Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176) - Portugal (Ratification: 2002)

The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers – National Trade Unions (CGTP–IN) and the General Workers’ Union (UGT), communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Policy on safety and health in mines. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that a National Strategy for Geological Resources – Mineral Resources (ENRG–RM) was adopted in 2012. This National Strategy sets out strategic goals, incorporated in an Action Plan to be implemented by 2020, which include the protection of workers’ safety and health, the promotion of adequate working conditions and social protection and the elimination or minimization of safety risks in mines and quarries that are abandoned or considered potentially dangerous. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the specific measures taken to achieve the objectives set out in the National Strategy and the Action Plan related to occupational safety and health. It also requests the Government to indicate the employers’ and workers’ organizations consulted in formulating the National Strategy and the Action Plan, how these consultations have been carried out and the results thereof.

Articles 5(1) and 16(b). Competent authority responsible for monitoring and regulating the various aspects of safety and health in mines. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Directorate-General of Energy and Geology (DGEG), under the Ministry of the Environment, Spatial Planning and Energy, is still responsible for the monitoring of the extractive sector, while the Working Conditions Authority (ACT), under the Ministry of Solidarity, Employment and Social Security, still supervises compliance with labour standards and occupational safety and health legislation. It also notes that in 2010 the DGEG and the ACT concluded a cooperation agreement with a view to increasing the effectiveness of inspection visits, evaluating safety and health plans and ensuring the exchange of information between the two entities, particularly on matters relating to occupational accidents. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on coordination and cooperation between the DGEG and the ACT as regards the regulation and monitoring of the various aspects of safety and health in mines.

Article 7(c). Measures to maintain ground stability. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the interpretation of section 69 of Legislative Decree No. 162/90 approving the General Regulations on Safety and Health at Work in Mines, which states that mining operations must be protected by appropriate support structures, and that where experience confirms that the ground is solid, such support structures may be dispensed with, provided that appropriate monitoring is carried out. In this respect, the Government provides information on the methods and materials to maintain the stability of the ground in the application and interpretation of section 69. The Government indicates that although these methods are not explicitly referred to in the current legislation, inspection services consider them to be safe and reliable. It adds that one of the priorities of inspection services is to verify ground stability of worksites and access areas. In its observations, the CGTP–IN points to the lack of national provisions giving effect to Article 7(c) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures, taken or envisaged, to ensure that employers have a legal obligation to take steps to maintain the stability of the ground in areas to which persons have access in the context of their work.

Articles 7(i) and 8. Evacuation of workers to a safe location in case of serious danger to their safety and health. Emergency response plan. The Committee takes note of the observations of the CGTP–IN stating that the national legislation does not comply with the requirements of the Convention with regard to measures aimed at ensuring the rapid and safe evacuation of workers in the event of danger. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in respect of the observations made by the CGTP–IN.

Article 10(a). Training and instruction of miners. With reference to its previous comments, in which it noted the Government’s statement that considerable improvements had been achieved in the training and instruction of miners, the Committee notes the general information provided by the Government on the training of workers on safety and health matters. The Committee also notes the observations of the UGT in which it refers to ACT statistics on the number of work-related accidents and fatalities and identifies the lack of vocational training of miners as one of the causes of such accidents. The Committee requests the Government to give particulars of the practical measures taken and procedures established to ensure that employers in the mining sector provide, at no cost, adequate training and retraining as well as comprehensible instructions on safety and health matters and on the work assigned to workers.

Articles 10(c) and 13(1)(e). System whereby the names and location of persons underground can be known. Right of workers to remove themselves from any dangerous location. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report in reply to its previous comments regarding the effect given to: Article 10(c) of the Convention on the establishment of a system whereby the names and location of persons underground can be known; and Article 13(1)(e) on the right of workers to remove themselves from any location posing a serious danger to their safety or health. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of these provisions in practice.

Article 13(1)(f). Right of workers to collectively select safety and health representatives. Mines and quarries of less than 50 employees. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 176 of Legislative Decree No. 162/90, occupational safety and health committees, including members elected by workers, shall be set up in mines and quarries of 50 or more workers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how it is ensured that workers employed in mines of less than 50 workers have a right to collectively select safety and health representatives and to provide information on the procedures established for their selection.

Article 13(2)(b), (c), (e) and (f). Rights of safety and health representatives in mines. The Committee notes that according to the CGTP–IN, the rights listed in Article 13(2)(b), (c), (e) and (f) of the Convention are not guaranteed by the national legislation. The Committee once again requests the Government to give full particulars of the measures taken to ensure, in law and in practice, that safety and health representatives have the right to: participate in inspections and investigations conducted by the employer and by the competent authority at the workplace (Article 13(2)(b)(i)); monitor and investigate safety and health matters (Article 13(2)(b)(ii)); have recourse to advisers and independent experts (Article 13(2)(c)); consult with the competent authority (Article 13(2)(e)); and receive notices of accidents and dangerous occurrences (Article 13(2)(f)).

Application in practice. The Committee takes note of the observations of the UGT that in the mining sector, 1,674 work-related accidents and five fatalities were registered in 2010, while during the 2012–13 period, seven fatal accidents were reported. The UGT points at the widespread failure to comply with safety and security regulations and identifies several causes for these accidents, including labour-intensive work and long working hours, absence of collective and individual security measures to protect miners and lack of monitoring of working conditions in this sector. The Committee notes that, while the Government has provided statistical data in relation to workplace health and safety generally, the data is not disaggregated by sector. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in respect of the observations made by the UGT. It also requests the Government to give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including information specifically relating to the mining sector, on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, activities carried out by inspection services, statistics on work-related accidents and diseases in the mining sector (number, nature and causes) and information on measures, taken or envisaged, to address the causes of such accidents and diseases.