Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161) - Mexico (Ratification: 1987)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government's latest report, particularly as concerns the numerous practical steps taken by the competent authority with respect to the monitoring of the working environment and the preventive measures to improve working conditions. It further notes that the draft Instructions (No. 24) concerning occupational health services prepared by the Instructions Subcommittee of the National Consultative Committee on Occupational Safety and Health have not yet been published in the Official Bulletin, thus its application has not yet been possible. The Committee hopes that this Instruction will be published in the near future and that it will provide measures for the continual development of occupational health services for all workers, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken to ensure the functions, organization and conditions of operation of the occupational health services along the lines of its previous comments on the following Articles of the Convention:

Article 5 (b), (d) and (e) to (h). The Committee would recall that this Article of the Convention sets forth the functions which occupational health services should be empowered to carry out. These functions do not, however, prejudice the rights and responsibilities of other authorities in the field of occupational safety and health, such as the labour inspectorate or the Joint Occupational Safety and Health Committees of the enterprise. The Committee hopes that the new Instruction on occupational health services will ensure that such services have the following functions: to survey sanitary installations, canteens, housing; to test and evaluate equipment; to advise on protective equipment; to survey workers' health for a particular job prior to assignment; to promote adaptation of the work to the worker; and to contribute to measures of vocational rehabilitation.

Article 7, paragraph 1. The Committee hopes that measures will be taken to establish occupational health services for enterprises with less than 100 workers.

Article 9. The Committee hopes that the new Instruction will establish the co-ordination between the services for preventive medicine and the services for prevention of occupational safety and health and that the Instructions will also provide that these services be multidisciplinary.

Article 10. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the indication in the Government's report for the period ending 30 June 1991 that the personnel of occupational health services were part of the enterprise which pays them. The Committee hopes that the new Instruction will provide the necessary measures to ensure the professional independence for the occupational health service personnel.

Article 12. The Committee notes the information provided by the Mexican Institute of Social Security with the Government's report that workers may go to medical services at any time in the course of their work. It recalls that this provision of the Convention concerns the regular medical examinations forming part of the surveillance of workers' health. It hopes that the necessary measures will be taken to ensure that, as far as possible, the regular surveillance of workers' health in relation to work takes place during working hours.

Article 15. The Committee notes the indication in the Government's latest report that the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, along with the Sub-Committee on Information and Statistics have set the establishment of an Integrated System for the Information of Occupational Hazards as a fundamental objective. The Committee hopes that the necessary measures are taken to ensure that the occupational health services are regularly informed of occurrences of ill health amongst workers and absence from work for health reasons so that they might be able to identify whether there is any relation between the reasons for ill health or absence and any health hazards which may be present at the workplace.

Point VI of the report form. The Committee notes the statistics provided in the Government's report concerning the number of Joint Occupational Safety and Health Committees created up to November 1992. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistics on the number of occupational health services established by virtue of section 213 of the General Occupational Safety and Health Regulations (RGSHT) and the number of workers who have access to these services.