Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1980)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Periodical determination of the carcinogenic substances and agents to which occupational exposure shall be prohibited or made subject to authorization or control. With reference to its previous comments regarding the information on the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Health to update and revise the tables, annexed and referred to in sections 2-6 of Decree No. 183/982 of 29 May 1982, on measures to protect workers against the hazards caused by carcinogenic substances or agents, the Committee notes with interest the adoption of the National Code of 18 February 2004 on the compulsory notification of diseases and sanitary events. The mentioned legal text contains a list of diseases, including occupational ones, which shall be declared within a prescribed deadline. The Committee points out that this text does not create any mechanism ensuring that the carcinogenic substances and agents to which occupational exposure shall be prohibited or made subject to authorization or control. The Committee urges the Government to make due efforts in order to give effect to this Article of the Convention.

2. Article 3. Practical measures to protect workers against the risks of exposure to carcinogenic substances and agents. With reference to its previous comments regarding the establishment by the General Labour and Social Security Inspection Service (IGTSS) of a register of communications made by enterprises using carcinogenic substances and agents, in conformity with section 9 of the abovementioned Decree No. 183/982, the Committee notes that the Government’s latest report is silent in relation to any action to ensure the application in practice of this Article. The Committee once again requests the Government to adopt the appropriate practical measures to give effect to this provision of the Convention.

3.  Article 5. Workers’ medical examination during the period of employment and thereafter. The Committee notes with interest that article 1 of the resolution of the Ministry of Health establishes a basic scheme of chemical and physical risk factors, the respective modalities of medical control for each factor, as well as the determination of specific periods of control. Article 2 of the same resolution prescribes that values of each substance will be updated once every year. A special health control plan can be required by a physician specialist in industrial medicine and occupational health which should include the periodicity of control, as is laid down in article 3 of the resolution. Taking due note of the mentioned provisions of the resolution in question, the Committee recalls that this article prescribes that medical examinations shall be carried out after employment. With reference to its previous comments and while the Government’s latest report is silent with respect to the existence of any provision which gives effect to this point of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to take necessary measures to ensure that medical examinations should be carried out after the period of employment.

4. Article 6, paragraph (c). Measures to provide that appropriate inspection is to be carried out. With reference to its previous comments regarding the requirement to provide appropriate inspection services for supervising the application of the Convention, as well as regarding the specific plan for supervising the enterprises which handle or use carcinogenic substances that should be set up by the IGTSS, in accordance with article 11 of Decree No. 183/982, the Committee notes that the Government’s latest report does not contain the information requested. The Committee refers to the indication made by the Government in its earlier report that inspections are carried out only as a result of declarations by workers. The Committee urges the Government to take necessary measures to adopt provisions in order to ensure the application of this Article of the Convention and requests the Government to provide information on the organization, functions and powers of the inspection services responsible for supervising the application of the provisions of the Convention.

5. Part IV of the report form. Statistical data. In the absence of any information concerning practical application of the Convention which was requested in its previous comment, the Committee expresses the hope that the Government will take the necessary measures to collect and communicate statistics on the number of workers protected by legislation, or other measures which give effect to the Convention, disaggregated by sex if possible, the number and nature of the contraventions reported and the number, nature and cause of cases of disease.