Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Mauritania

White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13) (Ratification: 1961)
Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937 (No. 62) (Ratification: 1963)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of ratified Conventions on occupational safety and health (OSH), the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 13 (white lead) and 62 (safety provisions, building) together in a single comment.

1. White Lead (Painting) Convention, 1921 (No. 13)

Application of the Convention in practice. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government in its report, in addition to the ordinary monitoring measures carried out by the various officials responsible for the enforcement of labour legislation, the General Directorate of Labour, in collaboration with the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) and the National Office for Occupational Medicine, organizes each year a national campaign for the application of labour legislation covering all sectors and all the regions of the country. During this campaign, monitoring teams are composed of labour inspectors and controllers, CNSS inspectors and occupational physicians. The Government indicates that no cases of morbidity or mortality caused by lead poisoning have been noted or reported to the public services. The Committee also notes a copy of the list of occupational diseases provided by the Government, which includes occupational lead poisoning. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the control measures adopted to ensure the effective enforcement of the legislation in this respect, and statistics on cases of morbidity and mortality caused by lead poisoning, particularly in the construction sector.

2. Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937 (No. 62)

The Committee recalls that, on the recommendation of the Tripartite Working Group of the Standards Review Mechanism (SRM), at its 334th Session (October-November 2018), the Governing Body confirmed the classification of Convention No. 62 as an outdated instrument and included an item on the agenda of the 112th Session of the International Labour Conference in 2024 for its abrogation. The Governing Body also requested the Office to follow up and encourage the ratification of the up-to-date instrument, the Safety and Health in Construction Convention, 1988 (No. 167), and to provide technical assistance to countries requiring the most support. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to give effect to the decision taken by the Governing Body at its 334th Session (October-November 2018) approving the recommendation of the SRM Tripartite Working Group and to consider ratifying Convention No. 167. The Committee reminds the Government of the possibility to avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this regard.

Article 6 of the Convention. Statistical information. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in response to its previous request that the measures taken to resolve the main causes of occupational accidents are the intensification of inspections of building and public works construction sites and awareness-raising through such activities as the open days organized by the Ministry of the Public Service, Labour and Administrative Modernization, where subjects related to hygiene, health and safety are covered with invited representatives from employers’ and workers’ organizations. However, the Government indicates that it is not in a position to provide reliable statistics on the number of workers employed in the construction sector due to the inconsistent levels of activity in the sector. The Committee also notes that the Government’s report does not contain information on the number and classification of accidents suffered by persons engaged in work on construction, repair, alteration, maintenance and demolition sites for all types of buildings. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted or envisaged to resolve the main causes of occupational accidents. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure the compilation of statistics on the number of workers employed in the construction sector and on the number and nature of the accidents reported in the sector.