Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2014, Publicación: 104ª reunión CIT (2015)

Convenio sobre el medio ambiente de trabajo (contaminación del aire, ruido y vibraciones), 1977 (núm. 148) - España (Ratificación : 1980)

Referring to its observation, the Committee wishes to raise the following additional points.

Article 2(2) of the Convention. Duty of the member State to indicate the position of its law and practice in respect of the categories excluded and the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to be given to the Convention in respect of such categories. With reference to the exception established in section 5(4) of Royal Decree No. 1311/2005, of 4 November, concerning protection of safety and health of workers against hazards related to exposure to mechanical vibrations, according to which “the preceding paragraph shall not apply to the maritime and air navigation sectors with respect to whole-body vibrations …”, the Committee notes that the General Union of Workers (UGT) states that, in the maritime and air sectors, it has noted that effective action is not being taken, given that “recommendations” do not oblige compliance with standards. The Committee requests the Government to describe the position of its law and practice in respect of whole-body vibrations to which workers in maritime and air navigation are exposed and the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to be given to the Convention in respect of the vibrations to which these workers are exposed.

Article 2(3). Duty of the member State to notify the Director-General of the International Labour Office, where applicable, that it accepts the obligations of the Convention in respect of a category or categories previously excluded. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the exception contained in Royal Decree No. 1311/2005 of 4 November on protection of safety and health of workers against hazards relating to exposure to mechanical vibrations, expires in July 2014 and that it would be appropriate to wait until this time before considering the possibility of accepting the obligations of the Convention relating to vibrations. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments made in this respect.

Article 8(1) and (3). Duty to take into consideration the opinion of technically competent persons designated by the most representative organizations of employers and workers in the formulation of criteria for determining the hazards of exposure to air pollution, noise and vibration. The Committee notes that according to the Trade Union Confederation of Workers’ Commissions (CC.OO.), while the protection standards against hazards arising from exposure to noise, established in Royal Decree No. 286/2006 of 10 March on protection of the safety and health of workers against hazards arising from exposure to noise, provide sufficient protection, the problem lies in the method used for the measuring of such noise. According to the trade union, the legislation in question allows noise to be measured on the premise that the worker is using hearing protection, which implies that in practice, in many industries, work is performed in conditions well above the permitted decibel level, since hearing protection dims the decibels heard by the human ear. The trade union adds that, in the opinion of many noise experts, noise not only results in hearing loss but also in other problems such as stress, sleep, digestion and other disorders. The Committee requests the Government to send its comments in this regard.

Article 11(3). Suitable alternative employment or other proposed measures to maintain the income of a worker who has been transferred. The Committee notes that according to the UGT, with respect to air pollution and noise, Article 11(3) of the Convention is not applied, given that usually, unless a collective agreement has been negotiated, workers are excluded from productive employment if they do not have all the physical attributes to perform the work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to ensure the transfer to alternative employment of workers who, for medical reasons, are obliged to interrupt a job which involves exposure to air pollution or noise, and to explain how it ensures that the income of such workers is maintained.

Article 16. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee, in its previous observation, requested the Government to provide detailed information regarding the practical application of the Convention to workers in the aviation and maritime sectors. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no substantial statistical data is available regarding exposure to noise of workers in the maritime sector, because the date of entry into force of the abovementioned Royal Decree No. 286/2006 of 10 March on protection of the safety and health of workers against hazards arising from exposure to noise, in relation to the sector in question, is very recent. In this regard, the Committee also notes that the aforementioned Royal Decree entered into force for the maritime sector in February 2011. Over two years have passed, therefore, between then and the date on which the Government’s report was received. Furthermore, with respect to workers in the aviation sector, the Committee observes that since the adoption of the Royal Decree on 10 March 2006, there have been no further exceptions to its application in that sector. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain detailed information on the practical application of the Convention to workers in the aviation and maritime sectors. Therefore, the Committee is bound to repeat the request formulated in its previous observation.