Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2009, publiée 99ème session CIT (2010)

The Committee notes the Government’s report submitted in October 2008 including, in annex, observations submitted by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC–RENGO) dated 29 August 2008 and the Government’s additional comments submitted 2 November 2009, including, in annex, further observations submitted by JTUC–RENGO dated 2 October 2009.  The Committee notes that the Government indicates, in both its reports, that there was no new information to report as regards questions I, IV and V of the report form.

Marking of weight and application of the Convention in practice. Article 9 of the Convention. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that, in addition to relevant legislation, “Guidelines for Safe Overland Transportation of International Marine Containers” were developed and adopted in 2005 providing for concrete measures that have to be taken by each party affected in order to increase safety in transportation. The Committee also notes that the JTUC–RENGO observes that these guidelines are not sufficient to prevent accidents during the transit of international marine containers because of their non-binding force and fatal accidents have continued to occur frequently including six accidents in the first five months of 2009 resulting in four fatalities, and that, as measures taken often are not in line with the guidelines, binding legislation is indispensable for preventing overloading, improper loading or mislabelling of cargo items by shippers, requiring shippers to disclose information and enabling parties to share cargo information. The Committee further notes that the JTUC–RENGO also states that since container transportation has become predominant in the area of logistics worldwide, it cannot be said that the Convention is well suited for dealing with cargo handling operations and that efforts to draw up a new Convention should be initiated as soon as possible in this respect, and that, in response to a request by the Japanese dockworkers union, the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) adopted a resolution in June 2008 calling upon the ILO to set up a forum for the examination of problems related to the safe transportation of container cargo. In its most recent report the Government indicates that according to a survey published in August 2009, safety problems experienced by truck drivers while transporting containers have decreased after the publication of the guideline. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government that while the number of labour inspection offices seems to remain stable, the number of labour standards inspectors had increased to 3,939. The Committee once again refers to its 2007 general observation on the Convention and asks the Government to continue to provide information on any difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention in relation to modern methods of cargo handling, with particular reference to containers, as well as on the measures taken to prevent accidents.