Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Workmen's Compensation (Occupational Diseases) Convention, 1925 (No. 18) - Burkina Faso (Ratification: 1960)

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report and the draft text of Decree No. 93PF/PM to revise the schedule of occupational diseases. It wishes to draw the Government's attention to the following points:

1. The Committee notes with interest that, in accordance with section 1 of the draft Decree, the list of occupational diseases includes diseases produced by lead and its compounds, and diseases produced by mercury and its compounds. However, it notes that under section 2 of the draft text, the diseases caused by the poisoning referred to section 1, and the indicative or limitative schedule of the principal types of work liable to cause these diseases or infections are enumerated in schedules which are to be annexed to the draft text. In view of the fact that the above schedules were not supplied by the Government, the Committee is bound to hope that they will make it possible to cover all forms of poisoning by lead, mercury or their compounds, and not only certain pathological manifestations listed restrictively as they are in the legislation which is currently in force (see in this respect, for example, Schedule 1 of Annex IV of Act No. 3-59-ACL to establish an employment injury prevention and compensation scheme).

2. The Committee also hopes that the schedule relating to anthrax infection will cover all the pathological manifestations resulting from the disease, and not only certain symptoms. In this respect, it hopes that the wording of item 13 of section 1 of the draft text will be modified by replacing the term "anthrax fever", which is only a symptom of the disease, by the term "anthrax infection", in accordance with the Convention.

Finally, the Committee hopes that the schedule relating to anthrax infection will also refer to the types of work enumerated in the right-hand column of the schedule annexed to the Convention, and in particular to the "loading and unloading or transport of merchandise".

The Committee hopes that the draft Decree, after it has been modified to take into account the above points, will be adopted in the near future in order to give full effect to the Convention.