Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1983)

Articles 3 and 7 of the Convention. Maximum weight of loads transported by an adult worker. For more than ten years the Committee has been repeatedly asking the Government to amend section 6 of Agreement No. 885 of the Executive Board of the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS), and has noted the Government’s statement in successive comments that approval of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations was imminent and that the latter would form the basis for amending the aforementioned Agreement. According to section 6 of the Agreement, the maximum weight that can be lifted by an able-bodied male under 60 years of age is 120 lb (60 kg) and the maximum weight that can be lifted by an able-bodied female under 50 years of age is 60 lb (30 kg). In its previous comments, the Committee has repeatedly asked the Government to take steps to amend Agreement No. 885 and, in the meantime, to take the necessary steps to ensure the full and binding application of these provisions of the Convention and to supply information in this respect. The Committee notes that the Government has not supplied any information on the amendment of the Agreement and the possible approval of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations. It also notes a report from the IGSS attached to the Government’s report, according to which the maximum recommended weight under ideal handling conditions is 25 kg and that women, young workers and older workers should not handle loads exceeding 15 kg. The report indicates that under special circumstances able-bodied, trained workers could handle loads up to 40 kg, provided that such work is occasional and performed under safe conditions. The report also refers to appropriate postures and preventive measures where the indicated weights are exceeded, mentioning as an example the use of mechanical aids and the lifting of loads by two or more persons. The Committee notes that the measures indicated in the report give effect to these provisions of the Convention but that they are not binding. It notes the discrepancy between these IGSS recommendations and Agreement No. 885, also of the IGSS, which is binding. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to bring IGSS Agreement No. 885 into conformity with the Convention, possibly using as a basis the Maximum Weight Recommendation, 1967 (No. 128), and the IGSS recommendations which the Government attached to its report, and to send information on any further developments in this regard.

Article 5. Steps to ensure that workers receive adequate training or instruction in working techniques, with a view to safeguarding health and preventing accidents. The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the form of the training and instruction that is given to workers before they are assigned to work involving the manual transport of loads, and to include information on the IGSS recommendations.

Article 7. Young workers. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that section 7 of Agreement No. 885 states that young persons over 13 years of age may lift, transport or move loads with weights appropriate to their respective ages, provided that this does not jeopardize their health or safety. The Committee refers to Paragraphs 19–23 of Recommendation No. 128, and in particular Paragraph 21, which states that where the minimum age for assignment to manual transport of loads is less than 16 years, measures should be taken as speedily as possible to raise it to that level, and Paragraph 22, which states that the minimum age for assignment to regular manual transport of loads should be raised, with a view to attaining a minimum age of 18 years. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to bring its law and practice into conformity with the Convention, to consider the guidance given by Recommendation No. 128, and to provide information on this matter, including detailed information on the sectors in which young persons perform tasks involving the manual transport of loads. The Committee also refers to this matter in its comments on the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138).

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. In its previous comments the Committee noted the Government’s statement that there are no statistics on infringements relating to the handling of loads because there have been no complaints from workers. The Committee asked the Government to clarify on what legal basis workers could make complaints. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information in this respect and that the statistics supplied do not refer to the matters covered by the present Convention. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether the labour inspectorate conducts inspections in the areas covered by the Convention and applies the relevant provisions to both scheduled inspections and the handling of complaints. The Government is also requested to indicate the sectors of activity with the greatest concentrations of workers who handle loads, including the extent to which such activity occurs in agriculture and mining and the manner in which the Government ensures the application of the provisions of the Convention.