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1. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and the appended laws and regulations, in particular instruction No. 19 concerning the constitution, registration and functioning of the joint safety and health committee in work centres, several provisions of which give effect to Article 3 of the Convention (research into general trends concerning accidents and into hazards, undertaken in order to provide a sound basis for the prevention of accidents).

2. Article 2. The Committee has for a number of years drawn the Government's attention to the need to take appropriate measures to ensure the keeping of statistics of occupational accidents of seafarers, recording the numbers, nature, causes and effects of occupational accidents, as well as the part of the ship and the area (at sea or in port) where they occurred (paragraphs 1 and 3); it also has stressed the need to ensure that occupational accidents of seafarers are adequately reported and investigated and that in particular the competent authority undertakes an investigation into the causes and circumstances of occupational accidents resulting in loss of life or serious personal injury, and such other accidents as may be specified in national laws or regulations (paragraphs 1 and 4). The Government refers in its report to comments by the General Coordination of Labour Policies, Studies and Statistics of the Secretariat for Labour and Social Security (STPS) that no means are available for collecting the required data to establish statistics of occupational accidents occurring to seafarers on board ships under Mexican flag. It indicated however that according to the General Direction of Labour, Medicine and Security of the Secretariat, revision of instruction No. 21 is being finalized and the modification of this instruction will aim at improving the compilation of reports on occupational accidents.

The Committee trusts that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure that occupational accidents of seafarers will be adequately investigated and reported and that detailed statistics on these accidents, including the data mentioned in Article 2, will be kept and analysed.

3. Article 4, paragraphs 2 and 3(d) and (h). In its previous comments the Committee noted that in the national legislation there were no provisions for the prevention of occupational accidents which are due to particular hazards of maritime employment, concerning in particular special safety measures on and below deck, and dangerous cargo and ballast.

In its report, the Government mentions among measures to prevent accidents of seafarers the current revision of the safety manual for personnel employed on board ship which is aimed at supplementing it and bringing it up to date. More particularly regarding the provisions on the prevention of accidents in relation to dangerous cargo and ballast, the Government refers to instruction No. 23, being drafted, on the safety elements and devices for lifting appliances.

The Committee hopes that the necessary measures will be taken to ensure the application of these provisions of the Convention and that the Government will indicate in its next report the provisions adopted to this end.