Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration) Convention, 1977 (No. 148) - Ecuador (Ratification: 1978)

Legislation. The Committee notes the Andean Community Decision No. 584, the “Andean Occupational Safety and Health Instrument”, replacing Decision No. 547, and Resolution No. 957 issuing regulations for the Andean Occupational Safety and Health Instrument. The Committee observes that these instruments appear to pave the way for a ratification of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and its Protocol, and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187), and draws the Governments attention to paragraphs 295 and 296 of its 2009 General Survey on Convention No. 155. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard.

The Committee notes Ministerial Agreements Nos 219 and 220 of 2005, the first of which refers to a register of occupational safety and health professionals and the second to the adoption of internal safety and health regulations. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the internal safety and health regulations in the sectors covered by the Convention and to continue to provide information on all legislation relating to the Convention.

Article 4. Measures for the prevention and control of occupational hazards due to air pollution, noise and vibration; Article 5. Cooperation between employers and workers; and Article 11. Periodical medical examinations. For several years the Committee has been discussing with the Government on the safety and health status of workers in the telephone sector, with reference to observations from trade union organizations citing serious repercussions on the health of workers in this sector from prolonged exposure to risk factors and the extended working day, which was fixed at four and a half hours, to reduce the risk of exposure until 1999, when it was modified by collective agreement. The Government states that the technology has been changed and is now safer, so these problems no longer exist. In its last observation the Committee sought information on the repercussions on the sector of the extension of the working hours. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided this information. It points out to the Government that the examination of this issue was triggered by serious allegations from workers’ organizations regarding the telephone sector, referring among other things to deaths, ruptured cerebral aneurisms, pulmonary oedema, and loss of visual and hearing capacity. The Committee therefore needs detailed information about the present situation in the sector so that it can ascertain whether or not these issues have been resolved. The Committee invites the Government to consult with the employers and workers as provided in Article 5 of the Convention on the measures for prevention and protection referred to in Article 4, which apply in the telephone sector, and to provide information on such consultations as well as on measures taken or envisaged. The Committee also asks the Government to provide particulars of the medical examinations conducted for workers in the sector, indicating their frequency and providing information on their results.

Article 6, paragraph 2. Requirement for employers to cooperate in applying prescribed measures. The Committee notes that the Government merely refers to its previous report without answering the question raised by the Committee. It reminds the Government that under this Article, whenever two or more employers undertake activities simultaneously at one workplace, they shall have the duty to collaborate in order to comply with the prescribed measures and that, in appropriate circumstances, the competent authorities shall prescribe general procedures for this collaboration. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the manner in which it ensures compliance in law and in practice with the duty to collaborate laid down in this Article and, if necessary, to prescribe the procedures for such collaboration.

Article 8, paragraphs 1 and 3. Air pollution and vibration. For several years the Committee has been asking the Government provide information on the establishment, by the Inter-institutional Committee on Occupational Safety and Health, of exposure limits for corrosive, irritating and toxic substances, by adopting the standards established for such substances by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists. The Committee notes that according the Government, Ecuador has regulated maximum permissible limits of exposure only for asbestos and for all other cases, they apply international standards. The Committee requests the Government to indicate which international standards it applies, and submit a copy of the legal provisions providing for the application of these standards. Please also provide documentation on the criteria currently used to define the risks of exposure to air pollution and vibration in the workplace, and the exposure limits, as well as on the manner in which these criteria and limits are supplemented and revised in practice, together with relevant documentation.

Article 10. Exceeding exposure limits and protective equipment. The Committee once again notes that the Government has not sent the information requested. It invites the Government to indicate the methods prescribed for determining whether the limits specified in pursuance of Article 8 are exceeded and to specify the guidelines or instructions on the type of personal protective equipment to be provided to the workers exposed should these limits be exceeded.

Article 11. Medical examinations (pre-assignment and periodical). Please provide information on measures taken, in law and in practice, to regulate how these examinations are carried out and that periodicity.

Article 12. Notification to the competent authority of processes, substances, machinery and equipment which involve exposure. The Committee repeats its request to the Government for information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the use of processes, substances, machinery and equipment involving exposure to air pollution, noise or vibration are notified to the competent authorities.

Part IV of the report form. Application in practice. Please provide general information on the manner in which the Convention is applied, together with extracts from inspection reports with an indication of the number and nature of infringements detected in connection with the Convention, including in the telephone sector. Please also provide reports prepared pursuant to the Andean Occupational Safety and Health Instrument that may be relevant, to enable the Committee to ascertain more fully the extent to which the Convention is applied.

In general, the Committee notes that although it has asked the Government to reply in detail to its comments of 2006, the information sent by the Government is summary and general in nature. The Committee also notes that the type of reply sent by the Government does now allow it to resolve the application of the issues that it has been raising for several years. The Committee requests the Government to reply in detail to the present comments attaching copies of the legislative provisions, and to provide examples that illustrate the assertions it makes in its report. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the fact that it may seek technical assistance from the Office should it deem this necessary.