Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 4(1) of the Convention. Validity of medical certificates. The Committee notes under section 9 of the Ordinance on Medical and Psycho-physiological Certification of Persons Applying for Employment and the Re-examination of Persons Working in Merchant Shipping and Deep Sea Fishing, persons occupying certain positions and, in some cases, persons over 50 years of age, are liable to compulsory medical examination once every two years, whereas others must undergo medical examination once every three years. Recalling that the Convention requires the validity of the medical certificate for young persons of less than 21 years of age not to exceed a period of one year from the date on which it was granted, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide additional explanations as to how the Convention is given effect in this regard. It would also appreciate receiving a copy of the above Ordinance.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide in its next report up to date information on the practical application of the Convention including, for instance, statistical data on the number of fishers covered by the Convention, the number of medical examinations conducted and medical certificates issued annually, extracts from reports of the labour inspection services or the Maritime Administration Executive Agency related to the enforcement of the provisions of the Convention, etc.

Finally, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188), which revises in an integrated manner most of the existing ILO fishing instruments. The Committee invites the Government to give favourable consideration to the ratification of Convention No. 188 and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this regard.