CMNT_TITLE

Repetition

Articles 4, 5(2) and 8 of the Convention. Prevention and control of, and protection against, occupational hazards. Establishing criteria for determining hazards due to exposure to air pollution, noise and vibration and exposure limits. Consultation with employers’ and workers’ representatives. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that no new legislation has been adopted in the past ten years on this subject. It notes the Government’s reiterated reference to the limits on the list published annually by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists, such as Threshold Limit Values (TLV), Biological Exposure Indices (BEI) and Short-Term Exposure Limits (STEL). The Committee however notes that section 28 of the Framework Act on OSH of 1998 provides that the maximum limits of acceptability regarding physical factors, including noises, vibration and air flow in the workplace, shall be provided for by specific decrees. In this respect, the Committee recalls that it previously noted the adoption of Decree No. 26 of 17 February 1999 respecting protection of workers against the risks of exposure to noise, but that no implementing decrees have been adopted with respect to air pollution and vibration. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the effect is given to Articles 4 and 8 of the Convention with respect to air pollution and vibration. It also requests the Government to indicate whether it plans to adopt the decrees regarding air pollution and vibration, as foreseen by section 28 of the Framework Act on OSH, and to provide information on any consultation undertaken or envisaged with employers’ and workers’ representatives in this regard.

Article 5. Consultations between the competent authority and the most representative organizations of employers and workers. The Committee previously welcomed the adoption of Decree No. 4 of 14 January 2008 revising Annex I (elements for inclusion in the risk assessment document) of Decree No. 123/2001 on sector guidelines and special provisions for small and microenterprises, and the consultations held in this regard. It requested the Government to provide information on the practical application of this decree. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in response that in the case of low-risk small enterprises, employers have been given the option of producing a summary risk assessment report instead of the risk assessment document.

Article 11(3). Alternative employment or other measures to maintain the income of transferred workers. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in response to its previous comments that workers shall undergo medical checks by the occupational health physician at a frequency determined by the risk factors present, required by the risk assessment document. If a worker’s state of health is determined incompatible with the duties being carried out, the company and occupational health physician shall assess whether it is possible to transfer them to a post that will not harm their health. This type of transfer to other more suitable duties, although uncommon, occasionally occurs in large companies. If it is confirmed that workers are temporarily unable to perform their duties, section 9 of Legislative Decree No. 118 of 24 July 2014 concerning urgent intervention through social measures and temporary social protection applies. Accordingly, the workers concerned would receive 86 per cent of their normal monthly salary for 365 days. If this period comes to an end without any change in conditions that would allow them to return to work or be transferred to other duties, the workers have are entitled to receive unemployment benefits for a maximum period of eight months if they are under 50 years of age, or 12 months if older (section 23(1) and (2) of Act No. 73 of 2010 on the reform of social measures and new economic measures for employment and employability). The Government however indicates that, in most cases, the workers concerned have been dismissed rather than transferred at the end of the procedure described above. In this respect, several court decisions established the failure by the enterprise to comply with the requirement to review its own system for organizing work in order to reassign the worker concerned to other duties or another department. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the workers concerned are provided with suitable alternative employment or measures to maintain their income through social security measures or otherwise, where continued assignment to work involving exposure to air pollution, noise or vibration is found to be medically inadvisable, in conformity with Article 11(3) of the Convention. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on cases in which violations have been determined by courts in this regard, including the sanctions imposed on employers and the remedies provided to workers.

Article 16. Penalties and inspection service. Application in practice. The Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government regarding the number of workers exposed to noise, vibration and air pollution. It also notes the number of fines imposed from 2015 to 2019 during inspection activities. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the application of the Convention in practice, including statistical information on the number of workers covered by relevant legislation, the total number of workers exposed to the above risks, and the number and nature of contraventions reported in this regard.