Convention No. 62 Concerning Safety Prescriptions in the Building Industry
Congreso Nacional
- Published: May 17, 1963
- Issuing body: Congreso Nacional
- Category: Labor
Summary
Honduras approves an international labor convention that establishes safety standards for construction workers. The law requires employers to provide secure scaffolding, well-maintained lifting machinery, personal protective equipment, and operator training, as well as periodic inspections to prevent accidents.
Considerations
Whereas the most appropriate form that can be given to these propositions, taking into account the desirability of standardizing minimum safety requirements, without imposing overly rigid general application obligations, is that of an International Convention supplemented by a recommendation containing a model safety regulation. Adopted, on the twenty-third of June of nineteen hundred thirty-seven, the following Convention, which may be cited as the Convention concerning Safety Requirements (Building), 1937: PART I. OBLIGATIONS OF THE PARTIES TO THE CONVENTION
Whereas the building industry presents serious accident risks to persons engaged in such work, which makes it necessary to achieve the reduction of such risks, for reasons of both humanitarian and economic order;
Whereas it is appropriate to give approval to this instrument, insofar as the propositions contained therein are an effective complement to the provisions enacted in our country regarding the measures adopted in matters of safety in the construction industry;
Whereas in accordance with what was agreed upon by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization, the propositions established in this instrument should take the form of an International Convention supplemented by a recommendation containing a model safety regulation;
Whereas the provisions contained in this Convention do not present incompatibilities with the requirements prescribed by national legislation regarding preventive measures against accidents in the construction industry. Therefore: the President of the Republic, AGREES: 1. To approve the "Convention (Number 62) concerning Safety Requirements in the Building Industry", adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization, on the 23rd of June of 1937, at its twenty-third meeting, held in the city of Geneva, Switzerland, beginning on the 3rd of June of the same year; and, 2. That the present Convention be brought before the Sovereign National Congress in its current sessions for the purposes of law. Given at the National Palace, Tegucigalpa, D.C., on the fifth day of the month of March of nineteen hundred sixty-two. Let it be communicated. f) RAMON VILLEDA MORALES The Secretary of State in the Office of Foreign Relations, f) Andrés Alvarado Puerto" Given in the Chamber of Sessions of the National Congress, in Tegucigalpa, D.C., on the seventh day of the month of March of nineteen hundred sixty-three.
Articles
1. Every Member of the International Labour Organization that ratifies this Convention undertakes to maintain in force legislation:
- a)
That guarantees the application of the general provisions established in Parts II, III and IV of this Convention;
- b)
That empowers a competent authority to issue regulations intended to comply, whenever possible and appropriate, and taking into account national circumstances, with provisions identical or equivalent to those of the model regulation annexed to the Recommendation concerning Safety Requirements (Building), 1937, or those of any revised model regulation subsequently recommended by the International Labour Conference. 2. Each of these Members also undertakes to send to the International Labour Office, every three years, a report indicating the extent to which compliance has been achieved with the provisions of the model regulation annexed to the Recommendation concerning Safety Requirements (Building), 1937, or those of any revised model regulation subsequently recommended by the International Labour Conference.
1. The legislation guaranteeing the application of the general provisions established in Parts II, III and IV of this Convention shall apply to all work carried out on the site and related to the construction, repair, alteration, maintenance and demolition of all kinds of buildings. 2. Such legislation may authorize the competent authority, after consultation with the interested organizations of employers and workers, where such organizations exist, to exempt certain work from compliance with all or some of its provisions, provided that such work is normally carried out under sufficiently safe conditions.
The legislation guaranteeing the application of the general provisions established in Parts II, III and IV of this Convention, and the regulations issued by the competent authority to comply with the model regulation annexed to the Recommendation concerning Safety Requirements (Building), 1937, shall:
- a)
Require that the employer notify this legislation and these regulations to all interested persons, in the form approved by the competent authority;
- b)
Determine the persons responsible for its application;
- c)
Establish appropriate sanctions for violation of the obligations imposed.
Every Member that ratifies this Convention undertakes to maintain in force, or to ensure that there exists, an inspection system that guarantees the effective application of legislation concerning safety provisions in the building industry.
1. When the territory of a Member comprises vast regions in which, because of the dispersed population or the state of their economic development, the competent authority considers it impracticable to apply the provisions of this Convention, such authority may exempt those regions from the application of the Convention, in a general manner, or with such exceptions as it deems appropriate with respect to certain localities or particular types of constructions. 2. Every Member shall indicate in its first annual report on the application of this Convention, which it shall submit in accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, every region with respect to which it proposes to invoke the provisions of this article. No Member may subsequently invoke the provisions of this article except with respect to the regions indicated. 3. Every Member that invokes the provisions of this article shall indicate, in subsequent annual reports, the regions with respect to which it renounces the right to invoke such provisions.
Every Member that ratifies this Convention undertakes to send annually to the International Labour Office the most recent statistical data on the number and classification of accidents suffered by persons engaged in the work covered by this Convention.
1. Adequate scaffolding shall be provided to workers in all work that would be dangerous if carried out with hand ladders or other means. 2. Scaffolding shall not be erected, dismantled or substantially altered except: a) Under the supervision of a competent and responsible person; and, b) Whenever possible, by workers qualified and accustomed to this type of work. 3. All scaffolding and devices that complete it, as well as all hand ladders, shall:
- a)
Be constructed of good quality materials;
- b)
Have the necessary resistance, taking into account the loads and stresses they must bear; and,
- c)
Be maintained in good condition. 4. Scaffolding shall be constructed in such a manner that no part thereof can slip during normal use. 5. Scaffolding shall not be overloaded and the load shall be equitably distributed. 6. Before installing lifting devices on scaffolding, special precautions shall be taken to ensure the resistance and stability of the latter. 7. A competent person shall periodically inspect the scaffolding. 8. Before permitting workers to use scaffolding, the employer shall ensure that the scaffolding, whether or not constructed by his workers, meets all requirements established by this article.
1. Work platforms, walkways and stairs shall:
- a)
Be constructed in such a manner that no part thereof can suffer excessive or uneven deflection;
- b)
Be constructed and maintained in such a manner as to reduce, as far as possible, and taking into account existing conditions, the risks of tripping or slipping by persons;
- c)
Be kept free of all unnecessary obstructions. 2. When work platforms, walkways, work stations and stairs are at a height exceeding a limit determined by national legislation:
- a)
Every work platform or walkway shall have a solid floor, unless other appropriate measures are taken to ensure safety;
- b)
Every work platform or walkway shall have sufficient width;
- c)
Every work platform, walkway, work station or stairs shall be adequately fenced.
- a)
1. Every opening in the floor of a building or in a work platform shall, except at such times as it is necessary to permit the passage of persons or the transport or movement of materials, be provided with an effective device to prevent the fall of persons or objects. 2. When persons must work on a roof that presents a danger of falling from a height exceeding that fixed by national legislation, appropriate precautions shall be taken to prevent the fall of persons or material.
1. Safe means of access shall be provided to all platforms and other work areas. 2. Every hand ladder shall be securely fixed and have the length necessary to afford safe support for the feet and hands in all positions in which it is used. 3. All places where work is carried out, as well as their means of access, shall be adequately lit. 4. Appropriate precautions shall be taken to prevent hazards from electrical installations. 5. Materials found on the site shall not be stacked or placed in a manner that could constitute a danger to persons.
1. Lifting machines and devices, including their fastening, anchoring and support elements, shall:
- a)
Be of good mechanical construction, made of solid materials, have adequate strength and be free from obvious defects;
- b)
Be maintained in good state of repair and working order. 2. Every cable used for hoisting or lowering materials, or as a means of suspension, shall be of good quality, sufficiently resistant, and be free from obvious defects.
1. Lifting machines and devices shall be examined and tested properly after their installation on the site and before being used, and shall be re-examined periodically at their locations with the frequency prescribed by national legislation. 2. Rings, chains, hooks, sleeves, pulleys and swivels used for hoisting or lowering materials or as a means of suspension shall be examined periodically.
1. Every crane driver or operator of another lifting device shall be properly qualified to perform his work. 2. Persons who have not reached the minimum age fixed by national legislation shall not be employed to operate lifting devices, including scaffolding winches, or to transmit signals to the operator.
1. The admissible safe working load of lifting devices, chains, rings, hooks, sleeves, pulleys or swivels used for hoisting or lowering materials or as a means of suspension shall be determined by appropriate means. 2. Every lifting device and every device mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall have marked visibly its admissible safe working load. 3. When a lifting device has a variable admissible safe working load, each load and the conditions under which it is admissible shall be clearly indicated. 4. No part of a lifting device, or of any of the devices mentioned in Paragraph 1 of this article, shall be loaded with a weight exceeding its admissible safe working load, except in cases of testing.
1. Motors, gears, transmissions, electrical cables and other dangerous parts of lifting devices shall be provided with effective protective devices. 2. Lifting devices shall be provided with appropriate means to reduce to a minimum the risk of accidental descent of the load. 3. Appropriate precautions shall be taken to reduce to a minimum the risk of accidental slippage of any part of a suspended load.
1. All necessary personal protective equipment shall be made available to persons employed at the work site, and shall be maintained at all times in conditions that permit its immediate use. 2. Workers shall be obligated to use the equipment placed at their disposal and employers shall ensure that the persons concerned make prudent use thereof.
When work is carried out in the vicinity of any place where there is danger of drowning, all necessary equipment shall be provided in conditions that permit its use at any time, and all necessary measures shall be adopted for the rapid rescue of any person in danger.
Appropriate measures shall be taken to provide first aid promptly to any person injured during work. PART V. FINAL PROVISIONS
Formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director General of the International Labour Office for registration.
1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organization whose ratifications have been registered by the Director General. 2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered by the Director General. 3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for each Member twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been registered.
As soon as the ratifications of two Members of the International Labour Organization have been registered, the Director General of the Office shall notify this fact to all Members of the International Labour Organization. The Director General shall likewise notify all Members of the registration of ratifications subsequently communicated by other Members of the Organization.
1. Any Member that has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiry of a period of ten years from the date on which the Convention first came into force, by an act communicated to the Director General of the International Labour Office for registration. The denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it has been registered. 2. Any Member that has ratified this Convention and that, within one year after the expiry of the ten-year period mentioned in the preceding paragraph, does not exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this article shall be bound for another period of ten years, and thereafter may denounce this Convention at the expiry of each ten-year period under the conditions provided for in this article.
At the expiry of each period of ten years from the date on which this Convention comes into force, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the application 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.
1. In the event that the Conference adopts a new Convention embodying a revision of this Convention in whole or in part, and unless the new Convention otherwise provides:
- a)
Ratification of the new revising Convention by any Member, shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 22, provided that the new revising Convention shall have come into force;
- b)
As from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force, the present Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members. 2. This Convention shall in all cases remain in force in its present form and content for such Members as have ratified it and have not ratified the revising Convention.
The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authentic.
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