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White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13) - Mauritania (RATIFICATION: 1961)

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CMNT_TITLE

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on occupational safety and health (OSH), the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 13 (white lead) and 62 (safety provisions, building) together in a single comment.

1. White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13)

Application of the Convention in practice. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government in its report, in addition to the ordinary monitoring measures carried out by the various officials responsible for the enforcement of labour legislation, the General Directorate of Labour, in collaboration with the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) and the National Office for Occupational Medicine, organizes each year a national campaign for the application of labour legislation covering all sectors and all the regions of the country. During this campaign, monitoring teams are composed of labour inspectors and controllers, CNSS inspectors and occupational physicians. The Government indicates that no cases of morbidity or mortality caused by lead poisoning have been noted or reported to the public services. The Committee also notes a copy of the list of occupational diseases provided by the Government, which includes occupational lead poisoning. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the control measures adopted to ensure the effective enforcement of the legislation in this respect, and statistics on cases of morbidity and mortality caused by lead poisoning, particularly in the construction sector.

2. Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937 (No. 62)

The Committee recalls that, on the recommendation of the Tripartite Working Group of the Standards Review Mechanism (SRM), at its 334th Session (October-November 2018), the Governing Body confirmed the classification of Convention No. 62 as an outdated instrument and included an item on the agenda of the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference in 2024 for its abrogation. The Governing Body also requested the Office to follow up and encourage the ratification of the up-to-date instrument, the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167), and to provide technical assistance to countries requiring the most support. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to give effect to the decision taken by the Governing Body at its 334th Session (October-November 2018) approving the recommendation of the SRM Tripartite Working Group and to consider ratifying Convention No. 167. The Committee reminds the Government of the possibility to avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this regard.

Article 6 of the Convention. Statistical information. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in response to its previous request that the measures taken to resolve the main causes of occupational accidents are the intensification of inspections of building and public works construction sites and awareness-raising through such activities as the open days organized by the Ministry of the Public Service, Labour and Administrative Modernization, where subjects related to hygiene, health and safety are covered with invited representatives from employers’ and workers’ organizations. However, the Government indicates that it is not in a position to provide reliable statistics on the number of workers employed in the construction sector due to the inconsistent levels of activity in the sector. The Committee also notes that the Government’s report does not contain information on the number and classification of accidents suffered by persons engaged in work on construction, repair, alteration, maintenance and demolition sites for all types of buildings. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted or envisaged to resolve the main causes of occupational accidents. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure the compilation of statistics on the number of workers employed in the construction sector and on the number and nature of the accidents reported in the sector.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM), received on 8 September 2015, and the Government’s reply thereto.

In its observations, the CGTM alleges, inter alia, that the Government is not implementing any occupational safety and health protection or prevention policy and that therefore workers are more and more seriously exposed to toxic and carcinogenic products that are used on construction sites, that the list of occupational diseases does not include all the diseases arising from the occupational use of white lead and other organic pollutants, and that enterprise safety and health committees do not exist in practice in either public or private enterprises, notwithstanding section 252 of the Labour Code which provides for their establishment in all enterprises with no fewer than 50 employees. In its reply, the Government refers to Order No. 10300 of 2 June 1965 prohibiting the use of white lead, sulphate of lead and lead linseed oil in the painting of buildings, section 1 of which prohibits any use of these substances in any type of building painting, whether internal or external. It adds that the application of these provisions is ensured by the Director-General of Labour, labour inspectors and physicians who conduct occupational medicine missions and that any violation is penalized in accordance with the provisions of the Labour Code. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the measures taken or envisaged, particularly monitoring measures, to ensure the effective application of the abovementioned Order, namely in the construction sector. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of the list of occupational diseases, as well as statistics on cases of morbidity and mortality caused by lead poisoning, particularly in the construction sector.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes the information given in the Government's report in which it indicates that the system of statistics used in Mauritania, and in particular the system used by the National Social Security Fund, does not include data on morbidity and mortality due to lead poisoning, as required in the report form in relation to Article 7 of the Convention, but that it undertakes to provide such information as soon as it becomes available. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

CMNT_TITLE

The Committee notes that the Government has not supplied any statistics concerning lead poisoning among working painters for a number of years, as requested in the report form under Article 7 of the Convention. The Government is, therefore, requested to provide statistics on morbidity and mortality due to lead poisoning in its next report.