Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Hygiene (Commerce and Offices) Convention, 1964 (No. 120) - Madagascar (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report. It notes that the legislative amendments to give effect to the Convention, announced by the Government in its last report, have not taken place. It notes, however, that two draft decrees, one on "the organization and operation of occupational medicine in Madagascar", and the other, "establishing general prescriptions on occupational health, safety, hygiene and the working environment", have been drawn up and are to be submitted to the Advisory Technical Committee for approval and thereafter to the Government Council. Meanwhile, Order No. 889 of 20 May 1960 establishing general occupational safety and health prescriptions remains in force. The Committee hopes that the abovementioned decrees will be approved by the Advisory Technical Committee and adopted by the Government Council in the near future so that effect may be given to the following Articles of the Convention to which the Committee has drawn the Government’s attention for many years.

Article 14 of the Convention. The requirement in section 16 of Order No. 889 of 20 May 1960 that an appropriate seat, chair, bench or stool must be made available, applies only to women staff. The Committee once again notes the Government’s statement that it will study the possibility of extending the scope of this provision to all workers without distinction as to sex when the texts are updated. The Committee hopes that the draft decree establishing general prescriptions for occupational health, hygiene and safety and the working environment will provide that suitable seats shall be supplied for all workers without distinction as to sex, as provided in Article 14 of the Convention.

Article 18. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, no regulatory provisions have as yet been adopted to apply this Article of the Convention, but that relevant provisions have been included in the abovementioned draft decrees. The Committee hopes that the draft decrees will be adopted in the near future in order to ensure that noise and vibrations likely to have harmful effects on workers shall be reduced as far as possible, as required by Article 18 of the Convention.

Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the case law digest containing decisions by the courts of law on issues of principle in the application of the Convention is not yet available. The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this regard and to provide a copy of the digest as soon as it has been published.