Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Noting the information provided by the Government in its brief replies to its previous comments, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the following points.

1. Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 26 of Executive Decree No. 91-05 of 19 January 1991 concerning the general provisions protecting health and safety in the workplace sets the maximum weight of loads that may be transported manually by women and young workers at 25 kg. It pointed out in this connection that the ILO publication Maximum weights in load lifting and carrying (Occupational Safety and Health Series, No. 59, Geneva, 1988) recommends for ergonomic reasons a limit of 15 kg for the admissible load for occasional lifting and carrying for women between 19 and 45 years of age. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to further limit, to the extent possible, the manual transport of light loads by women workers to loads of less than 15 kg.

2. Article 6. The Committee notes that, according to the Government’s statements in its report, manual transport is increasingly rare in practice and that a survey carried out in August 2000 by the General Labour Inspectorate confirmed that operations in many enterprises had been thoroughly mechanized so as to reduce fatigue and risks. While noting this information, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the kind of technologies implemented specifically to reduce and facilitate the manual transport of loads.