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

White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13) - Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) (Ratification: 1933)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report.

The Committee notes Decree No. 3235, of 20 January 1999, issuing regulations under the Organic Labour Act, as well as the Act partially reforming the Organic Labour Act (Gaceta Oficial, 19 June 1997, No. 5152, pp. 1-61). The Committee states that the new Organic Labour Act does not contain any provision setting out the prohibition upon the use of white lead, as was the case of the Labour Act, as amended up to 30 June 1983 (Gaceta Oficial, 12 July 1983, No. 3219, Special Issue, p. 3.) in sections 126 to 129. In this regard, the Committee recalls that the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations, as amended by Decree No. 1564 of 31 December 1973, also contained provisions (sections 82 and 83) which gave effect to most of the Articles of this Convention. The Committee understands that the above Regulations may continue to remain in force; however, in view of the substantial reform of the country’s legislation that has been carried out the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the above Regulations do indeed remain in force and to provide information on any legislative measure that has been adopted giving effect to the provisions of the Convention.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its direct request of 1998, concerning the absence of cases of mortality due to lead poisoning and of statistics on cases of morbidity due to lead poisoning for the period 1991-2000. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue, in accordance with Article 7 of the Convention, compiling statistics on lead poisoning among working painters as to: (a) morbidity, by notification and certification of all cases of lead poisoning; and (b) mortality, by a method approved by the official statistical authority in each country.