Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1991, published 78th ILC session (1991)

Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention, 1977 (No. 148) - Egypt (Ratification: 1988)

The Committee notes with interest the information provided in the Government's first report and requests the Government to provide copies of Decree No. 48 of 1967 regulating the measures necessary to ensure the protection of workers against risks to their health in the workplace and Decree No. 380 of 1975 concerning general requirements for industrial, commercial and other establishments where there exists a high level of noise presenting a risk to health, which were referred to in the Government's report. The Government is also requested to provide further clarification on the following points:

Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that section 3 of the Labour Code of 1981 excludes domestic workers from the Code's scope of application. The Government is requested to indicate, in its next report, the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the provisions of the Convention are applied in respect of domestic workers.

Article 5

Paragraph 3. The Committee notes that section 128 of the Labour Code provides for the creation of occupational safety and health committees in every establishment. The composition of these committees and procedures for their functioning are to be determined by order from the Minister of Manpower and Training. The Government is requested to provide details concerning the composition and functioning of these committees and to indicate, in particular, whether workers' representatives participate on these committees. The Government is also requested to indicate any other steps taken to ensure as close a collaboration as possible between employers and workers in the application of the measures prescribed in pursuance of the Convention.

Paragraph 4. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure that employers' and workers' representatives have the opportunity to accompany inspectors supervising the application of the measures prescribed in pursuance of the Convention.

Article 6, paragraph 2. The Committee notes that section 8 of Title III of Decree No. 55 concerning conditions and protective measures necessary to ensure occupational safety and health at the workplace provides that an employer shall be responsible for the work and training of workers engaged by a subcontractor. Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention, however, more broadly calls for a general duty for employers undertaking activities simultaneously at one workplace to collaborate in order to comply with the measures prescribed in pursuance of the Convention. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure collaboration among employers simultaneously involved at the same workplace as concerns measures for the prevention and control of, and protection against, occupational hazards in the working environment due to air pollution, noise and vibration.

Article 7, paragraph 2. The Committee notes that section 125 of the Labour Code provides that inspectors of a specialised service for inspecting establishments shall have the powers of officials attached to the courts when supervising the application of provisions relating to occupational safety and health. The Government is requested to indicate the manner in which workers or their representatives can appeal to appropriate bodies concerning protection against occupational hazards due to air pollution, noise and vibration, either through the inspectors of the specialised service or directly to the courts or other competent bodies. Furthermore, the Committee recalls that Article 7, paragraph 2, of the Convention provides that workers or their representatives shall have the right to present proposals and to obtain information and training so as to ensure protection against occupational hazards due to air pollution, noise and vibration. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to guarantee workers the right to present proposals and to obtain information and training for protection against these hazards.

Article 8

Paragraph 1. Exposure to vibration. The Committee notes that section 1(c) of Decree No. 55 provides that every enterprise must ensure that machines and equipment which create vibrations are fixed to a base off the floor which absorbs the vibrations in order to reduce the level of vibrations. Section 10 of the Decree provides that the Under-Secretary of State can determine other protective measures, according to the nature of the work, to be taken in enterprises or industry. The Committee also notes that section 115 of the Labour Code provides that the conditions and precautions necessary to ensure protection against the dangers of vibration, inter alia, shall be determined by order of the Minister of Manpower and Training, issued after consultation with the Ministers of Health and the Environment. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken, either by the Minister of Manpower and Training, the Under-Secretary of State, or other competent body, to establish criteria for determining the hazards of exposure to vibration in the working environment and any exposure limits specified on the basis of these criteria.

Paragraph 2. The Committee notes from the Government's report that the opinion of the Central Advisory Council on Occupational Safety and Health shall be taken into consideration in the elaboration of criteria and fixing of exposure limits in respect of hazards due to air pollution, noise and vibration. The Committee notes that, by virtue of section 115 of the Labour Code, the Minister of Manpower and Training is empowered to determine the precautions necessary to ensure protection against these hazards. The Government is requested to indicate the manner in which, in practice, the opinion of technically competent persons designated by employers' and workers' organisations will be taken into account by the competent authority in the determination of these criteria and exposure limits.

Paragraph 3. The Committee notes from the Government's report that the opinion of national technical committees and the statistics available concerning occupational diseases and accidents are taken into consideration in the elaboration of criteria for determining the hazards of exposure to air pollution, noise and vibration and the fixing of exposure limits. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure that current international knowledge and data are also taken into account in making these determinations.

(a) Exposure to noise. The Committee notes that section 5(c) of the Decree provides that the employer must take the measures necessary to reduce the level of noise at the workplace and that the levels and duration of exposure to noise shall not exceed the limits set in table 3. Table 3 establishes the maximum duration of exposure to noise exceeding 90dB. The Government is requested to indicate whether a normal warning level threshold limit has been set for exposure to noise at no more than 85dB without the provision of personal protective equipment such as ear protectors, in accordance with standards recommended by the ILO in its practical directive entitled "The Protection of Workers against Noise and Vibration at the Workplace, 1977".

(b) Exposure to vibration. The Committee had noted under Article 8, paragraph 1, of the Convention that no criteria for determining the hazards of exposure to vibration or exposure limits appear to have been fixed by the competent authority. In this regard, the Committee would call the Government's attention to the ILO directive concerning the protection of workers against noise and vibration which provides practical advice concerning the determination of workplaces where health risks due to vibration may exist and suggests for protective measures against the harmful effects of vibration. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to establish criteria for determining the hazards of exposure to vibration which it trusts will take into account the relevant, current national and international knowledge.

Article 9. The Committee notes that, by virtue of sections 110 and 111 of the Labour Code, the Minister of Environment is empowered to issue requirements which must be met before an industrial activity can be undertaken, subject to the approval of the Ministers of Health, Manpower and Training, Industry, Irrigation and the Interior. It also notes that section 4(II) of Decree No. 55 provides that the installation and use of machines and equipment must be in conformity with the specifications adopted. The Government is requested to indicate the requirements issued or specifications adopted concerning the technical measures for the design or installation of new plants or processes which aim at keeping the working environment free, as far as possible, from hazards due to air pollution, noise and vibration.

Article 11, paragraph 2. The Committee notes that section 122 of the Labour Code provides that regular post-employment medical examinations shall be paid for by the employer. Section 116 of the Code concerning pre-employment medical examination does not indicate who will pay for the examination. In its report, the Government refers to section 119 of the Code which provides that no employer shall demand money from a worker or withhold any portion of a worker's wages for measures necessary to the worker's protection. The Government is requested to clarify that pre-employment medical examinations will be free of cost to the person concerned, even if an employment relationship has not been established.

Article 11, paragraphs 3 and 4. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure that workers for whom it is medically inadvisable to continue an assignment to work involving exposure to air pollution, noise or vibration is provided with suitable alternative employment or that the worker's income is maintained through social security measures or through other means. The Government is also requested to indicate that the rights of workers under social security or social insurance legislation are not adversely affected by the implementation of the Convention.

Article 13. The Committee notes that, under section 117 of the Labour Code, the worker shall be informed of the hazards involved in the work if the protective measures prescribed are not taken and that the worker shall be instructed in the use of personal protective equipment. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure that workers are also given instruction on the measures available, other than the use of personal protective equipment, for the prevention and control of hazards due to air pollution, noise and vibration.