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

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

Referring to its observation, the Committee wishes to raise the following additional points.

Articles 5(d) and 19(b) of the Convention. Communication and cooperation at the level of the undertaking. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that provisions have been made under the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act No. 6331 of 2012 (OSH Act No. 6331), which maintains the obligation for employers to ensure the consultation and participation of workers or their representatives in discussions regarding OSH (section 18) and provides for the designation of workers’ representatives in undertakings with two employees or more (section 20). These representatives shall have the right to make proposals to the employer on appropriate measures aimed to minimize occupational hazards and to eliminate their causes. It also notes from the Government’s report that by virtue of section 22 of OSH Act No. 6331, further provisions were adopted in Regulation No. 28532 regarding OSH committees set up in undertakings with more than 50 employees. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the manner in which communication and cooperation at all the appropriate levels of the undertaking is ensured in practice, including particulars on information communicated to workers and their representatives, the frequency of consultation, etc.

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. In its report, the Government indicates that several regulations, adopted in 2013, contain provisions regarding the type of information which shall be provided by the manufacturing company or supplier so as to ensure safety in the use of machinery, equipment and chemical or biological agents (user’s guide, material safety data sheet, instructions, etc.). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of this Article in practice.

Article 18. Measures to deal with emergencies, accidents and first-aid arrangements. Further to its previous comment, the Committee takes note of the obligations made under OSH Act No. 6331 and resting on employers to identify foreseeable emergency situations, to arrange any necessary contacts with external services, in particular first-aid, emergency medical care, fire and rescue services, and to designate a sufficient number of persons adequately trained and equipped to deal with emergency situations (prevention, protection, evacuation, firefighting and first-aid), taking into account the size of the workplace, any specific hazards, the nature of the activities carried out and the number of employees and other persons present at the workplace (section 11). The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the application in practice of section 11 of OSH Act No. 6331, to supply a copy of Regulation No. 28681 on emergency in workplaces, referred to in the Government’s report, and to indicate the specific provisions therein giving effect to Article 18 of the Convention.

Article 19(e). Right of workers or their representatives to inquire into all aspects of OSH associated with their work and recourse to external technical advisers. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to section 18 of OSH Act No. 6331, which provides for the obligation for employers to consult workers or their representatives on all OSH issues. However, the Committee notes that the report contains no information as regards the right of workers or their representatives to enquire into all aspects of OSH associated with their work or the use of technical advisers brought in, by mutual agreement, from outside the undertaking. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to indicate the specific measures taken to give effect, in law and in practice, to this Article of the Convention.

Articles 1(2), 2(2) and 5(b). The Committee notes that the Government has omitted to provide information on these points. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to give effect to these Articles, in law and in practice.

Application of the Convention in practice. Noting the absence of information on the application of the Convention in practice in the Government’s report, the Committee requests the Government to provide a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in the country, attaching 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 the accidents reported, etc.

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