Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Medical Examination (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No. 113) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1961)

The Committee notes the information sent in the Government’s report and the accompanying documentation. It would appreciate receiving further information on the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. Fishers’ medical certificate. The Committee notes the information from the Maritime Department of the Ministry of National Defence that there are no regulations allowing it to be ascertained that practical effect is given to the Convention. It also notes that this is why the Ministry of National Defence adopted resolution No. AMN-DM-002-DFTGM-DM-2006-FBA of 7 August 2006, under which the command centres and authorities of the ports of the Republic must require the list of crew members of all fishing vessels and their medical certificates to be valid for one year whatever the age of the fisher. The resolution also provides that, before delivering navigation permits, command centres on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts must require captains and owners of fishing vessels flying the Guatemalan flag to provide a certificate from the authority of the port at which they are registered attesting to the validity of the crew members’ certificates.

The Committee notes that, according to the Government, fishing in some regions is artisanal and family-based, which means that no, or only a few, medical certificates are issued and that it is impossible to verify that fishers hired on a subcontracting basis are in possession of a proper medical certificate. It also notes that enterprises and cooperatives that engage in fishing, including on an artisanal basis, apply the provisions of section 63(f) of the Labour Code which requires workers to undergo a medical examination to ascertain that they are not suffering from any incapacity or occupational disease. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the practical effect given to the abovementioned resolution, including statistical data on the number of fishing vessels denied a navigation permit for failing to produce valid medical certificates for all crew members. The Committee would also appreciate receiving a sample of the medical certificate used for applying the Convention. Lastly, it would be grateful if the Government would please confirm that Government Order No. 9-80 of 9 May 1980 and the Regulations of 4 February 1982 issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare concerning workers’ medical certificates are still in force.

Parts III and V of the report form. The Committee takes note of the Government’s information on the organization and operation of the labour inspection services. It would be grateful if the Government would provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, indicating, for example, the number of professional fishers covered by the Convention and providing statistics, if available, on the number of medical examinations carried out and the medical certificates delivered each year, extracts of labour inspection reports, and information on the number and nature of the infringements reported and the penalties applied.