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

Workmen's Compensation (Accidents) Convention, 1925 (No. 17) - Latvia (Ratification: 1928)

The Committee notes the information communicated by the Government in response to its previous comments and invites the Government to provide further information on the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. In its previous comments, recalling that the Convention also covers workers in the service of foreign employers, the Committee asked the Government to indicate how it guaranteed, in law and in practice, the protection granted by the Convention for this category of workers. In this regard, the Government indicates, in its last report, that national employees in the service of a foreign employer benefit from occupational accident insurance, whereas foreign employees of a foreign employer are not necessarily subject to such insurance.

The Committee notes this information. With regard, first of all, to national employees in the service of a foreign employer, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify, in its next report, the provisions by virtue of which national employees are subject to occupational accident insurance. In fact, the Committee only has one English version of the State Social Insurance Act, last amended in 2004, section 6, paragraph 6, of which does not provide that national employees employed by a foreign employer shall benefit from occupational accident insurance. Furthermore, with regard to foreign employees of foreign employers, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that, pursuant to the Convention, these workers are also required to be covered in case of occupational accidents and asks the Government to inform it of the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that these workers receive the benefit of the compensation guaranteed by the Convention in the event of an occupational accident.

In short, given that the report contains no information in this regard, the Committee asks the Government, once again, to indicate whether, and under which provisions, apprentices are covered by the workers’ compensation scheme established by the Compulsory Social Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act of 1995.

Article 5. The Government recalls in its report that a spouse and children, who were totally or partly dependent on a worker who died following an occupational accident, are eligible for compensation for loss of the breadwinner when they are incapable of working, in accordance with section 14(4)(1) of the Compulsory Social Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide details of the way in which the competent authorities interpret the aforementioned incapacity to work of dependents, by indicating, for example, whether there are cases in which these people are presumed incapable of working so as to receive benefits as dependants.

Article 7. In its report, the Government indicates that, when a victim of an occupational accident requires assistance from a third party, the additional expenses incurred are covered by the National Social Insurance Agency (SSIA), provided that medical opinion has established the need for such assistance and that it has not been provided free of charge. The Committee notes, however, that the Government’s report does not contain the information previously requested concerning the implementation in practice of section 20(6) of the Compulsory Social Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act, which establishes that victims are entitled to an increase in the cash payment due in the event of an occupational accident. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate, once again, in particular, whether and in what cases the Agency has refused to increase compensation even though the need for such assistance was acknowledged by the Medical Commission of Health and Labour Capacity.

Article 8. The Committee recalls that under section 6(14) of the Compulsory Social Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act, the SSIA must ensure that the victim of an occupational accident undergoes repeated examinations in case of doubt that the loss of capacity for work has not been evaluated correctly. The Committee notes that, in its report the Government does not provide, as was requested previously, any information on the application in practice of this provision and that it does not state whether the medical examination conducted by the abovementioned Medical Commission may take place at any time or at specified intervals and at the request of the injured person. The Committee therefore trusts that the Government will provide the additional information required in its next report.

Article 11. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to specify whether, and under which provisions, the payment of the part of the compensation for temporary incapacity for work payable by the employer during the first 14 days is ensured in any event if the employer becomes insolvent, pursuant to section 19(3)(1) of the Compulsory Social Insurance against Occupational Accidents and Occupational Diseases Act. In its report, the Government refers to the provisions of Regulation No. 378 on the procedures for calculating and paying compensatory remuneration in the event of occupational accidents. This Regulation provides that, in certain circumstances, compensatory payments shall be covered by the SSIA in the event of the insolvency or legal inexistence of the employer. The Committee understands that this text concerns accidents that occurred before the introduction, on 1 January 1997, of the Occupational Accident Insurance Scheme and would be grateful if the Government would communicate a copy with its next report.

The Committee notes that the Government also refers to the Act of 20 December 2001 on the protection of workers in the event of the insolvency of their employer, section 4 of which provides, amongst other things, that the amounts payable by the insolvent employer in the event of occupational accidents or diseases shall be covered by a wage claims guarantee fund. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide, with its next report, information on the functioning in practice of the guarantee mechanism instituted by the abovementioned law, in particular with regard to the payments that may have been made in connection with occupational accidents in the event of the insolvency of the employer. The Committee would also like the Government to specify which employers are covered by this mechanism.

The Committee also requests the Government to communicate a copy of Regulation No. 50 concerning the procedures for granting and calculating benefits within the framework of compulsory social insurance against occupational accidents and occupational diseases.