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

Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167) - Norway (Ratification: 1991)

Article 4 of the Convention. National legislation. The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that the Regulation No. 608 of 26 June 1998 on respecting the use of work equipment, is now covered by the following regulations: Regulation No. 1355 of 6 December 2011, concerning organization, management and employee participation; Regulation No. 1356 of 6 December 2011, concerning workplaces; Regulation No. 1357 of 6 December 2011, concerning performance of work; and regulations concerning administrative arrangements. The Committee also notes that the Government has implemented Council Directive 92/57/EEC on the implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile construction sites, which came into force 1 January 2010. Noting the Government’s indication that these regulatory changes are only structural and entail no substantive changes, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific provisions of these regulations which give effect to the Convention, and requests that a translation of these provisions in one of the working languages of the ILO be provided. It further asks the Government to clarify the relation of the Council Directive 92/57/EEC with the application of the Convention.

Application of the Convention in practice. Social dumping. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, in the period covering 2008–14, the Government carried out three action plans, the last of which ended in May 2013, to combat social dumping. The Government indicates that a research report from the Institute for Labour and Social Research (FAFO) says that the actions against social dumping have been effectively implemented, resulting in many positive achievements, despite the fact that social dumping is increasing and that many companies find new ways to bypass the law. The Committee notes that in 2013, the Labour Inspectorate (LI) carried out 800 social dumping inspections in the construction industry, 543 of which resulted in injunctions. The LI also conducted a survey among 72 experienced labour inspectors in social dumping, concluding that in the construction industry, 89 per cent of the inspectors think that most foreign workers lack sufficient training, 64 per cent think that most of them lack protective equipment, 89 per cent think that they are exposed to higher risks than Norwegian workers, 67 per cent think they have poorer wages and working conditions and 98 per cent think that language and communication problems are a serious risks. The Government considers that though social dumping remains a significant problem, the efforts deployed to reduce it, have been positive. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the effective implementation of all aspects of their Convention, including, for example, the protection of the rights and obligations of workers (Articles 10, 11, 12 and 13 of the Convention) as well as their application in practice, especially given the indication of the high number of migrant workers in the construction industry.

Other statistics. In addition, the Committee notes that between 2010 and 2013, the LI carried out a total of 13,991 inspections in workplaces, in the building and constructions sector: 3,548 in 2010; 3,412 in 2011; 3,681 in 2012; and 3,350 in 2013. The Committee notes the information that, currently, Norway has no register on occupational injuries due to the poor quality of the register currently in place and that a new register is being established. It also notes the Government’s indication that the Register of Work-Related Diseases (RAS) from 2013 shows that out of all 2,827 reported diseases registered, 652 were in the building and construction sector. The Committee further notes that in 2013, the number of employees in the building and construction sector in Norway was 197,000 and that there were nine fatal accidents registered in the sector in 2013. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the new register on occupational injuries and to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate any special measures that have been taken or are envisaged in order to address the high number of accidents, including the high number of fatalities, in the construction industry.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2016.]