Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Guarding of Machinery Convention, 1963 (No. 119) - Niger (Ratification: 1964)

Legislation. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 2012-45 of 25 September 2012 issuing the Labour Code. Referring to its previous comments, it also notes the Government’s indication that the legislative reform is progressing and that regulations pursuant to the Code will be adopted shortly. Once again expressing the hope that these regulations will give effect to a number of provisions of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made with regard to the adoption thereof and to send a copy of this legislative text, once it has been adopted.

Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention. Prohibition of the sale, hire, transfer in any other manner and exhibition of machinery without appropriate guards. Formal designation of persons on whom the obligation rests to apply the prohibition. The Committee notes that section 140 of the new Labour Code provides for the adoption of decrees passed in the Council of Ministers establishing a list of machinery or the dangerous parts thereof, whose manufacture, sale, importation, transfer and use will be prohibited. It recalls in this respect that Article 2(3) and (4) of the Convention list in detail the dangerous parts that must be subject to prevention and protection measures and that Article 4 provides that the obligation to apply this prohibition shall rest on the vendor, the person letting out on hire or transferring the machinery in any other manner, the exhibitor or the manufacturer. Expressing the hope that full account will be taken of the requirements of Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention when the decrees provided for in section 140 of the Labour Code are drawn up, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made with respect to the adoption of these decrees and to send a copy of them, once they have been adopted. The Committee requests the Government in the meantime to indicate any other measures giving effect to the provisions of Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention.

Article 10. Information and instructions to be given to workers. The Committee notes that under the terms of section 137 of the Labour Code, workers must be informed in an appropriate manner of the occupational risks likely to arise in the workplace and be instructed with regard to the available means of prevention. It also notes the Government’s indication that such information and instructions are communicated in the form of safety regulations during training and awareness-raising sessions in the workplace. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the steps that must be taken by employers to inform the workers, as and where appropriate, regarding the dangers arising and the precautions to be observed in the use of machinery.

Article 11. Prohibition on using any machinery without the guards provided being in position and operative. The Committee notes that, according to section 139 of the Labour Code, workers have the obligation to use health and safety devices correctly and to refrain from removing or modifying them without the employer’s permission. The Committee observes that this section, in its current wording, appears to allow the employer to authorize the removal or modification of safety devices. The Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 11 of the Convention, the use of machinery without the guards provided being in position (Article 11(1)) or with the guards made inoperative (Article 11(2)) shall be prohibited. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged, in law and in practice, to ensure that no worker uses machinery without the guards provided being in position and operative, and that employers are accordingly prohibited from authorizing safety devices to be removed or made inoperative, in accordance with Article 11 of the Convention.

Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the machinery used in Niger is generally second-hand, which is a constant source of danger. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to identify and resolve specific safety issues relating to the use of second-hand machinery. It also requests the Government to provide a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, extracts from inspection reports and, where such statistics exist, details of the number of accidents recorded in relation to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, etc.