Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Maximum Weight Convention, 1967 (No. 127) - Lithuania (Ratification: 1994)

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report and refers to its previous comments in which it noted an increase in the number of occupational accidents and diseases related to manual lifting of loads, respectively from five to 26 and from 103 to 164, between 2005 and 2008. In its report, the Government explains that significant errors in the collection and processing of data may have occurred in the first years following the introduction, in 2004, of the new system of data collection on accidents at the workplace. However, the Committee notes that, according to the Government’s report, the number of occupational accidents related to manual transport of loads reported in 2009 has risen to 78 accidents, 74 of which were minor, three severe and one fatal. The Committee also notes the increasing trend of the last two years in the number of occupational diseases caused by load lifting and carrying. According to the Public Register of Occupational Diseases, 88 cases of occupational diseases were registered in 2009, 58 in 2010, 53 in 2011, 78 in 2012 and 99 in 2013. The Committee requests the Government to take all the appropriate measures with a view to analysing and remedying the causes for the increase in occupational accidents and diseases related to manual transport of loads and to provide information on any development in this regard. Noting in addition that the last campaign to raise knowledge and awareness among workers on manual load handling was initiated in 2009, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any other initiatives undertaken to ensure that workers assigned to manual transport of loads receive adequate training or instruction in working techniques. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice.