Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161) - Slovenia (Ratification: 1992)

Legislation. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the adoption of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia, No. 43/11) (hereinafter the “OHS Act”) which repeals the former Occupational Health and Safety Act and has a broader scope of application. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on legislative measures undertaken with regard to the application of the Convention.

Article 8 of the Convention. Cooperation between employers, workers and their representatives. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication regarding the 2012–13 “Working together for risk prevention” campaign, managed by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (hereinafter the “Ministry”), which focused on encouraging cooperation of employers and workers in order to prevent occupational risks and manage occupational safety and health (OSH) issues. It also notes that the Ministry is working to raise employer and worker awareness with regard to OSH and, to that effect, organized a national competition in 2012 where organizations which demonstrated strong leadership and active involvement of workers and managers in the area of OSH were recognized. Furthermore, the Committee notes that section 13 of the OHS Act provides for the collaboration of employers, workers and their representatives on all questions related to OSH, and sections 45 and 46 provide for the inclusion of workers in OSH-related discussions and the consultation of workers or their representatives on risk assessment and any measures which might affect OSH. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the measures taken to ensure cooperation between employers, workers, and their representatives specifically with regard to occupational health services in the undertaking.

Article 15. Notification to occupational health services of occurrences of ill health and absence from work for health reasons in the interests of identifying any relation between the ill health and health hazards. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 33 of the OHS Act, an occupational medical practitioner may obtain access to information, with the worker’s consent, on their health status, treatment and rehabilitation from their general practitioner. In turn, if requested by the general practitioner, the occupational medical practitioner shall communicate information on the worker’s workload and workplace requirements. However, the Committee notes that no information is provided on the requirement for occupational health services to be informed of ill health among workers and absence from work for health reasons, in order to be able to identify whether there is any relation between the reasons for this ill health or absence and any health hazards which may be present at the workplace, as provided for by Article 15 of the Convention. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures undertaken to give effect to Article 15 of the Convention.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the number of violations with regard to the provision of occupational healthcare has increased from 1,771 in 2012 to 1,970 in 2013, with half of these violations due to workers not being referred for a health examination. It also notes the substantial increase of the number of violations relating to the provision of first aid, from 174 in 2012 to 320 in 2013. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry is making an effort to improve this situation by raising employer and worker awareness and that, in reference to the Committee’s previous comments, the work of medical practitioners who perform preventive examinations of workers is currently supervised by the Medical Chamber of Slovenia, but that it would also like to establish a supervisory system specific to occupational health practitioners. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the supervision of occupational health practitioners. It also requests the Government to continue to provide general information on the application of the Convention in practice and relevant statistics.