Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13) - Benin (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report. It also notes the adoption of Act No. 98-004 of 27 January 1998 issuing the Labour Code, Order No. 022/MFPTRA/DC/SGM/DT/SST of 19 April 1999 issuing general measures for health and safety at work and Ministerial Order No. 132/MFPTRA/MSP/DC/SGM/DT/SST of 2 November 2000 fixing the nature of work and the categories of enterprises prohibited to women, pregnant women and young persons and the age limit to which the prohibition applies. The Committee wishes to draw the attention of the Government to the following matters.

Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The Committee notes that sections 5 and 6 of Order No. 132/MFPTRA/MSP/DC/SGM/DT/SST of 2 November 2000 fixing the nature of work and categories of enterprises prohibited to women, pregnant women and young persons and the age limit to which the prohibition applies list the work prohibited to women. The work prohibited to women does not include painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead as provided in Article 3 of the Convention. The Government is requested to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that women may not be called upon to carry out painting work of an industrial character involving the use of white lead. With regard to pregnant women, the Committee notes with interest that section 8 of the abovementioned Order prohibits the employment of pregnant women or of nursing women in work exposing them, inter alia, to lead and its components. With regard to young workers, the Committee notes with interest that section 20 of the same Order prohibits the employment of young workers under the age of 18 on work where they come into contact with lead and its components, namely work on scraping, burning, or cutting out with a blow torch of material covered with paint containing lead. In this regard, the Government indicates that a study on the employment of apprentices, carried out by the multidisciplinary industrial health team of the Directorate of Labour, has revealed that child apprentices are unequally distributed among the various trades in Benin and that there are few young apprentices in the painting trade. The painting trades, however, are among the most dangerous for the safety and health of children under 15 years old even though it has been proved that the paint does not contain white lead. The risks to which those performing this trade may be exposed relate to possible exposure to dust from sanding down old buildings in which the paint contains white lead. In this context, the Committee recalls the provision of section 18 of the abovementioned Order which, inter alia, prohibits the employment of young workers under 18 years of age in work on sanding and roughening of hard stone. In addition, section 6 of General Order No. 8827/IGTLS/AOF of 14 November 1955 laying down special health measures applicable in French West Africa in establishments where the staff are exposed to lead intoxication prohibits scraping or dry sanding of paint containing lead components. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to indicate, first, whether Order No. 8827/IGTLS/AOF of 14 November 1955 remains in force and secondly, to supply information on the action taken, namely through inspection of workplaces, to ensure the application in practice of the provisions of the abovementioned Orders.

Article 7. The Committee notes the Government’s indication to the effect that neither the occupational health service of the Directorate of Labour nor the Benin Office of Social Security have discovered any case of illness caused by white lead and that no statements have been received on this subject. It invites the Government to continue to provide the ILO with statistics on morbidity and mortality among painters.