Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention, 1946 (No. 77) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1973)

Article 2(1) of the Convention. Medical examination for fitness for employment. The Committee previously noted Decision No. 001 of 11 May 2004, issued by the Ministers of Labour and of Health and Sports (SEDES), section 1 of which provides that the Ministry of Health and Sports, through its ministries and municipal authorities, shall allocate the necessary and adequate medical personnel so that, in coordination with Ministry of Labour, free medical examinations are carried out of boys, girls and young persons who are working in the industrial and agricultural sectors and who work on their own account in urban or rural areas, under the terms of section 137(1)(b) of the Code on Boys, Girls and Young Persons of 1999. In this respect, the Committee noted section 137(1)(b) of the Code, under the terms of which young persons engaged in work shall periodically undergo medical examination. It observed that the expression “medical examinations” contained in section 1 of Decision No. 001 of 11 May 2004 only appears to refer to the periodical medical examinations that young persons have to undergo during employment, but not the thorough medical examination of their fitness for work. Observing that the Ministry of Labour, with the technical assistance of the Bolivian Standardization and Quality Institute (IBNORCA) had drawn up regulations under the General Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act, covering work by children in industry, commerce, mining and agriculture, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in terms of the establishment of a thorough medical examination before admission to employment in the framework of the implementation of these regulations.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the regulations under the General Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act, which address work by children in industry, commerce, mines and agriculture, have not been approved. However, the Government indicates in its report that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare is preparing a new Bill on occupational safety and health. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Bill on occupational safety and health will be adopted in the very near future and that it will contain provisions to the effect that children and young persons under 18 years of age may not be admitted to employment in an industrial enterprise unless they have been found fit for the employment in which they will be engaged following a thorough medical examination. It requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect.

With regard to the frequency of the periodical medical examinations (Article 3(2) and (3)), the medical examinations required until the age of at least 21 years in occupations which involve high health risks (Article 4) and the adoption of appropriate measures for the vocational guidance and physical and vocational rehabilitation of children and young workers found by medical examination to be unsuited to certain types of work or to have physical handicaps or limitations (Article 6), the Committee expresses the firm hope that the Bill on occupational safety and health will be adopted in the near future so as to guarantee compliance with these provisions of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any progress achieved in this respect.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, due to economic constraints, there are certain shortcomings in the application of the Convention, particularly in the capitals of remote departments, such as Cobija and Trinidad, and in rural areas. Nevertheless, it noted that the Government has adopted measures, in accordance with the possibilities available to it, so that all young persons who work in the country will progressively be covered by the protection afforded by the Convention.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare has registered three cases of children aged between 10 and 14 years who underwent a medical examination during the course of 2009. The Committee encourages the Government to continue providing information on the progress achieved in relation to the application of the Convention in practice, including through the provision, insofar as the available capacity so allows, of statistical data on the number of children and young persons who are engaged in work and have undergone the periodical medical examinations envisaged in the Convention, as well as extracts from the reports of the inspection services relating to the infringements reported and the penalties imposed.