Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention, 1925 (No. 19) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1956)

Follow-up to the recommendations of the tripartite committee (representation made under article 24 of the ILO Constitution)

The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government confines itself to indicating that the insurance scheme for occupational risks has not been amended, and does not provide the requested information on the follow-up to the recommendations of the Governing Body. In their observations dated 2 September 2014, the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity (CNUS), the Autonomous Confederation of Workers’ Unions (CASC) and the National Confederation of Dominican Workers (CNTD) indicated that, despite the adoption of Resolutions Nos 165-03 and 164-08 authorizing the Dominican Social Security Institute to provide health services under the contributory scheme for casual and occasional workers, the situation regarding the lack of protection for migrant workers is worsening. They report that this is due to a ruling handed down by the Supreme Court of Justice on 18 December 2013, which finds “that Resolutions Nos 165-03 and 164-08 of the National Social Security Council are devoid of any legal effect, as they violate Act No. 87-01 on the Dominican Social Security System”. The Committee also notes the observations of the trade union confederations relating to the National Plan to Regularize Foreign Nationals in a Situation of Irregular Migration, established by Decree No. 327-13 of 29 November 2013, which indicate that in practice the Plan does not have the effect of issuing resident status to the majority of foreign workers, therefore excluding them from the Dominican social security system. According to the information provided by the trade union confederations, there are no data on the number of workers in sectors such as construction, agriculture and port services, and no official publications can be found with data on the number of foreign workers engaged in these sectors. For their part, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Employers’ Confederation of the Dominican Republic (COPARDOM) indicate, in their comments received on 28 August 2014 that, foreign workers with irregular migratory status, and their dependants, are granted the necessary medical care by the national health system. It is hoped that, following the finalization of the regularization process, these workers and their dependants will be covered by the social security system.

The Committee is bound to note that the legal situation of foreign workers, considered in the national legislation as “non-resident” in the Dominican Republic, still does not allow them to be covered by the insurance scheme against occupational risks, in breach of the obligations under Article 1(2) of the Convention and the recommendations made by the tripartite committee. The Committee therefore urges the Government to adopt, without further delay, the necessary measures to:

• (i)amend sections 3 and 5 of Act No. 87-01 to remove the general condition relating to residency, which is imposed on foreign workers in order for them to be covered by occupational risks insurance. As part of this amendment, the Government could conduct a study on the different options relating to the financing of this extension of protection to migrant workers. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the application of the National Plan to Regularize Foreign Nationals in a Situation of Irregular Migration (in particular on the application of sections 8 and 12 of Decree No. 327-13 of 29 November 2013), with an indication of the number of migrants who would benefit from the implementation of this Plan;
• (ii) issue instructions to the competent services in accordance with its previous commitments, in order to strengthen the labour inspectorate, including through the National Labour Inspection Coordination Unit, particularly in the sectors with the highest employment injury rate and the greatest number of foreign workers, and carry out the necessary statistical studies. In this respect, the Committee encourages the Government to contact the Office with a view to carrying out an in-depth study to identify the sectors with a high employment injury rate, the number and origin of workers in these sectors, and the measures required to improve the prevention of employment accidents and compliance with the relevant legislation; and
• (iii) initiate effective cooperation with the Government of Haiti to overcome the challenges posed by the application of the Convention, for example by concluding a bilateral social security agreement which would define the status of workers from both countries on both national territories, and which would guarantee them equal access to insurance coverage against occupational risks.

The Committee invites the Government to include the social partners in the implementation of these recommendations and recalls the possibility of requesting ILO technical assistance to align national law and practice with the Convention.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2015.]