Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

Occupational Cancer Convention, 1974 (No. 139) - Croatia (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the information supplied in response to its previous comments. It draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

1. Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Convention. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that ILO guides were not available when the rules on the maximum concentrations of harmful substances in the air of working premises and areas, 1993, were drafted, but that the Ministry will request the respective materials from the International Labour Office to ensure that the latest developments in the determination of carcinogens are taken into consideration at the occasion of the revision of the above rules. Noting this information, the Committee would request the Government to indicate whether a revision of the above rules is envisaged, in which process the information contained in the ILO guides, e.g. Occupational Cancer: Prevention and Control, second revised edition, Occupational Safety and Health Series, No. 39, Geneva 1989, are taken into consideration and, if so, to supply information on any progress made in this respect.

2. Article 2, in conjunction with Part IV of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it was intended to amend the Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1996, which is effective since 1 January 1997, by the end of 2001. At this occasion, the wording of section 46 might be changed and the focus will be laid on the replacement of carcinogenic substances, which is particularly important, as already the application of the current provisions contained in section 46, requiring the replacement of a harmful substance merely in the case where the same work result can be achieved by using another less harmful substance, has not been promoted much. In this regard the Government adds that, while it is well aware that little has been done to replace carcinogenic substances and to replace worn-out equipment that would emit ionizing radiation, this problem cannot be resolved quickly due to the current rather limited possibilities of the Croatian economy. However, the Government expects a strengthening of the work dedicated to bring into conformity the national legislation with the European Union Directives in which framework the Committee’s comments will be taken into consideration, in relation to both, the adoption of regulations and their implementation in practice. The Committee accordingly hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures in the framework of the harmonization of its national legislation with the European Union law in order to ensure that, whenever a reasonable substitute product is available, carcinogenic substances or agents will be indeed replaced by other less harmful substances or agents. With regard to the reduction of the duration of workers’ exposure to carcinogenic substances or agents, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that, although section 32, subsection 1, in conjunction with subsection 6 of the Labour Act, 1995, provides for the possibility to reduce the duration of workers’ exposure to harmful substances by reducing working hours which are nevertheless counted in such a way that the hours effectively worked are deemed to constitute full-time working hours, this possibility has not been applied sufficiently in practice. Taking due note of the Government’s indications, it appears to the Committee that problems in the application of the Convention are particularly related to the lack of implementation in practice of existing national legislation. In this respect, the Committee notes the adoption of the Act of 5 March 1999 on Occupational Health Inspection. It would therefore request the Government to indicate the impact of this Act with regard to the effective application of national legislation in the field of occupational safety and health.

3. Article 5. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the rules on works with special working conditions, No. 5/84, provide for preliminary and periodical medical examinations, once a year, of workers who are exposed to harmful substances. The Government further indicates that, although the nature of these medical examinations for workers working with carcinogenic substances is not determined, specific medical tests are nevertheless carried out by the occupational medicine specialists depending on the type of carcinogen to which the worker concerned has been exposed, i.e. according to the effect a particular carcinogenic substance may have on specific human organs. In this regard, the Committee would recall section 36, paragraph 1, of the Safety and Health at the Workplace Act, 1996, requiring medical examinations of workers working under particular working conditions, e.g. with carcinogens, and section 113, paragraph 1, of the same Act obliging the designated minister to adopt regulations for the implementation of the Act within one year following the entry into force of the Act, thus until 1 January 1998. The Committee accordingly hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures in the near future to adopt regulations implementing section 36, paragraph 1, of the Safety and Health at the Workplace Act, 1996. With regard to post-assignment medical examination of workers, the Government indicates that there are still no provisions providing for such examinations. However, this issue should be regulated by specific regulations pertaining to the field of health care. The Committee therefore stresses again the particular importance of workers’ health surveillance after they have ceased their employment, since it is often difficult to demonstrate the occupational origin of cancer, as from the clinical and pathological point of view there is no difference between occupational cancer and other non-occupational forms. Thus, the principle of post-assignment medical examination of workers consists in the establishment of a final evaluation of the workers’ health and to compare it with results of preceding medical examinations to see whether the job assignment involving the exposure to carcinogens has caused any health impairment to the workers. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures in a near future to ensure that workers are provided with medical examinations or biological or other tests or investigations, not only during their period of employment, but also thereafter, as necessary, to evaluate their exposure and supervise their state of health in relation to the occupational hazards, in order to fully apply Article 5 of the Convention.

4. Finally, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would send a copy of the rules on works with special working conditions, No. 5/84; the rules on records, documents, reports and book of supervision from the field of occupational safety and health, No. 52/84; the rules on occupational safety and health in work with substances containing polychlorinated biphenyl, polychlorinated naphthalene and polychlorinated terphenyl, No. 7/89; and the rules on the methods of testing certain instruments of labour and of working environment, No. 29/71.