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

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Montenegro (Ratification: 2006)

Article 1 of the Convention. Prohibition of occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances and agents. Article 2(1) and (2). Replacement of carcinogenic substances and agents by less harmful substances and reduction of the number of workers exposed to such substances. Article 6(a). Measures of application taken in consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes that in reply to the Committee’s previous request regarding the manner in which the prohibition of occupational exposure to carcinogenic substances and agents is developed and reviewed, the Government indicates that it is in the process of harmonizing its legislation with EU legislation and that a draft Law on Safety and Health at Work, prepared in close cooperation with the representative organizations of employers and workers, is currently being discussed by the Parliament. It adds that a Rulebook on the protection of health against occupational risks of exposure to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances is under preparation. This Rulebook will contain provisions on exposure limit values to carcinogenic or mutagenic substances, minimum safety requirements and will establish the employers’ obligations with regard to the replacement of carcinogenic substances or agents with non-carcinogenic or less harmful substances and the prevention and reduction of exposure to the lowest level technically possible. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments in this regard, including on the measures undertaken to ensure consultation with the most representative organizations of employers and workers, as required by Article 6(a) of the Convention, and to provide a copy of the Law on Safety and Health at Work and of the Rulebook once they have been adopted.

Article 5. Medical examinations during the period of employment and thereafter. The Committee notes that, in reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that medical examinations of workers after the termination of their employment are carried out by their chosen physicians. It adds that in the course of the reform of the primary health-care system, 250 chosen physicians have attended a three-month training which included a module on safety and health at work and, more specifically, on occupational cancers. While taking due note of this information, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to Paragraph 12 of the Occupational Cancer Recommendation, 1974 (No. 147), under which provision should be made for appropriate medical examinations or biological or other tests or investigations to continue to be available to workers after cessation of their assignment to work involving exposure to carcinogenic substances or agents. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the measures taken or envisaged to supervise the health of workers who have been exposed to carcinogenic substances or agents, after the period of employment.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied, including extracts from inspection reports and, where such statistics exist, information on the number of workers covered by the legislation; the number and nature of the contraventions reported; and the number, nature and cause of diseases reported, etc.