services of air transport. The Committee takes due note of this statement and hopes that the Government will supply copies of the provisions adopted to this effect.

Furthermore, the Committee hopes that the necessary measures will be taken to extend the application of the Labour Act and the Regulations to the whole of the agricultural sector, to the extent required by Article 1(3)(b) of the Convention, and to air and sea transport and to other sectors of economic activity that are excluded from the scope of the Labour Act and that the Government will report in the near future the progress made in this respect.