A.—sc.

Recommendation (No. 54) concerning Inspection in the Building Industry. 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 Twenty-third Session on 3rd June, 1937, and Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to inspection in the building industry which is included in the first item on the agenda of the session, and Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a recommendation, adopts, this twenty-third day of June, of the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, the following recommendation, which may be cited as the Inspection (Building) Recommendation, 1937 : Whereas the Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937, and the Safety Provisions (Building) Recommendation, 1937, contain provisions relating to labour inspection Whereas the Conference adopted at its Fifth Session (1923) a recommendation concerning labour inspection: And whereas it is nevertheless desirable that as regards the building industry the attention of members should be drawn to certain other provisions not included in the above-mentioned Convention and recommendations : The Conference recommends that each member of the International Labour Organization should take the following principles and rules into consideration as regards inspection in the building industry:— 1. All work in connection with the construction, repair, alteration, maintenance, and demolition of buildings of all kinds should be subject to inspection. 2. The authority responsible for inspection (hereinafter called the inspection authority) should be a public body and should have all powers necessary to ensure that the laws and regulations in force are strictly applied. 3. Inspectors should have previous technical training and have passed examinations covering all suitable technical and administrative matters which should ensure that they are competent to supervise effectively the enforcement of the safety regulations for the workers employed in the building industry. 4. In order to ensure effective collaboration between the inspection authority and the head of the undertaking, national laws or regulations should make the head of the undertaking responsible— (a) For providing for constant and adequate supervision of the work so as to ensure compliance with the safety provisions in force ; {b) For taking all other practicable steps necessary to prevent accidents, and, in particular, for not employing on work likely to involve risk of accidents any person whom he knows to be deaf, of defective vision, or liable to giddiness ; (c) For informing the inspection authority, in conformity with the national laws or regulations, of the commencement of all building operations undertaken by him ; and (d) For reporting to the competent authority, in accordance with the national laws or regulations, accidents occurring in the undertaking. Recommendation (No. 55) concerning Co-operation in Accident-prevention in the Building Industry. 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 Twenty-third Session on 3rd June, 1937, and Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to co-operation in accident-prevention in the building industry, which is included in the first item on the agenda of the session, and Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a recommendation, adopts, this twenty-third day of June, of the year one thousand nine hundred and thirty-seven, the following recommendation, which may be cited as the Co-operation in Accident Prevention (Building) Recommendation, 1937 : Whereas it is considered that in addition to the Safety Provisions (Building) Convention, 1937, the Safety Provisions (Building) Recommendation, 1937, the Inspection (Building) Recommendation', 1937, and the Prevention of Industrial Accidents Recommendation, 1929, it is desirable to make a specific recommendation concerning the prevention of accidents in the building industry by means of organizations : The Conference recommends that each member of the International Labour Organization should take the following principles and rules into consideration in connection with accident prevention in the building industry : 1. There should be established safety organizations within the industry to secure the collaboration of all concerned in effecting a reduction in the number and severity of accidents with particular regard to accident risks for which there are no statutory requirements. 2. In order to render this collaboration effective there should be set up within each undertaking, where it is possible, a special safety organization including representatives of the employer and the persons employed. 3. It would also be desirable to have direct collaboration between the competent inspector, the employer, and the representatives of the persons employed in the undertaking in the form and within the limits fixed by the inspection authority. 4. Safety propaganda in the building industry would be more effective if there were constant co-operation between the inspection authority and all the organizations concerned : safety organizations (joint or separate) of employers and workers ; trade-unions' and employers' associations ; associations of architects or engineers ; standards associations, &c. ; accident-insurance institutions (public, semiofficial, or private).

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