Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Medical Examination of Young Persons (Underground Work) Convention, 1965 (No. 124) - Uganda (Ratification: 1967)

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Article 2(1) of the Convention. Medical examination prior to work underground and periodic re-examinations of persons under 21 years of age. The Committee refers to its previous comments, as well as to the information provided by the Government in its report, and takes note of the following provisions currently in place in Ugandan law:

• Section 21 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 2006: Every employer shall provide for the supervision of the health of the workers exposed or liable to be exposed to occupational hazards due to pollution and other harmful agents in a working environment. This includes a pre-assignment medical examination and periodic medical examinations, and applies to all employees, irrespective of their age.
• Sections 33 and 97 of the Employment Act of 2006: The Minister may by regulations require persons over the age of 18 years seeking employment involving exposure to hazards specified by regulations to undergo a medical examination before being engaged by an employer and at regular intervals thereafter.
• Section 13 of the Employment (Employment of Children) Regulations No. 17 of 2012: A child under 18 years of age shall undergo a medical examination before engaging in any job, and the medical examination shall be repeated every six months following employment. Moreover, a child who undergoes an initial medical examination shall receive a medical certificate certifying him or her as medically fit, the model of which is represented in the fourth schedule of the regulations.

The Committee once again recalls that, by virtue of Article 2(1) of the Convention, a thorough medical examination, and periodic re-examinations at intervals of not more than one year, for fitness for employment shall be required for the employment or work underground in mines of persons under 21 years of age. The Committee observes that, while the provisions above-mentioned provide for the medical examination and periodic re-examinations of all workers under the age of 18, as well as of all workers exposed to occupational hazards due to pollution and other harmful agents, workers between the ages of 18 and 21 working underground in mines remain unprotected. The Committee recalls with deep regret that it has been raising this issue since 2013. The Committee urges the Government to take measures to provide for the medical examination and periodic re-examination for fitness for employment or work underground in mines of persons between 18 and 21 years of age. In this regard, it once again requests the Government to indicate whether any regulations concerning the medical examination of persons over 18 years of age seeking employment or work underground in mines, have been issued pursuant to sections 33 and 97 of the Employment Act.

Article 3(2). Mandatory X-ray examination of the lungs during initial medical examination. The Committee has been drawing the Government’s attention since its first report on the application of the Convention by Uganda, in 1990, on the need to legislate that, on the occasion of the initial medical examination for fitness for employment or work underground in mines of persons under 21 years of age, and, when regarded as medically necessary, on the occasion of their subsequent re-examinations, an X-ray film of the lungs shall be required, in accordance with Article 3(2) of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in that regard, that for the application of section 33(2) of the Employment Act, 2006, where a medical examination is required for persons over the age of 18 seeking employment involving exposure to hazards, X-rays are implied as a means of medical examination.

However, the Committee observes with deep regret that, currently, the medical examinations referred to under section 33 of the Employment Act, 2006, have not yet been regulated by the Minister of Labour, at least in the sector of underground mining, and that while X-rays may be implied as a means of medical examination, they are not required by law. Considering that the Committee has been underlining this issue for more than 30 years, the Committee strongly urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure, by law, that all young persons under the age of 21 undergo the medical examinations and re-examinations for fitness for employment or work underground in mines required by the Convention and, at the same time, that these examinations include an X-ray of the lungs, in accordance with Article 3(3) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2026.]