Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) - El Salvador (Ratification: 2000)

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The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers of El Salvador (CSTS), received on 17 May 2023.

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155)

Article 5(e) of the Convention. Protection of workers and their representatives from disciplinary measures as a result of actions properly taken. The Committee notes the Government’s information that protection of workers and their representatives from disciplinary measures is defined in section 2 of the proposed national policy on occupational safety and health (OSH).While noting that the policy on OSH has not yet been adopted, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on how protection is currently ensured of workers and their representatives from disciplinary measures, as a result of actions properly taken by them.

Article 7. Overall and sectoral reviews of safety and health.In the absence of updated information in this respect, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information regarding the technical studies on the working environment referred to. In particular, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate how the findings of sectoral reviews and studies are taken into account in the development of the new national policy on OSH.

Article 13. Protection from undue consequences for workers who have removed themselves from a work situation which they have reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger to their life or health. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that section 73(4) of the General Act on the prevention of occupational risks sets out the obligation of workers to inform their manager of any potential risk to their safety and that of their co-workers. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Labour Code grants workers who have removed themselves from a work situation which they have reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger to their life or health, protection from undue consequences, enabling them to remove themselves from any risk that endangers their life, physical integrity, or safety and health. In this respect, while the Committee notes that the Labour Code provides for the right of workers to terminate the employment contract in case of serious danger to their life or health (section 53(7)), it does not note any provision on the right to interrupt an employment situation while maintaining the employment relationship. In this respect, the Committee notes that the CSTS expresses the need to incorporate a provision into the General Act on the prevention of occupational risks to give effect to Article 13 of the Convention. Therefore, in the absence of specific provisions which give effect to Article 13 of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to guarantee that workers who remove themselves from a work situation which they have reasonable justification to believe presents an imminent and serious danger to their life or health are protected from undue consequences. In the absence of such provisions, the Committee considers that the proposed reform of the General Act on the prevention of occupational risks and its four regulations could present an opportunity to adopt specific measures.

Article 21. OSH measures expenditure. The Committee notes that section 38 of the General Act on the prevention of occupational risks establishes the obligation for the employer to provide workers with personal protective equipment, work clothes, special tools and necessary technical measures for collective protection, as well as to ensure their proper use and maintenance, without entailing any financial burden whatsoever on the worker. In this respect, the Committee notes the CSTS’s indication that employers frequently deduct from workers’ wages the costs of damage to or defects in protection equipment or work clothes. The Committee requests the Government to transmit its comments in this respect. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any measures adopted to ensure in practice that OSH measures do not entail any expenditure for workers.

Protocol of 2002

The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report in response to its previous comments on the application of the Protocol to Convention No. 155.

Article 1(d). Application of the Protocol to commuting accidents. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 317(4) of the Labour Code defines commuting accidents as those incurred on the way between the place of work and the worker’s residence, or vice versa, during a reasonable time and by means of a reasonable form of transport. The Committee recalls that the requirements and procedures for registration and notification, and the publication of statistics, must include, where relevant, commuting accidents (Articles2, 4 and 6 of the Protocol), and that the definition of commuting accidents contained in the Protocol also encompasses the way between work and the secondary residence of the worker (Article 1(d)(i)), the place where the worker usually takes a meal (Article 1(d)(ii)), and the place where the worker usually receives his or her remuneration (Article 1(d)(iii)). In this respect, the Committee notes that the CSTS, in relation with section 317(4) of the Labour Code, also expresses the need to introduce legislative measures to give effect to Article 1(d) of the Protocol. The Committee encourages the Government to consider, within the framework of the OSH legislative reform under way, broadening the obligations of registration and notification to cover all types of commuting accidents. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in this respect.

Articles 2(a), 3(a)(i) and 4(a)(i). Recording and notification of occupational diseases. Establishment and periodic review of requirements and procedures for recording and notification. The Committee notes the CSTS’s indication that, in practice, employers do not provide notification of cases of occupational diseases of their workers, reporting only occupational accidents and minor hazards. There are therefore no reliable registers on occupational diseases of workers in different economic sectors. In particular, the CSTS expresses concern about the maquila textiles industry, where women workers frequently report respiratory problems due to the inhalation of particles of mote of the fabric that they handle in dressmaking, and indicates that this also occurs in other industries and services. The Committee requests the Government to transmit its comments in this respect. With reference to its comments made in 2023 on the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), the Committee also requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure, in practice, the effective registration of occupational diseases. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the mechanisms available to the social partners for their participation in the periodic review of the requirements and procedures for recording and notification, and to provide information on any consultation held in this respect and its outcome.