Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Sweden (Ratification: 1975)

Article 5 of the Convention. Medical examinations during the period of employment and thereafter to evaluate their exposure and supervise their state of health. With reference to its previous comments under this Article, the Committee notes that the Government has indicated in its report that as the law now stands, under Chapter 4, section 5 of the Work Environment Act (SFS1977:1160), the Work Environment Authority is not empowered to prescribe continuing medical checks for employees after exposure to carcinogenic substances or after their employment has ended. The Government also states that there are at present no plans for changing the Work Environment Act in this respect. With reference to the information provided in the Government’s report this year on the application of the Asbestos Convention, 1986 (No. 162), the Committee notes that, in the commentary to section 30 of the Work Environment Authority’s regulations on Medical Screening in Working Life (AFS 2005:6), it is recommended that workers have a periodical medical check-up even after the exposure has ceased, provided the exposure exceeds ten years. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how this recommendation is applied in practice and what measures have been taken to ensure that workers who have been exposed to occupational hazards are provided with such medical examinations as are necessary in order to fully apply Article 5 of the Convention.