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Previous comments: C.127 and C.167

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 45 (underground work (women)), 127 (maximum weight) and 167 (OSH in construction) together.
The Committee notes the observations of the National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO), received on 31 August 2023, on the application of Conventions Nos 127 and 167.
Establishment of the National Occupational Safety and Health Council. The Committee notes with interest the establishment, in 2023, of the National Occupational Safety and Health Council, agreed on a tripartite basis, following the inclusion of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187), in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998), as amended in 2022. The Government reports that the Council seeks to be the focal point for steering public policies on occupational safety and health, based on consensus. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to continue to report on the operation of the Council, its composition and its recommendations and activities.

A. Protec tion against specific risks

Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127)

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government on the number of inspections carried out between 2021 and 2022 on maximum weight (84 inspections in 2021 and 66 in 2022), as well as the number of discussions organized in the construction sector. The Committee also notes CONATO’s observations indicating that the official information concerning statistics and specific measures taken with respect to the manual transport of loads is fragmented. The Committee requests the Government to send its comments on CONATO’s observations and to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, including the number of inspections carried out and their findings.

B. Protection in specific branches of activity

Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167)

Articles 13 and 35 of the Convention. Safety of workplaces and inspection. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the main responsibility of the section on Occupational Safety in the Construction Industry, an integral part of the Labour Inspection Directorate in the Ministry of Labour and Labour Development, is to supervise, verify and certify the implementation of occupational safety, health and hygiene measures on construction sites, focusing on risk prevention in public and private construction projects. It also notes the statistics on visits by safety officials to construction projects (12,671 in 2021, 19,819 in 2022 and 9,176 between January and June 2023). The Committee notes the activities carried out in the area of occupational health and safety in construction, which include a survey in the sector, regular supervision on projects that have complied with safety fund payments, inspections on projects assigned to safety officials, specialized training on safety, the standardization of criteria and the introduction of new formats for safety officials at the national level, discussions on occupational safety, notifications of conditions requiring correction in projects with assigned officials, and the suspension of activities or conditions that pose an imminent danger in projects where there are safety officials. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the statistics concerning the number of inspections and suspension orders carried out in the construction sector. The Committee also refers to its detailed comments under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), concerning Articles 3(1)(a) and (b) and 13 on labour inspection in the construction sector.
Application in practice. In response to the previous comment, the Government reports on the adaptation of specific regulations related to work at height, the use of cranes, scaffolds, platforms and other equipment; the extension of the powers of the labour inspection regulations in the construction industry by means of Law No. 237 of 15 September 2021; and the formalization of Administrative Resolution No. DM-056-2022 of 10 March 2022 approving the Procedure for the Temporary Stoppage of Work in the event of non-compliance with Law No. 67 of 30 October 2015, which refers to payments to the Safety Fund.
The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the number of health, safety and hygiene plans in the planning phase of construction projects prepared by enterprises, as well as the data on occupational accidents in the construction sector for the period between 2014 and 2023. However, the Committee notes with concern a significant increase in the number of accidents during this period from 2021 onwards (17 in 2018, 12 in 2019, 11 in 2020, 104 in 2021, 69 in 2022 and 36 from January to March 2023). The Committee also notes CONATO’s observations indicating that the sector’s statistics are not sufficiently adequate or up-to-date. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the types of accidents and the causes of the increase in the number of accidents in construction after 2021, as well as on the measures taken or envisaged to prevent their occurrence. It also requests information on the activities carried out by the newly established National Occupational Safety and Health Council in the construction sector. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of the Convention in practice, including the number of occupational accidents and cases of occupational diseases recorded in the construction sector.

Underground Work (Women) Convention, 1935 (No. 45)

The Committee recalls that the ILO Governing Body (at its 334th Session, October–November 2018), on the recommendation of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group, confirmed the classification of the Convention as an outdated instrument, and has placed an item on its abrogation on the agenda of the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference in 2024. The Governing Body also requested the Office to undertake follow-up action to actively encourage ratification of the up-to-date OSH instruments, including, but not restricted to, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176), and to launch a campaign to promote ratification of Convention No. 176. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to follow up on the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 334th Session (October-November 2018) approving the recommendations of the Standards Review Mechanism Tripartite Working Group and to consider ratifying the most up-to-date instruments in this field. The Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, in June 2022, the International Labour Conference added the principle of a safe and healthy working environment to the Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, thereby amending the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (1998). The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the possibility of requesting the technical assistance of the Office with a view to bringing both practice and the applicable legislation into conformity with the fundamental OSH Conventions and to providing support for any consideration of ratification of these standards.

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The Committee notes the information provided by the Government, which answers the points raised in its previous direct request and has no further matters to raise in this regard.

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The Committee notes the Government’s report indicating that section 104(1) of the Labour Code continues to give effect to the Convention and that there have been no legislative changes affecting its application.

The Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, based on the conclusions and proposals of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards, the ILO Governing Body has decided, with respect to underground work, to invite the States parties to Convention No. 45 to contemplate ratifying the more recent Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176), and possibly denouncing Convention No. 45 (see GB.283/LILS/WP/PRS/1/2, paragraph 13). Contrary to the old approach based on the outright prohibition of underground work for all female workers, modern standards focus on risk assessment and risk management and provide for sufficient preventive and protective measures for mineworkers, irrespective of gender, whether employed in surface or underground sites. As the Committee has noted in its 2001 General Survey on night work of women in industry in relation to Conventions Nos. 4, 41 and 89, "the question of devising measures that aim at protecting women generally because of their gender (as distinct from those aimed at protecting women’s reproductive and infant nursing roles) has always been and continues to be controversial" (paragraph 186).

In the light of the foregoing observations, and also considering that the general trend worldwide is to provide protection for women in a fashion that does not infringe their rights to equality of opportunity and treatment, the Committee invites the Government to consider the possibility of denouncing Convention No. 45 and to envisage the ratification of the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176), which shifts the emphasis from a specific category of workers to the safety and health protection of all mineworkers. In this respect, the Committee recalls that according to established practice the Convention will be next open to denunciation during a one-year period from 30 May 2007 to 30 May 2008. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard.

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