Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation) Convention, 1925 (No. 19) - Cabo Verde (Ratification: 1987)

The Committee notes the report transmitted by the Government, as well as the comments made by the Commercial, Industrial and Agricultural Association of Barlavento (ACIAB), the National Union of Workers of Cape Verde – Trade Union (UNTC-CS) and the Cape Verde Confederation of Free Trade Unions (CCSL) concerning the application of the Convention.

Article 2 of the Convention. In its report, the Government states that it will take account of the comments previously made by the Committee when amending section 3(1) of Legislative Decree No. 84/78 of 22 September 1978 in order to remove any reference to the blanket exclusion from its scope of foreign workers who are employed temporarily in the national territory by a foreign enterprise. The Committee notes this information with interest and notes that this amendment will be made within the framework of the adoption of a new Labour Code, the draft version of which was prepared in collaboration with the Office. It notes, furthermore, that in their comments the three organizations above expressed support for such a revision in order to bring the national legislation into conformity with Convention No. 19. In these circumstances, the Committee hopes that the necessary amendments will soon be adopted and that the Government will be in a position to transmit them with its next report. The Committee takes this opportunity to recall that, under the terms of this provision of the Convention, when foreign workers are victims of occupational accidents while employed temporarily or intermittently on the territory of Cape Verde on behalf of an undertaking situated abroad, it is not authorized to exclude these workers from the scope of application of Cape Verdean law except in the case of the prior conclusion between the States concerned of special agreements providing for the application of the legislation of the State of origin.

Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that it still does not have any statistical data concerning occupational accidents. It trusts that the Government will be in a position to transmit such information with its next report indicating, as far as possible, the number and nationality of foreign workers employed in the country, the number of those involved in occupational accidents, in particular in the construction sector where, according to the CCSL, many occupational accidents occur.