Caso individual (CAS) - Discusión: 2003, Publicación: 91ª reunión CIT (2003)

Convenio sobre el asbesto, 1986 (núm. 162) - Croacia (Ratificación : 1991)

The Government provided the following information.

In October 2000, the Ministry of Health set up a multidisciplinary working group composed of the representatives of different ministries, institutes and trade unions to deal with the issue of workers who were professionally exposed to asbestos fibres and contracted related occupational diseases. Between August 2001 and January 2002, a number of meetings of this working group took place, referring in particular to problems of diagnosis, treatment and claims for damages of persons with asbestosis-related diseases.

The company, Salonit d.d. Vranjic, the only company in Croatia engaging in asbestos-based production, initiated the resolution of the problem of using asbestos. In October 2001, the company submitted to the Ministry of Economy its development programme presenting the technology for transition from current asbestos-cement production to new non-asbestos technologies. The programme also dealt with environmental activities related to the decontamination of the factory site, disassembly of the plant and rehabilitation of the quarry in Mravinci.

With regard to the technical part of the programme, the Ministry of Economy, in its report of 4 December 2001, found it satisfactory for the moment, considering the fact that the first priority was to deal with the damage claims of persons with asbestosis and to rehabilitate the factory and the site. As regards the protection of health and environment from asbestos waste and emissions, the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Physical Planning, in its letter of 24 September 2001, stated that a review of the existing legislation related to waste management was under way and that it was to be harmonized with EU regulations in addition to the already existing regulations that directly or indirectly regulated particular issues related to asbestos including: the Ordinance on the Requirements in Hazardous Waste Management; Ordinance on Limit Values for the Emission of Pollutants into Air from Stationary Sources; and the Rules on the Estimate of Environmental Impact.

On the basis of the multidisciplinary consideration of the problems related to the production, marketing and exposure to asbestos, the working group adopted, at its meeting of 12 July 2002, proposals for the solution of the problem, which covered in particular the questions of the "Diagnosis and prevention of asbestos-related occupational diseases" and the "Payment of damages in the case of asbestos-related diseases". As to the "Issue of production at Salonit d.d. Vranjic", the working group engaged the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Finance, the National Privatization Fund, the Ministry for Environmental Protection and Physical Planning and Salonit d.d. from Vranjic to propose to the Government of Croatia the solution of this problem by means of a separate law modelled on the Slovenian Law on the Prohibition of Production and Marketing of Asbestos Products, and Provision of Funds for Restructuring of Asbestos Production into Non-Asbestos Production and related regulations, particularly because of the fact that the Government of Croatia, having signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement, was obliged to harmonize its legislation with the legislation of the EU, including the EU Directives related to asbestosis.

The Government representative stated that immediately after receiving the observations, the Association of Persons with Asbestosis-Vranjic, the Institute for Safety at Work of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare had forwarded them to the State Inspectorate of the Government of Croatia which carried out an inspection, compared the current situation with the provisions of the Asbestos Convention, and finally adopted a number of solutions for improving the situation. The Government of Croatia encouraged the diagnosis, treatment and damage claims of the persons with asbestos-related diseases, and proposed solutions with the involvement of all competent bodies of the government administration and the representatives of the board and the trade union of Salonit-Vranjic factory.

The question of the workers who were exposed to asbestos fibres at work and thus contracted occupational diseases was raised in mid-July 1999 through the request of the Association of Persons with Asbestosis, who used to work for the company Salonit d.d. in Vranjic, for retroactive recognition of an extra insurance time. The Committee for Labour, Social Policy and Health of the House of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament charged, on 26 June 2000, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Health to consider the options and to propose the way of retroactively implementing the provisions of the Law on Extra Insurance Time No. 71/99 for the employees of Salonit and charged other institutions to propose possible solutions for permanently abandoning the manufacture of asbestos products. During this procedure, other important problems related to asbestosis in Croatian workers were noted such as the increased reports of individual medical expert witnesses in lawsuits. This was why the Ministry of Health set up, in October 2000, a multidisciplinary working group composed of the representatives of the ministries, institutes and trade unions, to deal with the same issues. Additionally, the Government of Croatia entrusted the multidisciplinary working group with preparing and submitting to the Government a special study on the problems of diagnosis, treatment and damage claims of persons with asbestos-related diseases, including the analysis and proposed solutions. Upon its completion, the study was forwarded to all members of the working group for their comments. Written proposals and opinions were forwarded by all agencies whose representatives participated in the work of the working group.

In the second half of the year 2001, the labour inspectors of the State Inspectorate undertook inspections for occupational diseases caused by the harmful effects of asbestos (asbestosis) at workplaces that used or were assumed to have used asbestos in their operations. The inspections were undertaken with the manufacturers of asbestos-cement products, at shipyards, shipwrecking plants, and with employers who had used asbestos for braking systems. According to the latest inspection findings the workers were regularly sent for periodic medical check-ups when they performed work under special working conditions, and the employer undertook specific measures to reduce the negative effects of asbestos. He then gave some figures related to the company in question. The resolution of the problem of using asbestos was initiated by Salonit d.d. Vranjic, the only company in Croatia engaging in asbestos-based production. It was necessary that, in addition to Salonit d.d. Vranjic, all relevant institutions and the State should join hands in solving the problem of production in Salonit. According to its own information, Salonit Vranjic - currently employing 265 workers - was for the most part privately owned. In October 2001, the company submitted to the Ministry of the Economy its Development Programme, presenting the technology for transition from current asbestos-cement production to new non-asbestos technologies (PEHD pipes) and the production of undulated plates in non-asbestos fibre cement technology without filter press. The first priority of the Ministry of the Economy was to deal with the damages claims of the persons with asbestosis and to rehabilitate the factory and the site. The costs of the introduction of new non-asbestos technologies should be borne by the owner of the company. Considering the high level of cost of the transition to new technologies (about 11 million Euro according to the estimates of the Company Board) it was believed that because of the specific situation of Salonit, and to maintain employment, the company could, at this stage of reconstructuring, be assisted through adequate incentives (favourable loans for new technologies, guarantees, etc.). Moreover, the Ministry also believed that the problem of environmental pollution resulting from many years of work with asbestos was not only the problem of Salonit. It proposed a possibility for the financing of the decontamination of the factory from the national budget.

The Employer members thanked the representative of the Government of Croatia for his statement. They pointed out that the Committee of Experts had not yet taken into account the reply of the Government. They referred to several issues raised in the Committee's observation. In respect of the increased concentration of asbestos dust in the air that created health hazards for employees and people living in the environment, they requested the Government of Croatia to state the concentration limits allowed by national law. They also referred to the frequently repeated Committee observation that there was a general lack of appropriate information. They stated that the Government representative did not give details on the different issues raised in the Committee's observation. It had only indicated the subsequent measures taken and a few of these actions had been indicated in D.11, including the setting up of a Working Group to examine, in consultation with those concerned, the situation and to come up with possible measures to overcome the problems. They also noted that no concrete explanations had been given concerning compensation and insurances. They further noted that a new act would bring the national legislation into line with the EU standards. They supported the Government's intention to find a solution and urged it to take immediate effective action, especially to stop unprotected work resulting in exposure to asbestos. They asked the Government to indicate whether work in the factory was continuing and, if so, under what conditions.

The Worker members indicated their great interest in the fact that the choice of the cases for discussion reflected the whole range of ILO Conventions, in addition to the so-called fundamental Conventions. While Convention No. 162 belonged to the more technical group of Conventions, it appeared far less technical when examined in substance. One cannot fail to observe that asbestos was an extremely dangerous product, the harmful effects of which had been widely studied. In Belgium, asbestos was associated with what was commonly called "a soft death", an atrocious, slow and very painful death. In this sense, the nature of Convention No. 162 was not at all technical; it was about the life and death of workers.

It was important to discuss the difficulties in the application of this Convention because similar realities existed in a number of countries, and because of the low ratification rate of this Convention. More than ten years after its entering into force, only 26 States had ratified it. It was therefore desirable that the present discussion would encourage other States to ratify Convention No. 162, which the Workers' group had qualified as "fundamental" for workers in relevant sectors.

The Worker members referred to instances of malfunctioning and problems of application noted by the Committee of Experts concerning the fate of the workers and the inhabitants of the area of the Salonit factory. According to the Association of Worker Victims of Asbestos in Vranjic, 200 of them had died. The responsibilities in this case did not only lay with the present private employer but it was more that of the Government of Croatia.

Referring to the exact wording of the provisions of the Convention as well as to the comments of the Committee of Experts, the Worker members stressed the following violations: Article 12 (prohibition of spraying all forms of asbestos); Article 14 (adequate labelling of the product and the provision of information to the workers concerned); Article 18 (protective measures concerning workers' clothing); Article 19 (risk-free elimination of waste containing asbestos and protection of the environment); and Article 22 (promotion of information, dissemination and education). In their opinion, the violation of Article 22 came close to a premeditated criminal act and the Government must react quickly to remedy the situation, following the example of Slovenia which, confronted with similar problems, had succeeded in adopting the necessary measures. The progress referred to by the Government turned out to be insufficient. Every 20 days, a person died from the consequences of the irresponsible way asbestos was being handled. In addition to financial compensation, the Government should adopt mandatory legislative measures that would put an end to this very serious and unacceptable situation. To this end, they suggested that the Government should request technical assistance from the ILO.

The Worker member of the Netherlands noted that this was a terrible case and wished to be quite blunt in his remarks. While he considered the behaviour of the enterprise concerned as irresponsible, it was the Government that was responsible for the implementation of the Convention. Even though the Government talked about its intention to change its legislation to conform to EU legislation, this deplorable practice of exposure to asbestos at the workplace had continued for a few years. He noted the difficulties encountered in eliminating this dangerous situation and urged the Committee of Experts to closely monitor it by more frequent examinations than the five years of the normal reporting cycle, irrespective of the proposed governmental intention to conform to EU standards. Conforming to the much stricter EU standards in law and in practice would take the country many years. He also thought that other provisions of the Convention such as Articles 4, 5, 11, 17 and 21 should probably be invoked in this case. He emphasized the fact that it was not only the protection of workers in the production and use of asbestos-containing products that had to be resolved, but also the work situations involving maintenance, repair and demolition work. He recalled the enormity of present and future exposure of workers in the countries in the region where asbestos had been used extensively in many products and structures and more particularly in buildings and infrastructure that were now being gradually demolished and repaired. He wondered how many other factories in Croatia were making these products and how many other countries were in the same situation as Croatia where in the future many more people would die eventually of asbestos-related cancers which usually were diagnosed some 40 years after exposure.

Another Government representative thanked the members of the Committee who had made comments and assured them that they would be helpful in solving the problems under discussion. He gave a few details and figures in response to some of the questions raised during the discussion. Concerning the concentration levels of asbestos dust at the workplace in question, he cited figures to indicate that the concentration levels of asbestos dust at the workplace in question had significantly diminished. He gave indications of improvements in the conditions of transport, delivery, storage, handling, disposal of asbestos and asbestos-containing products. He stated that appropriate personal protective clothing and equipment was being furnished, washed and stored correctly. Proper washing facilities were also provided. The required information on the dangers and means of protection were provided including the production of relevant brochures and the organization of lectures on the subject. He said his Government was well aware of the seriousness of the situation and of its responsibility in the matter. The fact that it was one of only 26 countries to have ratified this Convention was proof of such awareness. The fact that it had set up a multidisciplinary working group that included the employers and the workers in order to deal with the question was another. He recalled the demanding nature of the task of adjustment to the EU standards, including in this domain of occupational safety and health. He agreed that the example of what had been done in the neighbouring country of Slovenia was what they sought to emulate but it had to be recalled that Slovenia was in a better position in the matter due to its higher level of development. He assured the Committee that his Government would do its utmost, with the collaboration of all, including the workers and employers, to solve this serious problem that was also detrimental to the touristic region where the enterprise was located. He indicated that his Government would be requesting the technical assistance of the ILO on the matter.

The Worker members considered that the discussion and what was at stake in this case were sufficiently clear. They reiterated that the Government could request the technical assistance from the Office.

The Employers members recalled that people had already been seriously affected by asbestos. They hoped that help would soon be provided to those concerned. They reiterated that the issue here was compliance with Convention No. 162 irrespective of the express intention to meet European standards. Obligations resulting from this Convention should be met as soon as possible. They pointed out that accepting technical assistance would be the right way to go.

The Committee took note of the information communicated by the Government representative of Croatia, who recognized the seriousness of the situation, as well as of the subsequent discussions. The Committee took careful note of the information provided by the Government, in particular on the multidisciplinary working group that dealt with the exposure of workers to asbestos, and on the ongoing revision of the laws and regulations concerning the management and the handling of waste containing asbestos. The Committee expressed the hope that the Government would modify as urgently as possible the legislation and adapt it to EU standards so as to ensure the application of the Convention in this regard. Given that the Convention was essential to the workers of this sector, it should not only be applied in law but also in practice. The Committee requested the Government to adopt adequate measures in coordination and cooperation with the most representative organizations and other people concerned, with respect to health risks due to the exposure to asbestos as well as preventative and monitoring measures. The Committee took note of the interest of the Government in receiving technical assistance from the Office and it hoped that a request would be made along those lines.