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

Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167) - Brazil (Ratification: 2006)

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of application. Article 3. Consultation of the most representative organizations of employers and workers concerned regarding the measures to be taken to give effect to the provisions of the Convention. In its previous comments the Committee referred to communications from the Union of Workers in the Lumber, Civil Construction and Furniture Industries of Altamira and the surrounding Region (SINTICMA) and the Single Confederation of Workers (CUT). Both communications referred to the growth in the construction industry and, within the industry, to non-registered workers and the serious problems that this situation presented with regard to the application of the Convention. The main points of the communication from the CUT were as follows: (a) occupational safety and health (OSH) policies and measures for the construction industry do not take account of the informal sector and are therefore not realistic; (b) the method for recording occupational accidents does not take account of non-registered workers and so the accident figures contained in official records do not reflect reality; and (c) very few occupational accidents are investigated. SINTICMA stated that the enterprises operating in the Altamira region do not observe labour legislation relating to documentation of workers, that the conditions of work in construction are subhuman, that the workers do not enjoy any of the rights established by the legislation, including with regard to OSH, and that labour inspection is inadequate. The Committee asked for information on the manner in which account is taken of these workers with a view to: (a) formulating OSH policies for the construction industry; (b) recording occupational accidents; and (c) training in OSH. The Committee notes the statement in the Government’s report that work in the informal sector is extensive but follows the growth trends in the formal sector. In the first six months of 2010, a total of 1.47 million jobs were created, which corresponds to the highest figure recorded in the General Register of Employment and Unemployment (CAGED). Between January and May 2011, the number of new jobs created was 1,171,796 (up 3.26 per cent), which was only slightly less than the increase indicated for 2010. The Government states that although the construction industry shows problems with regard to informal work, there has also been a high rate of growth in the formal sector in recent years. In order to gain a more precise estimate of informal employment in the country, the Ministry of Labour and Employment announced the creation of an indicator for the end of 2011, based on CAGED data and the Annual Report on Labour Issues (RAIS). The new indicator, called the “real unemployment rate”, will focus on the employment market in the informal economy. According to the Labour Minister, the current unemployment indicators do not reflect the reality in the informal sector, in self-employment or in the liberal professions. The Committee notes with interest the development of the real unemployment indicator since this can contribute to a more accurate identification of the number of informal workers in the sector covered by the Convention and contribute towards the application of the Convention to all construction workers. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the statistics obtained in the construction industry on the basis of this indicator, stating the number of registered workers and the estimated number of non-registered workers.

Other measures. The Government also previously indicated that the most effective means of tackling informal employment in Brazil is the action taken by the labour inspectorate, whose objectives in civil construction include prevention (avoiding occupational accidents and diseases) and enforcement, including taking action against informal employment. The Committee notes the Government’s detailed information on the action of the labour inspectorate, indicating that in 2010 labour inspectors registered 57,883 workers in civil construction and 18,918 workers in heavy construction and that from January to May 2011 a total of 22,771 workers were registered in civil construction and 8,619 workers in heavy construction. The Committee also notes the Government’s statement that, under Government policy, civil construction is one of the priority sectors for the labour inspectorate and that in 2010 a total of 20.4 per cent of inspections in the sector concerned safety and health. As preventive measures, 2,781 seizure orders were issued in cases involving a serious and imminent danger to the workers, 17,244 reports of infringements were issued and 387 investigations into serious and fatal accidents were undertaken. The Government also provides information on action undertaken in heavy construction. The Committee also refers to the information provided by the Government concerning the measures to reduce under-notification and those which it noted in its comments relating to the Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139), and the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155). Noting the efforts of the labour inspectorate to ensure the application of the Convention to all workers in the sector, the Committee recalls that a fundamental mechanism for giving effect to the Convention is Article 3, under the terms of which the most representative organizations of employers and workers concerned must be consulted on the measures to be taken to give effect to the provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to undertake such consultations, including on the measures to be adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention with respect to registered and non-registered workers, and to supply information in this regard. The Government is also requested to supply practical information on the registration of occupational accidents in the construction sector and on training in OSH.

Part VI of the report form. Application in practice and Article 35. Labour inspection. In its previous comments the Committee noted that, according to SINTICMA, working and OSH conditions in civil construction in the trans-Amazonian region are subhuman and the labour inspectorate does not have the means to address this situation. The union indicated that there is one Ministry of Labour and Employment assistant’s post for 40,000 workers seeking help from ten towns in the trans-Amazonian region and that the labour inspectorate is unable to monitor these enterprises because the work is temporary and it only visits the region every two or three years. It notes that the Government only refers in its report to Article 10 of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81). The Committee indicates that, according to Article 35 of the present Convention, each Member shall provide appropriate inspection services to supervise the application of the measures to be taken in pursuance of the Convention and provide these services with the resources necessary for the accomplishment of their task. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the action of the labour inspection services with regard to the OSH issues raised by SINTICMA in the trans-Amazonian region and to clarify whether these services are equipped with the necessary means to enforce the application of the Convention in that region.