(ILO No. 167)
(Adopted at Geneva on 20
June 1988)
The General
Conference of the International Labour Organisation,
Having been
convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office,
and having met in its Seventy-fifth Session on 1 June 1988, and
Noting the relevant
international labour Conventions and Recommendations and, in particular, the
Safety Provisions (Building) Convention and Recommendation, 1937, the
Co-operation in Accident Prevention (Building) Recommendation, 1937, the
Radiation Protection Convention and Recommendation, 1960, the Guarding of
Machinery Convention and Recommendation, 1963, the Maximum Weight Convention
and Recommendation, 1967, the Occupational Cancer Convention and
Recommendation, 1974, the Working Environment (Air Pollution, Noise and
Vibration) Convention and Recommendation, 1977, the Occupational Safety and
Health Convention and Recommendation, 1981, the Occupational Health Services
Convention and Recommendation, 1985, the Asbestos Convention and
Recommendation, 1986, and the list of occupational diseases as revised in 1980
appended to the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964, and
Having decided upon
the adoption of certain proposals with regard to safety and health in
construction, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and
Having determined
that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention
revising the Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937,
adopts this
twentieth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight
the following Convention, which may be cited as the Safety and Health in
Construction Convention, 1988:
I. SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
1. This Convention
applies to all construction activities, namely building, civil engineering, and
erection and dismantling work, including any process, operation or transport on
a construction site, from the preparation of the site to the completion of the
project.
2. A Member ratifying
this Convention may, after consultation with the most representative
organisations of employers and workers concerned, where they exist, exclude
from the application of the Convention, or certain provisions thereof,
particular branches of economic activity or particular undertakings in respect
of which special problems of a substantial nature arise, on condition that a
safe and healthy working environment is maintained.
3. This Convention
also applies to such self-employed persons as may be specified by national laws
or regulations.
Article 2
For the purpose of
this Convention:
(a) The term construction
covers:
(i) building,
including excavation and the construction, structural alteration, renovation,
repair, maintenance (including cleaning and painting) and demolition of all
types of buildings or structures;
(ii) civil
engineering, including excavation and the construction, structural alteration,
repair, maintenance and demolition of, for example, airports, docks, harbours,
inland waterways, dams, river and avalanche and sea defence works, roads and
highways, railways, bridges, tunnels, viaducts and works related to the
provision of services such as communications, drainage, sewerage, water and
energy supplies;
(iii) the erection
and dismantling of prefabricated buildings and structures, as well as the
manufacturing of prefabricated elements on the construction site;
(b) the term construction
site means any site at which any of the processes or operations
described in subparagraph (a) above are carried on;
(c) the term workplace
means all places where workers need to be or to go by reason of their
work and which are under the control of an employer as defined in subparagraph
(e) below;
(d) the term worker
means any person engaged in construction;
(e) the term employer
means:
(i) any physical or
legal person who employs one or more workers on a construction site; and
(ii) as the context
requires, the principal contractor, the contractor or the subcontractor;
(f) the term competent
person means a person possessing adequate qualifications, such as
suitable training and sufficient knowledge, experience and skill for the safe
performance of the specific work. The competent authorities may define
appropriate criteria for the designation of such persons and may determine the
duties to be assigned to them;
(g) the term scaffold
means any temporary structure, fixed, suspended or mobile, and its
supporting components which is used for supporting workers and materials or to
gain access to any such structure, and which is not a "lifting
appliance" as defined in subparagraph (h) below;
(h) the term lifting
appliance means any stationary or mobile appliance used for raising or
lowering persons or loads;
(i) the term lifting
gear means any gear or tackle by means of which a load can be attached
to a lifting appliance but which does not form an integral part of the
appliance or load.
II. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 3
The most
representative organisations of employers and workers concerned shall be
consulted on the measures to be taken to give effect to the provisions of this
Convention.
Article 4
Each Member which
ratifies this Convention undertakes that it will, on the basis of an assessment
of the safety and health hazards involved, adopt and maintain in force laws or
regulations which ensure the application of the provisions of the Convention.
Article 5
1. The laws and
regulations adopted in pursuance of Article 4 above may provide for their
practical application through technical standards or codes of practice, or by
other appropriate methods consistent with national conditions and practice.
2. In giving effect
to Article 4 above and to paragraph 1 of this Article, each Member shall have
due regard to the relevant standards adopted by recognised international
organisations in the field of standardisation.
Article 6
Measures shall be
taken to ensure that there is co-operation between employers and workers, in
accordance with arrangements to be defined by national laws or regulations, in
order to promote safety and health at construction sites.
Article 7
National laws or
regulations shall require that employers and self-employed persons have a duty
to comply with the prescribed safety and health measures at the workplace.
Article 8
1. Whenever two or
more employers undertake activities simultaneously at one construction site-
(a) the principal
contractor, or other person or body with actual control over or primary
responsibility for overall construction site activities, shall be responsible
for co-ordinating the prescribed safety and health measures and, in so far as
is compatible with national laws and regulations, for ensuring compliance with
such measures;
(b) in so far as is
compatible with national laws and regulations, where the principal contractor,
or other person or body with actual control over or primary responsibility for
overall construction site activities, is not present at the site, he shall
nominate a competent person or body at the site with the authority and means
necessary to ensure on his behalf co-ordination and compliance with the
measures, as foreseen in subparagraph (a) above;
(c) each employer
shall remain responsible for the application of the prescribed measures in
respect of the workers placed under his authority.
2. Whenever
employers or self-employed persons undertake activities simultaneously at one
construction site they shall have the duty to co-operate in the application of
the prescribed safety and health measures, as may be specified by national laws
or regulations.
Article 9
Those concerned
with the design and planning of a construction project shall take into account
the safety and health of the construction workers in accordance with national
laws, regulations and practice.
Article 10
National laws or
regulations shall provide that workers shall have the right and the duty at any
workplace to participate in ensuring safe working conditions to the extent of
their control over the equipment and methods of work and to express views on
the working procedures adopted as they may affect safety and health.
Article 11
National laws or
regulations shall provide that workers shall have the duty to-
(a) co-operate as
closely as possible with their employer in the application of the prescribed
safety and health measures;
(b) take reasonable
care for their own safety and health and that of other persons who may be
affected by their acts or omissions at work;
(c) use facilities
placed at their disposal and not misuse anything provided for their own
protection or the protection of others;
(d) report
forthwith to their immediate supervisor, and to the workers' safety
representative where one exists, any situation which they believe could present
a risk, and which they cannot properly deal with themselves;
(e) comply with the
prescribed safety and health measures.
Article 12
1. National laws or
regulations shall provide that a worker shall have the right to remove himself
from danger when he has good reason to believe that there is an imminent and
serious danger to his safety or health, and the duty so to inform his
supervisor immediately.
2. Where there is
an imminent danger to the safety of workers the employer shall take immediate
steps to stop the operation and evacuate workers as appropriate.
III. PREVENTIVE AND PROTECTIVE MEASURES
Article 13
SAFETY OF WORKPLACES
1. All appropriate
precautions shall be taken to ensure that all workplaces are safe and without
risk of injury to the safety and health of workers.
2. Safe means of
access to and egress from all workplaces shall be provided and maintained, and
indicated where appropriate.
3. All appropriate
precautions shall be taken to protect persons present at or in the vicinity of
a construction site from all risks which may arise from such site.
Article 14
SCAFFOLDS AND LADDERS
1. Where work
cannot safely be done on or from the ground or from part of a building or other
permanent structure, a safe and suitable scaffold shall be provided and
maintained, or other equally safe and suitable provision shall be made.
2. In the absence
of alternative safe means of access to elevated working places, suitable and
sound ladders shall be provided. They shall be property secured against
inadvertent movement.
3. All scaffolds
and ladders shall be constructed and used in accordance with national laws and
regulations.
4. Scaffolds shall
be inspected by a competent person in such cases and at such times as shall be
prescribed by national laws or regulations.
Article 15
LIFTING APPLIANCES AND GEAR
1. Every lifting
appliance and item of lifting gear, including their constituent elements,
attachments, anchorages and supports, shall-
(a) be of good
design and construction, sound material and adequate strength for the purpose
for which they are used;
(b) be properly
installed and used;
(c) be maintained
in good working order;
(d) be examined and
tested by a competent person at such times and in such cases as shall be
prescribed by national laws or regulations; the results of these examinations
and tests shall be recorded;
(e) be operated by
workers who have received appropriate training in accordance with national laws
and regulations.
2. No person shall
be raised, lowered or carried by a lifting appliance unless it is constructed,
installed and used for that purpose in accordance with national laws and
regulations, except in an emergency situation in which serious personal injury
or fatality may occur, and for which the lifting appliance can be safely used.
Article 16
TRANSPORT, EARTH-MOVING AND
MATERIALS-HANDLING EQUIPMENT
1. All vehicles and
earth-moving or materials-handling equipment shall-
(a) be of good
design and construction taking into account as far as possible ergonomic
principles;
(b) be maintained
in good working order;
(c) be properly
used;
(d) be operated by workers
who have received appropriate training in accordance with national laws and
regulations.
2. On all
construction sites on which vehicles, earth-moving or materials-handling
equipment are used-
(a) safe and
suitable access ways shall be provided for them; and
(b) traffic shall
be so organised and controlled as to secure their safe operation.
Article 17
PLANT, MACHINERY, EQUIPMENT AND HAND TOOLS
1. Plant, machinery
and equipment, including hand tools, both manual and power driven, shall-
(a) be of good
design and construction, taking into account as far as possible ergonomic
principles;
(b) be maintained
in good working order;
(c) be used only
for work for which they have been designed unless a use outside the initial
design purposes has been assessed by a competent person who has concluded that
such use is safe;
(d) be operated by
workers who have received appropriate training.
2. Adequate
instructions for safe use shall be provided where appropriate by the
manufacturer or the employer, in a form understood by the users.
3. Pressure plant
and equipment shall be examined and tested by a competent person in cases and
at times prescribed by national laws or regulations.
Article 18
WORK AT HEIGHTS INCLUDING ROOFWORK
1. Where necessary
to guard against danger, or where the height of a structure or its slope
exceeds that prescribed by national laws or regulations, preventive measures
shall be taken against the fall of workers and tools or other objects or
materials.
2. Where workers
are required to work on or near roofs or other places covered with fragile
material, through which they are liable to fall, preventive measures shall be
taken against their inadvertently stepping on or falling through the fragile
material.
Article 19
EXCAVATIONS, SHAFTS, EARTHWORKS,
UNDERGROUND WORKS AND TUNNELS
Adequate
precautions shall be taken in any excavation, shaft, earthworks, underground
works or tunnel-
(a) by suitable
shoring or otherwise to guard against danger to workers from a fall or
dislodgement of earth, rock or other material;
(b) to guard
against dangers arising from the fall of persons, materials or objects or the
inrush of water into the excavation, shaft, earthworks, underground works or
tunnel;
(c) to secure
adequate ventilation at every workplace so as to maintain an atmosphere fit for
respiration and to limit any fumes, gases, vapours, dust or other impurities to
levels which are not dangerous or injurious to health and are within limits
laid down by national laws or regulations;
(d) to enable the
workers to reach safety in the event of fire, or an inrush of water or
material;
(e) to avoid risk
to workers arising from possible underground dangers such as the circulation of
fluids or the presence of pockets of gas, by undertaking appropriate investigations
to locate them.
Article 20
COFFERDAMS AND CAISSONS
1. Every cofferdam
and caisson shall be-
(a) of good
construction and suitable and sound material and of adequate strength;
(b) provided with
adequate means for workers to reach safety in the event of an inrush of water
or material.
2. The
construction, positioning, modification or dismantling of a cofferdam or
caisson shall take place only under the immediate supervision of a competent
person.
3. Every cofferdam
and caisson shall be inspected by a competent person at prescribed intervals.
Article 21
WORK IN COMPRESSED AIR
1. Work in
compressed air shall be carried out only in accordance with measures prescribed
by national laws or regulations.
2. Work in
compressed air shall be carried out only by workers whose physical aptitude for
such work has been established by a medical examination and when a competent
person is present to supervise the conduct of the operations.
Article 22
STRUCTURAL FRAMES AND FORMWORK
1. The erection of
structural frames and components, formwork, falsework and shoring shall be
carried out only under the supervision of a competent person.
2. Adequate
precautions shall be taken to guard against danger to workers arising from any
temporary state of weakness or instability of a structure.
3. Formwork,
falsework and shoring shall be so designed, constructed and maintained that it
will safely support all loads that may be imposed on it.
Article 23
WORK OVER WATER
Where work is done
over or in close proximity to water there shall be adequate provision for-
(a) preventing
workers from falling into water;
(b) the rescue of
workers in danger of drowning;
(c) safe and
sufficient transport.
Article 24
DEMOLITION
When the demolition
of any building or structure might present danger to workers or to the public-
(a) appropriate
precautions, methods and procedures shall be adopted, including those for the
disposal of waste or residues, in accordance with national laws or regulations;
(b) the work shall
be planned and undertaken only under the supervision of a competent person.
Article 25
LIGHTING
Adequate and
suitable lighting, including portable lighting where appropriate, shall be
provided at every workplace and any other place on the construction site where
a worker may have to pass.
Article 26
ELECTRICITY
1. All electrical
equipment and installations shall be constructed, installed and maintained by a
competent person, and so used as to guard against danger.
2. Before
construction is commenced and during the progress thereof adequate steps shall
be taken to ascertain the presence of and to guard against danger to workers
from any live electrical cable or apparatus which is under, over or on the
site.
3. The laying and
maintenance of electrical cables and apparatus on construction sites shall be
governed by the technical rules and standards applied at the national level.
Article 27
EXPLOSIVES
Explosives shall
not be stored, transported, handled or used except-
(a) under
conditions prescribed by national laws or regulations; and
(b) by a competent
person, who shall take such steps as are necessary to ensure that workers and
other persons are not exposed to risk of injury.
Article 28
HEALTH HAZARDS
1. Where a worker
is liable to be exposed to any chemical, physical or biological hazard to such
an extent as is liable to be dangerous to health, appropriate preventive
measures shall be taken against such exposure.
2. The preventive
measures referred to in paragraph 1 above shall comprise-
(a) the replacement
of hazardous substances by harmless or less hazardous substances wherever
possible; or
(b) technical
measures applied to the plant, machinery, equipment or process; or
(c) where it is not
possible to comply with subparagraphs (a) or (b) above, other effective
measures, including the use of personal protective equipment and protective
clothing.
3. Where workers
are required to enter any area in which a toxic or harmful substance may be
present, or in which there may be an oxygen deficiency, or a flammable atmosphere,
adequate measures shall be taken to guard against danger.
4. Waste shall not
be destroyed or otherwise disposed of on a construction site in a manner which
is liable to be injurious to health.
Article 29
FIRE PRECAUTIONS
1. The employer
shall take all appropriate measures to-
(a) avoid the risk
of fire;
(b) combat quickly
and efficiently any outbreak of fire;
(c) bring about a
quick and safe evacuation of persons.
2. Sufficient and
suitable storage shall be provided for flammable liquids, solids and gases.
Article 30
PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
1. Where adequate
protection against risk of accident or injury to health, including exposure to
adverse conditions, cannot be ensured by other means, suitable personal protective
equipment and protective clothing, having regard to the type of work and risks,
shall be provided and maintained by the employer, without cost to the workers,
as may be prescribed by national laws or regulations.
2. The employer
shall provide the workers with the appropriate means to enable them to use the
individual protective equipment, and shall ensure its proper use.
3. Protective
equipment and protective clothing shall comply with standards set by the
competent authority taking into account as far as possible ergonomic
principles.
4. Workers shall be
required to make proper use of and to take good care of the personal protective
equipment and protective clothing provided for their use.
Article 31
FIRST AID
The employer shall
be responsible for ensuring that first aid, including trained personnel, is
available at all times. Arrangements shall be made for ensuring the removal for
medical attention of workers who have suffered an accident or sudden illness.
Article 32
WELFARE
1. At or within
reasonable access of every construction site an adequate supply of wholesome
drinking water shall be provided.
2. At or within
reasonable access of every construction site, the following facilities shall,
depending on the number of workers and the duration of the work, be provided
and maintained-
(a) sanitary and
washing facilities;
(b) facilities for
changing and for the storage and drying of clothing;
(c) accommodation
for taking meals and for taking shelter during interruption of work due to
adverse weather conditions.
3. Men and women
workers should be provided with separate sanitary and washing facilities.
Article 33
INFORMATION AND TRAINING
Workers shall be
adequately and suitably-
(a) informed of
potential safety and health hazards to which they may be exposed at their
workplace;
(b) instructed and
trained in the measures available for the prevention and control of, and
protection against, those hazards.
Article 34
REPORTING OF ACCIDENTS AND DISEASES
National laws or
regulations shall provide for the reporting to the competent authority within a
prescribed time of occupational accidents and diseases.
IV. IMPLEMENTATION
Article 35
Each Member shall:
(a) take all
necessary measures, including the provision of appropriate penalties and corrective
measures, to ensure the effective enforcement of the provisions of the
Convention;
(b) provide
appropriate inspection services to supervise the application of the measures to
be taken in pursuance of the Convention and provide these services with the
resources necessary for the accomplishment of their task, or satisfy itself
that appropriate inspection is carried out.
V. FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 36
This Convention
revises the Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937.
Article 37
The formal ratifications
of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the
International Labour Office for registration.
Article 38
1. This Convention
shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour
Organisation whose ratifications have been registered with the
Director-General.
2. It shall come
into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two
Members have been registered with the Director-General.
3. Thereafter, this
Convention shall come into force for any Member twelve months after the date on
which its ratification has been registered.
Article 39
1. A Member which
has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years
from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act
communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for
registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the
date on which it is registered.
2. Each Member
which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year
following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article,
will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce
this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms
provided for in this Article.
Article 40
1. The
Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of
the International Labour Organisation of the registration of all ratifications
and denunciations communicated to him by the Members of the Organisation.
2. When notifying
the members of the Organisation of the registration of the second ratification
communicated to him, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the
Members of the Organisation to the date upon which the Convention will come
into force.
Article 41
The
Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration in accordance with
Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations full particulars of all
ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by him in accordance with the
provisions of the preceding Articles.
Article 42
At such times as it
may consider necessary the Governing Body of the International Labour Office
shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this
Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the
Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.
Article 43
1. Should the
Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part,
then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides-
(a) the
ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve
the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions
of Article 39 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come
into force;
(b) as from the
date when the new revising Convention comes into force this Convention shall
cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
2. This Convention
shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those
Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.
Article 44
The English and
French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.