Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2006, publiée 96ème session CIT (2007)

Convention (n° 170) sur les produits chimiques, 1990 - Burkina Faso (Ratification: 1997)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be provided for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

The Committee notes that the laws and regulations which, according to the Government’s report, give effect to the provisions of the Convention, were not attached to the report. The Committee requests the Government to provide the International Labour Office with copies of the following texts:

–      Ordinance No. 0431 of 8 March 1975 issuing conditions relating to the location of oil storage facilities;

–      Ordinance No. 91-069 of 25 November 1991 respecting the general system for imports and exports and its implementing Decree No. 94-014 of 25 November 1991;

–      Act No. 19-93 of 21 May 1997 prohibiting the import of dangerous wastes and controlling their movement in Africa;

–      Decision No. 93-007 of 8 January 1993 issuing the procedures for controlling aerosol insecticides through the use of samples;

–      common regulations on the approval of pesticides for the States members of the CILSS; and

–      approval for the sale, free distribution, provision of services and utilization of pesticides.

The Committee also notes the information that, as the review of the Labour Code is still under way, the revision of Order No. 539/ITLS/HV of 29 July 1954 has not yet come into effect and that the Committee will be informed when the above text is revised. The Committee requests the Government to provide the International Labour Office with a copy of any revised text that is adopted.

While awaiting these texts, the Committee observes, based on the texts at its disposal, that the measures adopted focus more on regulating chemicals with regard to the effects that they can or could have outside the enterprise rather than regulating the use of these chemicals in the economic branches in which they are utilized.

The Committee notes the Government’s statement that Burkino Faso is a developing country, dedicated for the most part to agriculture, which does not have adequate infrastructure or sufficient skills to ensure the rational management of chemicals. The Committee therefore recognizes that there is not an adequate infrastructure for the elimination and destruction of chemical products.

It notes the development of a national profile to evaluate national capacities for the management of chemicals based on an inventory of infrastructures, the identification of strengths, gaps and weaknesses with a view to identifying the principal areas and aspects requiring additional effort from the Government. It notes that the acceptance by the country of the various international instruments is intended to ensure its protection against the various hazards related to chemicals. However, the Committee reminds the Government that, while the content of ILO Conventions may serve as a guide for the adoption of national regulations, the provisions contained in Conventions are not directly applicable and require the adoption of internal laws, regulations, technical standards, practical directives and other documents and measures for their application. In this respect, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the existence of a code of practice developed as an ILO contribution to the UNEP/ILO/WHO International Programme on Chemical Safety, entitled Safety in the use of chemicals at work: An ILO code of practice. This code of practice could be useful in assisting the Government to develop a coherent policy and a systematic approach to safety in the use of chemicals at work.

Analysis of the report provided by the Government shows major gaps in the applicable regulations. In this respect, the Committee notes that there are no provisions giving effect to Articles 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16 and 18 of the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effect given to the following Articles:

Article 1 of the Convention. Scope of the Convention.

Article 2. Definition of terms.

Article 3. Consultation of the most representative organizations of employers and workers.

Article 4. Formulation, implementation and periodical review of a national policy on safety in the use of chemicals at work in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers.

Article 5. Prohibition or restriction, or advance notification and authorization by the competent authority of the use of chemicals.

Article 6. Classification systems and criteria for chemicals according to the type and degree of their intrinsic health and physical hazards.

Article 7. Labelling and marking of chemicals for their identification.

Article 8. Chemical safety data sheets for hazardous chemicals.

Article 9. Responsibilities of suppliers.

Article 10. Responsibilities of employers in the identification of chemicals and the maintenance of a record of hazardous chemicals.

Article 11. Responsibility of employers in relation to the transfer of chemicals.

Article 12. Responsibility of employers in relation to the exposure of workers to chemicals.

Article 13. Responsibility of employers for operational control (assessment of risks and protection of workers, first aid and emergency arrangements).

Article 14. Disposal of hazardous chemicals and their containers which have been emptied.

Article 15. Responsibility of employers in relation to the information and training of workers.

Article 16. Cooperation of employers with workers or their representatives with respect to safety in the use of chemicals at work.

Article 17. Duties of workers to cooperate with employers and comply with rules relating to safety in the use of chemicals.

Article 18. Rights of workers and their representatives in the event of imminent and serious risk, right to information on the identity of chemicals used.

Article 19. Responsibility of exporting States.