Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Workmen's Compensation (Occupational Diseases) Convention (Revised), 1934 (No. 42) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1936)

For a number of years, the Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention to the need to amend the list of occupational diseases so as to extend the protection ensured by the Industrial Injuries (II) Scheme to cover: (i) all pathological manifestations due to radium and other radioactive substances and to X-rays; and (ii) poisoning by all halogen derivatives of hydrocarbons of the aliphatic series.

The Government indicates in its report that, in addition to the list of prescribed diseases, the II Scheme also provides compensation for diseases or injuries which are a recognizable outcome from accidental occupational exposure, but there is no statutory list of all diseases covered by accident provisions. The Government also states that the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) advises the Government when it is satisfied that there is evidence that a condition is more likely than not to be caused by a particular occupation. In its 2002 report, for example, the IIAC recommended removing several occupational diseases from the prescribed list as the chemical exposures necessary to cause the disease would only occur in accidental situations: poisoning by tetrachloroethane (a halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbon) was thus removed from the list of prescribed diseases in 2003 as it was considered adequately covered by the accident provisions of the II Scheme. The Government adds that the IIAC will continue to monitor newly published scientific evidence about the occupational incidence of ionizing radiation and toxicity from exposure to certain industrial chemicals and provide the Government with advice on whether the evidence fits the legal requirements for inclusion in the II Scheme.

The Committee notes that although it is different in nature from the system established by the Convention, the II Scheme operating in the United Kingdom appears to ensure equivalent protection to that guaranteed by the Convention in respect of certain diseases and substances that are not any longer included as such in the list of occupational diseases considering the advancement of industrial techniques and operations. The Committee would like the Government to provide complementary information on the manner in which the burden of proof is regulated in such cases and asks the Government to keep it informed of any developments as regards the manner in which the national legislation compensates the diseases listed in the Schedule to the Convention, in particular in respect of diseases caused by certain halogen derivatives of hydrocarbons of the aliphatic series which are not included in the list of occupational diseases.