Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 1987, publiée 74ème session CIT (1987)

1. Further to its observation of 1985 on the adoption of the Atomic Energy (Factories) Rules, 1984, the Committee notes a communication from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) to the effect that the workers' organisations had not been consulted before the said Rules were adopted and had not been furnished with a copy of those Rules. In its comments on the matters raised by the CITU the Government states that the text of the Atomic Energy (Factories) Rules, 1984, was published in the Gazette of India under 6SR No. 782 dated 21 July 1984 and hence is a public document: however a copy has now been sent to the CITU. The Government further states that representatives of employers and workers were not consulted before the Rules were adopted because the Atomic Energy Act of 1962 under which the Rules were adopted does not provide for any such consultation. The Committee recalls that under Article 1 of the Convention, in applying the provisions of the Convention, the competent authority shall consult with representatives of employers and workers. The Committee hopes that the Government will ensure that in the future, representatives of employers and workers are duly consulted on the measures taken to apply the Convention as required by Article 1.

2. The Committee also notes that the communication received from the CITU indicated that the Atomic Energy (Factories) Rules, 1984 do not fix exposure limits for workers who are not directly engaged in radiation work in accordance with Article 8 of the Convention. The Rules, in fact, do not fix permissible exposure limits for any workers, whether they are directly or indirectly engaged in radiation work. In this regard, the Committee notes from the information supplied by the Government that in pursuance of section 23 of the Atomic Energy Act, 1962, the exposure level for workers who are not occupational radiation workers is fixed at 5 mSv/year, which is in accordance with the current recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection and thus in compliance with Article 8 of the Convention.

3. Further, the Committee notes the information in the CITU's communication and in the Government's report concerning the medical examination of seafarers who may have been subject to radiation exposure as a result of their passage through the Black Sea during the fall-out from Chernobyl. The Committee notes the Government's statement that the affected seafarers were given appropriate medical examinations and that an agreement has been reached between the Shipping Corporation of India, Ltd., and the Forward Seamen's Union of India, under which the SCI undertakes responsibility for the medical treatment of the concerned crew, in accordance with Article 13 of the Convention.