Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Egypt (Ratification: 1982)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in response to its previous comments. It draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

1. Article 1 of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the new Labour Code No. 12 of 2003 has been promulgated and that the procedures for its implementation are under preparation, including the amendment of Order No. 55 of 1983 on the protective measures to ensure safety and health in the workplace and the level of exposure to pollutants, taking into consideration the technological development and the extent of exposure to pollutants. The Committee takes due note of this information and requests the Government to supply a copy of the 2003 Labour Code for further examinations. It hopes that the revision work of Order No. 55 of 1983, which has been announced since 1988, will be completed in the near future. The Committee requests the Government to communicate a copy of the amended order once it has been adopted for in-depth examination. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate whether codes of practice or guides exist which are used to determine carcinogenic substances and agents to which occupational exposure shall be prohibited or made subject to authorization or control.

2. Article 2, paragraph 2. With regard to the reduction of the number of workers exposed to carcinogenic substances or agents as well as the reduction of the duration and degree of such exposure, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that all orders designed to give effect to the provisions of the new Labour Code are currently being amended. The Committee hopes that the amendments to the respective orders will be adopted soon, in order to give effect to this provision of the Convention on which the Committee had made comments for a number of years.

3. Article 4. With regard to the information to be provided to workers on the dangers inherent in the exposure to carcinogenic substances or agents and on the measures to be taken, the Government indicates that the orders to implement the provisions of the new Labour Code, 2003, are presently being prepared, and that a document on safety on the utilization of dangerous products shall be included in the amendments being envisaged. The Committee accordingly hopes that the amendments to the orders will be adopted soon to ensure that the workers concerned are informed in a complete and comprehensive manner about the dangers involved in their exposure to carcinogenic substances or agents and on the measures to be taken.

4. Article 5. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that section 219 of the new Labour Code, 2003, obliges all undertakings to provide medical examinations to all their workers. The Committee, although it was not in a position to examine the new Labour Code of 2003, would consider that section 219 of the Labour Code, 2003, is drafted in too general terms to give full effect to this Article of the Convention. It recalls that under this Article of the Convention, measures must be taken to ensure that workers, both during and after the period of their employment, are provided with the medical or biological examinations or other tests or investigations needed to evaluate their level of exposure and monitor their state of health with regard to the occupational hazards, in response to the common situation in which cancer is diagnosed only after the worker concerned has left the employment in which he or she suffered exposure. The Committee therefore requests the Government to review the respective provisions of the Labour Code 2003 in the light of these explanations, and to take the appropriate measures, if necessary.

5. Part IV of the report form. In the absence of any information contained in the Government’s report, the Committee again requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in the country, including extracts from inspection reports and, if such statistics are available, information concerning the number of workers covered by the legislation or other measures which give effect to the Convention, the number and nature of the contraventions reported, the number, nature and cause of diseases, etc.