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

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Serbia (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) communicated with the Government’s report.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the effect given to Articles 2(1) and (2) and 4 of the Convention.

Legislation. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that numerous legislative instruments relating to the application of the Convention were adopted during the reporting period, including the Rulebook on Preventive Measures for Safe and Healthy Work related to Exposure to Carcinogens or Mutagens (No. 96/11), which gives effect to Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention, and the Rulebook on Preventive Measures for Safe and Healthy Work related to Exposure to Chemical Substances (No. 106/09). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on legislative measures undertaken with regard to the application of the Convention.

Article 1. Prohibition of exposure to carcinogenic substances and agents at work. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the restrictions and bans contained in the Rulebook on Limitations and Restrictions of Production, Placing on the Market and Use of Chemicals (No. 90/2013) relate to certain dangerous substances, mixtures or products listed in part 1 of Appendix I. However, the Committee notes that a copy of the abovementioned Rulebook was not submitted and is therefore unable to evaluate the effect given to this Article of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to submit a copy of the abovementioned Rulebook and its annexes and to provide information on how the list of prohibited substances and carcinogenic agents is periodically established.

Article 5. Medical examinations during the period of employment and thereafter. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no regulations or by-laws provide for the provision of medical examinations upon termination of employment and thereafter. The Committee once again reiterates that the need to provide workers with medical examinations after they have ceased their employment is important and is due to the fact that the occupational origin of cancer is often difficult to demonstrate, as there is no difference between occupational cancer and other non-occupational forms from the clinical and pathological points of view, and to the fact that the development of cancer is generally very slow, with latency periods stretching over anything from ten to 30 years or more. In this regard, the Committee notes the observations of the CATUS according to which the number of cases of cancer in Serbia is alarming, with a report of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia (BATUT) placing the number of deaths at more than 20,000 annually and the number of diagnoses at more than 30,000 annually. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take measures to ensure that workers are provided with such medical examinations or biological or other tests or investigations as are necessary to evaluate their state of health in relation to occupational hazards not only during the period of employment but also thereafter.

Application in practice. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government according to which labour inspectors supervising employers involved in the wood processing business established that the majority of workers were exposed or likely to be exposed to hardwood dust, a carcinogenic substance, in their workplaces and that none of the employers had performed assessments of the risks to workers’ health or had provided health monitoring. The removal of deficiencies and irregularities, especially those related to preventive measures against worker exposure to hardwood dust, was imposed following the conclusion of the inspections. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that all of Belgrade’s labour inspection sections, departments and groups will supervise economic sectors involving potential exposure to carcinogens and mutagens to obtain a realistic account of the implementation of the Rulebook on Preventive Measures for Safe and Healthy Work related to Exposure to Carcinogens or Mutagens. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the measures taken or envisaged to address the abovementioned issue in the wood processing sector. It also requests the Government to give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in all economic sectors and all regions of the country and, where such statistics exist, information on the number of workers covered by the relevant legislation, the number and nature of the contraventions reported, and the number, nature and cause of cases of diseases reported, etc.