The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International
Labour Office, and having met in its Eighty-second Session on
6 June 1995, and
Noting the relevant international labour Conventions and Recommendations
and, in Particular, the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention,
1957; the Radiation Protection Convention and Recommendation,
1960; the Guard. ing of Machinery Convention and Recommendation,
1963; the Employment Injury Benefits Convention and Recommendation,
1964; the Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention and Recommendation.
1965; the Medical Examination of Young Persons (Underground Work)
Convention, 1965; 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; the Safety and Health in
Construction Convention and Recommendation, 1988; the Chemicals
Convention and Recommendation, 1990; and the Prevention of Major
Industrial Accidents Convention and Recommendation, 1993, and
Considering that workers have a need for, and a right to, information,
training and genuine consultation on, and Participation in the
preparation and implementation of safety and health measures concerning
the hazards and risks they face in the mining industry, and
Recognizing that it is desirable to prevent any fatalities, injuries
or ill health affecting workers or members of the public or damage
to the environment arising from mining OPerations, and
Having regard to the need for cooperation between the International
Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the International
Atomic Energy Agency and other relevant institutions and noting
the relevant instruments, codes of Practice, codes and guidelines
issued by these organizations, and
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard
to safety and health in mines, which is the fourth item on the
agenda of the session, and
Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of
a Recommendation supplementing the Safety and Health in Mines
Convention:
adopts this twenty-second day of June of the year one thousand
nine hundred and ninety-five the following Recommendation, which
may be cited as the Safety and Health in Mines Recommendation,
1995:
1. The provisions of this Recommendation supplement those of the
Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (hereafter referred
to as "the Convention"), and should be applied in conjunction
with them.
2. This Recommendation appIies to all mines.
3. (1) In the light of national conditions and Practice and after
consultation with the most representative organizations of employers
and workers concerned, a Member should formulate, carry out and
periodically review a coherent policy on safety and health in
mines.
(2) The consultations provided for by Article 3 of the Convention
should include consultations with the most representative organizations
of employers and
workers on the effect of the length of working hours, night work
and shift work on workers´ safety and health. After such
consultations, the Member should take the necessary measures in
relation to working time and, in particular, to maximum daily
working hours and minimum daily rest periods.
4. The competent authority should have properly qualified and
trained staff with the appropriate skills, and sufficient technical
and professional support, to inspect, investigate, assess and
advise on the matters dealt with in the Convention and to ensure
compliance with national laws and regulations.
5. Measures should be taken to encourage and promote:
(a) research into and exchange of information on safety and health
in mines at the national and international level;
(b) specific assistance by the competent authority to small mines
with a view to:
(i) assisting in transfer of technical know-how;
(ii) establishing preventive safety and health programmes; and
(iii) encouraging cooperation and consultation between employers
and workers and their representatives; and
(c) programmes or systems for the rehabilitation and reintegration
of workers who have sustained occupational injuries or illnesses.
6. Requirements relating to the supervision of safety and health
in mines pursuant to Article 5. paragraph 2. of the Convention
should, where appropriate, include those concerning:
(a) certification and training;
(b) inspection of the mine, mining equipment and installations;
(c) supervision of the handling, transportation, storage and use
of explosives and of hazardous substances used or produced in
the mining process;
(d) performance of work on electrical equipment and installations;
and (e) supervision of workers.
7. Requirements pursuant to Article 5, paragraph 4, of the Convention,
could provide that the suppliers of equipment, appliances, hazardous
products and substances to the mine should ensure their compliance
with national standards on safety and health, label products clearly
and provide comprehensible information and instructions.
8. Requirements relating to mine rescue and first aid pursuant
to Article 5, paragraph 4(a), of the Convention and to appropriate
medical facilities for emergency care could cover:
(a) organizational arrangements;
(b) equipment to be provided;
(c) standards for training;
(d) training of workers and participation in drills;
(e) the appropriate number of trained persons to be available;
(f) an appropriate communication system;
(g) an effective system to give warning of danger;
(h) provision and maintenance of means of escape and rescue;
(i) establishment of a mine rescue team or teams;
(j) periodic medical assessment of suitability of, and regular
training for, the persons on the mine rescue team or teams;
(k) medical attention and transportation to receive medical attention,
both at no cost to workers who have suffered an injury or illness
at the workplace;
(l) coordination with local authorities;
(m) measures to promote international cooperation in this field.
9. Requirements pursuant to Article 5, paragraph 4(b), of the
Convention, could cover the specifications and standards of the
type of self-rescuers to be provided and, in particular, in the
case of mines susceptible to gas outbursts and other mines where
appropriate, the provision of self-contained respiratory devices.
10. National laws and regulations should prescribe measures for
the safe use and maintenance of remote control equipment.
11. National laws and regulations should specify that the employer
should take appropriate measures for the protection of workers
working alone or in isolation.
12. Employers should undertake hazard assessment and risk analysis
and then develop and implement, where appropriate, systems to
manage the risk.
13. In order to maintain the stability of the ground, in accordance
with Article 7(c) of the Convention, the employer should take
all appropriate measures to:
(a) monitor and control the movement of strata;
(b) as may be necessary, provide effective support of the roof,
sides and floor of the mine workings, except for those areas where
the mining methods selected allow for the controlled collapse
of the ground;
(c) monitor and control the sides of surface mines to prevent
material from falling or sliding into the pit and endangering
workers; and
(d) ensure that dams, lagoons, tailings and other such impoundments
are adequately designed, constructed and controlled to prevent
dangers from sliding material or collapse.
14. Pursuant to Article 7(d) of the Convention, separate means
of egress should be as independent of each other as possible;
arrangements should be made and equipment provided for the safe
evacuation of workers in case of danger.
15. Pursuant to Article 7(f) of the Convention, all underground
mine workings to which workers have access, and other areas as
necessary, should be ventilated in an appropriate manner to maintain
an atmosphere:
(a) in which the risk of explosions is eliminated or minimized;
(b) in which working conditions are adequate, having regard to
the working method being used and the physical demands placed
on the workers; and
(c) that complies with national standards on dusts, gases, radiation
and climatic conditions; where national standards do not exist,
the employer should give consideration to international standards.
16. The particular hazards referred to in Article 7(g) of the
Convention requiring an operating plan and procedures might include:
(a) mine fires and explosions;
(b) gas outbursts;
(c) rockbursts;
(d) an inrush of water or semi-solids;
(e) rockfalls;
(f) susceptibility of areas to seismic movements;
(g) hazards related to work carried out near dangerous openings
or under particularly difficult geological circumstances;
(h) loss of ventilation.
17. Measures that employers could take pursuant to Article 7(h)
of the Convention should include, where applicable, prohibiting
persons from carrying underground any item, object or substance,
which could initiate a fire, explosion or dangerous occurrence.
18. Pursuant to Article 7(i) of the Convention, mine facilities
should include, where appropriate, sufficient fireproof and self-contained
chambers to provide refuge for workers in the event of an emergency.
The self-contained chambers should be easily identifiable and
accessible, particularly when visibility is poor.
19. The emergency response plan referred to in Article 8 of the
Convention might include:
(a) effective site emergency plans;
(b) provision for the cessation of work and evacuation of the
workers in an emergency;
(c) adequate training in emergency procedures and in the use of
equipment;
(d) adequate protection of the public and the environment;
(e) provision of information to, and consultation with, appropriate
bodies and organizations.
20. The hazards referred to in Article 9 of the Convention might
include:
(a) airborne dusts;
(b) flammable, toxic, noxious and other mine gases;
(c) fumes and hazardous substances:
(d) exhaust fumes from diesel engines;
(e) oxygen deficiency;
(f) radiation from rock strata, equipment or other sources;
(g) noise and vibration;
(h) extreme temperatures;
(i) high levels of humidity;
(j) insufficient lighting or ventilation;
(k) hazards related to work carried out at high altitudes or extreme
depths, or in confined spaces;
(l) hazards associated with manual handling;
(m) hazards related to mechanical equipment and electrical installations;
(n) hazards resulting from a combination of any of the above.
21. Measures pursuant to Article 9 of the Convention might include:
(a) technical and organizational measures applied to relevant
mining activities or to the plant, machinery, equipment, appliances
or structures;
(b) where it is not possible to have recourse to the measures
referred to in (a) above, other effective measures, including
the use of personal protective equipment and protective clothing
at no cost to the worker;
(c) where reproductive health hazards and risks have been identified,
training and special technical and organizational measures, including
the right to alternative work, where appropriate, without any
loss of salary, especially during health risk periods such as
pregnancy and breast-feeding;
(d) regular monitoring and inspection of areas where hazards are
present or likely to be present.
22. The types of protective equipment and facilities referred
to in Article 9(c) of the Convention could include:
(a) roll-over and falling object protective structures;
(b) equipment seat belts and harnesses;
(c) fully enclosed pressurized cabins;
(d) self-contained rescue chambers:
(e) emergency showers and eye wash stations.
23. In implementing Article 10(b) of the Convention, employers
should:
(a) ensure appropriate inspections of each workplace at the mine,
and in particular, of the atmosphere, ground conditions, machinery,
equipment and appliances therein, including where necessary pre-shift
inspections; and
(b) keep written records of inspections, defects and corrective
measures and make such records available at the mine.
24. Where appropriate, the health surveillance referred to in
Article 11 of the Convention should, at no cost to the worker
and without any discrimination or retaliation whatsoever:
(a) provide the opportunity to undergo medical examination related
to the requirements of the tasks to be performed, prior to or
just after commencing employment and thereafter on a continuing
basis; and
(b) provide, where possible, for reintegration or rehabilitation
of workers unable to undertake their normal duties due to occupational
injury or illness.
25. Pursuant to Article 5, paragraph 4(e), of the Convention,
employers should where appropriate. provide and maintain at no
cost to the worker:
(a) sufficient and suitable toilets, showers, wash-basins and
changing facilities which are, where appropriate, gender-specific;
(b) adequate facilities for the storage, laundering and drying
of clothes;
(c) adequate supplies of potable drinking-water in suitable places;
and
(d) adequate and hygienic facilities for taking meals.
26. Pursuant to Article 13 of the Convention, workers and their
safety and health representatives should receive or have access
to, where appropriate, information which should include:
(a) where practicable, notice of any safety or health related
visit to the mine by the competent authority;
(b) reports of inspections conducted by the competent authority
or the employer, including inspections of machinery or equipment;
(c) copies of orders or instructions issued by the competent authority
in respect of safety and health matters;
(d) reports of accidents, injuries, instances of ill health and
other occurrences affecting safety and health prepared by the
competent authority or the employer;
(e) information and notices on all hazards at work including hazardous,
toxic or harmful materials, agents or substances used at the mine;
(f) any other documentation concerning safety and health that
the employer is required to maintain;
(g) immediate notification of accidents and dangerous occurrences;
and
(h) any health studies conducted in respect of hazards present
in the workplace.
27. Provisions to be made pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 1(e),
of the Convention could include requirements for:
(a) notification of supervisors and safety and health representatives
of the danger referred to in that provision;
(b) participation by senior representatives of the employer and
representatives of the workers in endeavouring to resolve the
issue;
(c) participation. where necessary, by a representative of the
competent authority to assist in resolution of the issue;
(d) non-loss of pay for the worker and, where appropriate, assignment
to suitable alternative work;
(e) notification, to be given to any worker who is requested to
perform work in the area concerned, of the fact that another worker
has refused to work there and of the reasons therefor.
28. Pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 2, of the Convention, the
rights of safety and health representatives should include, where
appropriate, the right:
(a) to appropriate training during working time, without loss
of pay, on their rights and functions as safety and health representatives
and on safety and health matters;
(b) of access to appropriate facilities necessary to perform their
functions;
(c) to receive their normal pay for all time spent exercising
their rights and performing their functions as safety and health
representatives; and
(d) to assist and advise workers who have removed themselves from
a workplace because they believe their safety or health has been
endangered.
29. Safety and health representatives should, where appropriate,
give reasonable notice to the employer of their intention to monitor
or investigate safety and health matters, as provided for in Article
13, paragraph 2(b)(ii), of the Convention.
30. (1) All persons should have a duty to:
(a) refrain from arbitrarily disconnecting, changing or removing
safety devices fitted to machinery, equipment, appliances, tools,
plant and buildings; and
(b) use such safety devices correctly.
(2) Employers should have a duty to provide workers with appropriate
training and instructions so as to enable them to comply with
the duties described in subparagraph (1) above.
31. Measures to encourage cooperation as provided for in Article
15 of the Convention should include:
(a) the establishment of cooperative mechanisms, such as safety
and health committees, with equal representation of employers
and workers and having such powers and functions as may be prescribed,
including powers to conduct joint inspections;
(b) the appointment by the employer of suitably qualified and
experienced persons to promote safety and health;
(c) the training of workers and their safety and health representatives;
(d) the provision of ongoing safety and health awareness programmes
for workers;
(e) the ongoing exchange of information and experience on safety
and health in mines;
(f) the consultation of workers and their representatives by the
employer in establishing safety and health policy and procedures;
and
(g) the inclusion, by the employer, of workers representatives
in the investigation of accidents and dangerous occurrences, as
provided for in Article 10(d) of the Convention.
32. There should be no discrimination or retaliation against any
worker who exercises rights provided by national laws and regulations
or agreed upon by the employers, workers and their representatives.
33. Due regard should be given to the possible impact of mining
activity on the surrounding environment and on the safety of the
public. In particular, this should include the control of subsidence,
vibration, fly-rock, harmful contaminants in the water, air or
soil, the safe and effective management of waste tips and the
rehabilitation of mine sites.
The foregoing is the authentic text of the Recommendation duly
adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour
Organization during its Eighty-second Session which was held at
Geneva and declared closed the twenty-second day of June 1995.
IN FAITH WHEREOF we have appended our signatures this twenty-third
day of June 1995.
The text of the Recommendation as here presented is a true copy
of the text authenticated by the signatures of the President of
the International Labour Conference and of the Director-General
of the International Labour Office.
Certified true and complete copy,
For the Director-General of the International Labour Office: