Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) - Türkiye (Ratification: 2005)

The Committee notes with interest the information regarding the new draft Bill on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) due to be adopted soon. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep the Committee updated on any progress in this respect, and to transmit a copy of this law to the Office as soon as it has been adopted.

Articles 1(2) and 2(2) of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that some categories of workplaces and workers are at present excluded from the application of the Convention, but that the scope of application of the new draft Bill will include all branches of economic activity and all the workers therein. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress in this respect.

Article 5(b). Relationships between the material elements of work and the persons who carry out or supervise the work. The Committee notes the provisions of the Regulation on OSH, requiring the employer to observe the relationships between the material elements of work and the workers by adapting the work to the individual. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on how this Article is applied in practice.

Articles 5(d) and 19(b). Communication and cooperation at the level of the undertaking. The Committee notes the requirements for the establishment of OSH Boards in undertakings with more than 50 employees and section 11 of the Regulation on Occupational Health and Safety which provides for the right of employees or their representatives to make proposals and participate in negotiations as regards OSH. The Committee requests the Government to supply additional information on and to provide clarifications as to the state and structure of communication and cooperation within undertakings that employ less than 50 persons.

Article 7. Periodical review of the situation regarding occupational safety and health. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that it is the responsibility of the National Council of OSH (NCOHS) and its working groups to periodically review the situation regarding occupational health and safety. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further details regarding the frequency of the reviews and the substantive issues discussed in the Working Groups of NCOHS.

Article 11(b). The determination of work processes and of substances and agents, the exposure to which is to be prohibited, limited or made subject to authorization or control by the competent authority. The Government indicates in its report that legislation has been adopted which calls for risk assessment of hazardous substances used in the workplaces in order to determine measures to be taken with a view to protect the safety and health of the workers. It also indicates the setting up of limit values on the various chemical substances and the control and analysis of the information concerning the substances to be imported into the country is also performed by customs administration. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the existence of mechanisms for identifying hazardous work processes and for examining health hazards due to simultaneous exposure to several substances.

Article 11(f). Systems to examine chemical, physical and biological agents in respect of the risk to the health of workers. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the creation of the Working Group for the Action Plan of Prevention of Pneumoconiosis aiming at the elimination of asbestos from the workplaces. The Committee requests the Government to submit additional information on the work of the Working Group, including any practical outcomes from their work.

Article 12(b). Measures to make available information and undertake studies concerning the correct installation and use of equipment and the correct use of substances. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that this Article of the Convention had been implemented through the Regulation on Machine Security, but that this text is unavailable to the Committee. The Committee requests the Government to supply the text of the Regulation and to provide further information on how effect is given to this Article in law and in practice.

Articles 13 and 19(f). Right to removal. The Committee notes that the Government indicates that effect is given to these two provisions of the Convention through section 83 of the Labour Act No. 4857. The Committee notes however, that section 83 provides that the workers’ rights in this context are limited to making “an application to the occupational safety and health board with a request for the determination of the case and a decision for the adoption of necessary measures”. Although, in practice, workers that are faced with a serious and imminent danger will have to stop work in order to submit the required application, section 83 does not, as Article 13 requires, entitle the worker to take an independent decision to stop work. On the contrary, it specifically provides that the decision lies with the OSH Board. This provision does not either restrict the employers from requiring the worker to go back to work as required in Article 19(f). Furthermore, section 83 does not offer workers the required protection from undue consequences as it provides that the workers’ “wages and other rights shall be reserved during the period he refrains from working”. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with Articles 13 and 19(f) of the Convention and to keep the Office informed of any developments in this respect.

Article 17. Collaboration in complying with the requirements of the Convention when two or more undertakings engage in activities simultaneously at one workplace. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that this Article of the Convention is applied through section 2 of the Labour Act No. 4857 which provides that in a “principal employer – subcontractor relationship” the principal employer shall be jointly liable with the subcontractor for the obligations ensuing from the Labour Act; the Regulation on Health and Safety in Constructive Works, (2003) and the provisions in section 17, Regulation on Duties of Workplace Health Services and Workplace Physicians and their Employment Principles and Procedures. The Committee requests the Government to supply additional information on and to clarify the situation where two “same level” enterprises collaborate in the same workplace and provide information as to whether the provisions cover all workplaces notwithstanding the number of personnel employed.

Article 18. Measures to deal with emergencies, accidents and first-aid arrangements. The Committee notes that section 81 of Labour Act No. 4857 provides that, in establishments where a minimum of 50 employers are employed, the employer is obliged to employ one or more physicians at the establishment and set up a health unit with a view to protect the health of the employees, to take OSH measures and to provide first aid, urgent treatment and preventive health services depending on the number of employees and the risk factors involved. It also notes the adoption of the Regulation on Duties of Workplace Health Services and Workplace Physicians and their Employment Principles and Procedures (2003) and Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation on First Aid (2004). The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on how this Article of the Convention is applied in undertakings that employ less than 50 persons.

Article 19(e). Arrangements at the level of the undertaking ensuring suitable conditions for consultations between the employer, the workers and their representatives or representative organizations. The Committee notes that article 11 of the Regulation on OSH, provides for the employer to ask the views of employees or representatives concerning OSH, vest them with the right to make proposals and ensure that they participate in negotiations, while the representatives of workers who have special tasks regarding OSH may make proposals and request the employer to take necessary measures. However, the Committee notes that the Regulation on OSH was annulled on 16 May 2006. The Committee kindly requests the Government to provide information as to the application of this Article of the Convention in law and in practice after the annulment of the abovementioned Regulation.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide copies of the labour inspection reports carried out in accordance with Labour Act No. 4857 and the relevant regulations, as well as the reports of the other inspections on projects, industrial injuries and occupational diseases, complaints, establishment permits that the Government mentions in the report. It also requests the Government to supply the Committee with the annual statistics issued by the Social Insurance Institution, as well as information of the progress on the improving and modernizing of the statistical system. Finally it requests the Government to indicate progress in relation to the numerical targets set for the reduction of industrial injuries in the National Policy Document on Occupational Health and Safety (2006–08).

Part VI of the report form. Consultations held. The Committee requests the Government to supply the observations by the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TÌSK) referred to in, but not attached to, the Government’s report.