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

Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 2009)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report. It notes the information that Ministerial Order No. 269 of 1977 has been repealed by the promulgation of the Labour Code (Act No. 17 of 2010) and the instructions putting it into effect. It also notes the references made to Ministerial Orders Nos 18 and 28 of 2010 which according to the Government give effect to many of the provisions of the Convention, but that these texts were not attached to the report. With reference to Article 4 of the Convention the Committee notes the information that a national committee on occupational safety and health (OSH) has been set up with the task, inter alia, to develop further implementing legislation and to develop a national policy giving effect, inter alia, to this Article and to promote a culture of prevention in the area of OSH. With reference to Article 9 the Committee notes the information regarding the current efforts to increase the number of labour inspectors, and with reference to Article 10, the efforts to promote practical guidance and increase the awareness in relation to OSH, inter alia, at the enterprise level. With reference to Article 11(d) the Committee notes the Government’s stated intention to take this provision into account in the context of the ongoing legislative review. While the Committee welcomes the information provided regarding ongoing efforts to implement the Convention by develop its national OSH policy and to carry out a legislative review, the Committee would like to emphasize the need for the Government to transmit relevant documentation including the referenced currently implementing legislation to enable the Committee to determine the extent to which the Convention is applied in the country. The Committee requests the Government report on progress regarding its efforts to improve the implementation of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to submit copies of Ministerial Orders Nos 18 and 28 of 2010 as well as all relevant legislation including any new legislation, once it has been adopted and, in particular, to provide further information on the national policy on OSH adopted in application of Article 4 of the Convention.

Part V of the report form. Application in practice. In the meantime, the Committee requests the Government to give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in the country and attach extracts from inspection reports and, where such statistics exist, information on the number of workers covered by the legislation, the number and nature of the contraventions reported, the number, nature and cause of accidents reported, etc.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2013.]