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3 JUIN 2007. - Act to approve Convention No. 155 on Safety and Health of Workers, adopted at Geneva on 22 June 1981 by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. Convention No. 155 on the Safety and Health of Workers, adopted at Geneva on 22 June 1981 by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization, will come out its full and full effect.
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels, 3 June 2007.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
Minister of Employment,
P. VANVELTHOVEN
Seal of the state seal:
The Minister of Justice,
Ms. L. ONKELINX
____
Notes
(1) 2006-2007 session.
Senate.
Documents: Bill tabled on March 14, 2007, No. 3-2118/1. Report, No. 3-2118/2.
Annales parlementaire
Discussion, meeting of March 29, 2007.
Vote, meeting of 29 March 2007.
House of Representatives.
Documents: Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 51-3050/1. Text adopted in plenary meeting and submitted to the Royal War, No. 51-3050/2.
Annales parlementaire
Discussion, meeting of 19 April 2007.
Voting, meeting of 19 April 2007.
(2) See the decree of the Flemish Community/Flemish Region of 4 July 2008 (Belgian Monitor of 29 August 2008 - Ed. 2), the decree of the French Community of 14 November 2008 (Belgian Monitor of 23 January 2009 - Ed. 3), the decree of the German-speaking Community of 22 November 2010) (Belgian Monitor of 10 December 2010 - Ed. 2), the decree of the Walloon Region of 20 November 2008 (Moniteur

Convention No. 155 on Safety and Health of Workers
The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,
Convened in Geneva by the Board of Directors of the International Labour Office, meeting on 3 June 1981 at its sixty-seventh session;
Having decided to adopt various proposals relating to safety, hygiene and the workplace, which constitutes the sixth item on the agenda of the session;
After deciding that these proposals would take the form of an international convention, this twenty-second day of June, nine hundred and eighty-one, adopted the following Convention, to be known as the Workers' Safety and Health Convention, 1981.
Part I^er. - Scope and definitions
Article 1^er
1. This Convention applies to all branches of economic activity.
2. A Member who ratifies this Convention may, after consultation, be as early as possible, representative organizations of employers and interested workers, exclude from its application, either in part or in whole, particular branches of economic activity such as marine navigation or fishing, where this application raises specific problems of some importance.
3. Any Member who ratifies this Convention shall, in the first report on the application of this Convention, indicate, on the basis of Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, the branches of activity that have been excluded under Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, by describing the measures taken to ensure adequate protection of the workers in the excluded branches, and shall set out the measures taken to ensure that the work is carried out in the excluded branches,
Article 2
1. This Convention applies to all workers in covered economic activity branches.
2. A Member who ratifies this Convention may, after consultation, as early as possible, from the representative organizations of employers and interested workers, exclude from its application, either in part or in whole, from the limited categories of workers for which special problems of application exist.
3. Any Member who ratifies this Convention shall, in the first report on the application of this Convention, indicate that it is required to submit under Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, with reasons for support, the limited categories of workers who have been excluded pursuant to paragraph 2 above and shall, in subsequent reports, state any progress made towards a broader application.
Article 3
For the purposes of this Convention:
(a) the expression economic activity branches covers all branches where workers are employed, including the public service;
(b) The term " workers " refers to all persons employed, including public officials;
(c) the place of work shall apply to all places where workers are to be or are to be visited by virtue of their work and which are placed under the direct or indirect control of the employer;
(d) the term requirements shall apply to all provisions to which the competent authority or authorities conferred force of law;
(e) the term health, in relation to work, not only targets the absence of disease or disability; It also includes physical and mental elements affecting health directly related to occupational safety and hygiene.
Part II. - Principles of a National Policy
Article 4
1. Any Member shall, in the light of national conditions and practice and in consultation with the most representative employers and workers' organizations, define, implement and periodically review a consistent national policy on safety, workers' health and work environment.
2. The purpose of this policy will be to prevent accidents and injuries resulting from work, are related to work or occur during work, by minimizing the causes of occupational hazards, to the extent that it is reasonable and practically feasible.
Article 5
The policy referred to in Article 4 should take into account the following major spheres of action, as they affect the safety, health of workers and the workplace:
(a) the design, testing, choice, replacement, installation, development, use and maintenance of the material components of the work (work sites, work environment, tools, machinery and equipment, chemical, physical and biological substances and agents, work processes);
(b) the links between the material components of the work and the persons who perform or supervise the work as well as the adaptation of machinery, equipment, working time, organization of work and working processes to the physical and mental capacities of workers;
(c) the necessary training and complementary training, the qualifications and motivation of persons involved, either in a capacity or another, in order to achieve adequate levels of safety and hygiene;
(d) communication and cooperation at the working group and enterprise level and at all other appropriate levels to the national level included;
(e) the protection of workers and their representatives against any disciplinary action resulting from actions carried out by them in good law in accordance with the policy referred to in Article 4 above.
Article 6
The formulation of the policy referred to in Article 4 above should specify the respective functions and responsibilities in the areas of safety, health of workers and workplaces, public authorities, employers, workers and other interested persons, taking into account the complementary nature of these responsibilities, as well as national conditions and practice.
Article 7
The safety, health and work environment situation will need to be addressed at appropriate intervals by an overall review or review of specific sectors with a view to identifying major issues, identifying effective ways to address them, and setting priorities for action, and assessing results.
Part III. - Action at the national level
Article 8
Any Member shall, by law or regulation or by any other method consistent with national conditions and practice, and in consultation with the representative organizations of employers and interested workers, take the necessary measures to give effect to section 4 above.
Article 9
1. The monitoring of the application of laws and safety, hygiene and work environment requirements must be ensured by an appropriate and adequate inspection system.
2. The control system shall provide appropriate sanctions in the event of violations of laws or requirements.
Article 10
Measures should be taken to provide advice to employers and workers to help them comply with their legal obligations.
Article 11
Under the measures to give effect to the policy referred to in Article 4 above, the competent authority or authorities shall progressively perform the following functions:
(a) the determination, there or the nature and degree of risk require, of the conditions governing the design, construction and development of enterprises, their exploitation, the significant transformations to be made or any modification of their primary destination, as well as the safety of the technical equipment used at work and the application of procedures defined by the competent authorities;
(b) the determination of work processes that must be prohibited, limited or subject to the authorization or control of the competent authority or authorities, as well as the determination of substances and agents to which any exposure must be prohibited, limited or subject to the authorization or control of the competent authority or authorities; health risks that are caused by simultaneous exposure to multiple substances or agents must be considered;
(c) the establishment and application of procedures for reporting occupational accidents and occupational diseases by employers and, where appropriate, by insurance institutions and other directly interested organizations or persons; and the establishment of annual statistics on occupational accidents and diseases;
(d) the conduct of investigations where an occupational accident, occupational illness or other health impairment occurring during or related to work appears to reflect serious situations;
(e) the annual publication of information on measures taken pursuant to the policy referred to in Article 4 above, as well as on occupational accidents, occupational diseases and other health-related injuries occurring in or related to work;
(f) the introduction or development, taking into account national conditions and opportunities, of systems for the investigation of chemical, physical or biological agents, from the perspective of their risk to the health of workers.
Article 12
Measures must be taken in accordance with national legislation and practice so that persons who design, manufacture, import, circulate or otherwise dispose of machinery, equipment or substances for professional use:
(a) ensure that, to the extent reasonably and practically feasible, the machinery, equipment or substances in question do not pose a danger to the safety and health of persons who use them correctly;
(b) provide information on the proper installation and use of machinery and equipment as well as the correct use of substances, the risks of machinery and equipment and the dangerous characteristics of chemical substances, physical and biological agents or products, as well as instructions on how to protect against known risks;
(c) conduct studies and research or be aware in any other way of the evolution of scientific and technical knowledge, in order to fulfil their obligations under (a) and (b) above.
Article 13
A worker who withdrew from a work situation of which he had a reasonable ground to believe that he was present an imminent and serious danger to his life or health must be protected from unjustified consequences, in accordance with national conditions and practice.
Article 14
Steps should be taken to encourage, in a manner consistent with national conditions and practice, the inclusion of safety, hygiene and workplace issues in education and training programs at all levels, including in technical, medical and vocational higher education, to meet the training needs of all workers.
Article 15
1. In order to ensure the coherence of the policy referred to in Article 4 above and the measures taken pursuant to this policy, any Member shall, after consultation, adopt, as early as possible, with the organizations of the most representative employers and workers, and, where appropriate, with other appropriate bodies, adopt provisions in accordance with national conditions and practice, to ensure the necessary coordination between the various authorities and the various bodies responsible for giving effect to Parties II.
2. Whenever circumstances so require and national conditions and practice permit, these provisions must include the institution of a central body.
Part IV. - Corporate action
Article 16
1. Employers should be required to ensure that, to the extent reasonably and practically feasible, workplaces, machinery, equipment and work processes under their control do not pose a risk to the safety and health of workers.
2. Employers should be required to ensure that, to the extent that this is reasonable and practically feasible, controlled chemicals and chemical, physical and biological agents do not pose a health risk when appropriate protection is provided.
3. Employers will be required to provide, where necessary, appropriate protective clothing and protective equipment to prevent, to the extent that this is reasonable and practically feasible, the risks of accidents or adverse health effects.
Article 17
Each time a number of companies engage in activities at the same workplace, they must work together to implement the provisions of this Convention.
Article 18
Employers must be required to provide, where necessary, measures to deal with emergencies and accidents, including sufficient means for the administration of first aid.
Article 19
Arrangements must be made at the company level under which:
(a) workers, as part of their work, will cooperate in fulfilling the obligations of the employer;
(b) workers' representatives in the company will cooperate with the employer in the field of occupational safety and hygiene;
(c) Workers' representatives in the company will receive sufficient information regarding the measures taken by the employer to ensure safety and health; they may consult with their representative organizations on this information, provided that they do not disclose commercial secrets;
(d) workers and their representatives in the company will receive appropriate training in the field of occupational safety and hygiene;
(e) workers or their representatives and, where appropriate, their representative organizations in the enterprise shall be empowered, in accordance with national legislation and practice, to examine all aspects of safety and health related to their work and shall be consulted on them by the employer; for this purpose, it may be appealed, by mutual agreement, to technical advisers taken outside the company;
(f) the worker shall immediately report to his or her direct supervisor any situation that he or she has a reasonable ground to believe is an imminent and serious danger to his or her life or health and, until the employer has taken steps to remedy it, if necessary, the worker may not ask the worker to resume work in a situation where an imminent and serious danger to life or health persists.
Rule 20
The cooperation of employers and workers and/or their representatives in the company should be an essential element of the arrangements made in the organization and in other areas, pursuant to Articles 16 to 19 above.
Article 21
Occupational safety and hygiene measures must not result in any expenditure on workers.
Part V. - Final provisions
Article 22
This Convention shall not review any Convention or international recommendation of existing work.
Article 23
The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office and recorded by him.
Article 24
1. This Convention shall be binding only on Members of the International Labour Organization whose ratification has been registered by the Director General.
2. It will enter into force twelve months after the ratifications of two Members have been registered by the Director-General.
3. Subsequently, the Convention shall enter into force for each Member twelve months after the date of its ratification.
Rule 25
1. Any Member who has ratified this Convention may denounce it at the expiry of a period of ten years after the date of the initial implementation of the Convention, by an act communicated to the Director General of the International Labour Office and registered to it. The denunciation will only take effect one year after being registered.
2. Any Member that has ratified this Convention that, within one year after the expiration of the ten-year period referred to in the preceding paragraph, shall not make use of the denunciation faculty provided for in this Article shall be bound by a further ten-year period and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiry of each ten-year period under the conditions provided for in this Article.
Rule 26
1. The Director General of the International Labour Office will notify all Members of the International Labour Organization of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations that will be communicated to it by the Members of the Organization.
2. In notifying the Members of the Organization the registration of the second ratification that has been communicated to it, the Director-General will draw the attention of the Members of the Organization to the date on which this Convention will enter into force.
Rule 27
The Director General of the International Labour Office will provide the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for registration, in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations, with full information on all ratifications and denunciation that he has registered in accordance with the preceding articles.
Rule 28
Each time it deems it necessary, the Board of Directors of the International Labour Office will present to the General Conference a report on the implementation of this Convention and will consider whether it is necessary to include in the agenda of the Conference the question of its total or partial revision.
Rule 29
1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention for the full or partial revision of this Convention, and unless the new Convention otherwise provides:
(a) the ratification by a Member of the new revision Convention would entail full right, notwithstanding article 25 above, immediate denunciation of this Convention, provided that the new revision Convention has entered into force;
(b) from the date of the entry into force of the new Review Convention, this Convention would cease to be open to ratification by Members.
2. This Convention would in any case remain in force in its form and content for those Members who have ratified it and who would not ratify the Review Convention.
Rule 30
The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authentic.
The above text is the authentic text of the Convention duly adopted by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization at its sixty-seventh session, held in Geneva and declared closed on 24 June 1981.
In faith, their signatures were signed this twenty-fifth day of June 1981.

Convention No. 155 on Safety and Health of Workers, adopted at Geneva on 22 June 1981 by the General Conference of the International Labour Organization