I n t e r n a t i o n a l To o l s f o r P r e v e n t i n g L o c a l P e s t i c i d e P r o b l e m s : A Consolidated Guide to the Chemical Codes & Conventions
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To address such problems, the national legislation can require the employer to ensure that workers receive comprehensive instruction on safety and health issues and any necessary guidance or supervision, taking into account their level of education and differences in language. This would of course include informing agricultural workers of the hazards and risks associated with their work and of the action to be taken for their protection. A similar obligation to provide information on risks could be placed on the retailer who sells pesticides to farmers.
The right to have training. The ILO Conventions highlight the importance of training as a preventive and protective measure. The national legislation should require the employer of agricultural workers to provide adequate and appropriate training as well as any guidance or supervision necessary to ensure correct handling of pesticides. To ensure proper training, including of farmers, government authorities may need to be involved, e.g., by developing training materials and educational programmes and by providing appropriate trainings to meet the needs of agricultural employers and workers as well as self-employed farmers. Government could create partnerships with employers, pesticide and protective equipment industries as well as universities to carry out training courses. Civil society organisations, and in particular trade unions also have an important role to play in delivering training to farmers at local level. The Code of Conduct notes that governments need to give special attention to drafting rules and regulations on the availability of pesticides that are compatible with existing levels of users training and parameters.246 The right to protective clothing and equipment. The label or safety data sheet of a pesticide may specify that certain protective clothing and safety equipment should be used during handling and use. Such instructions are not to be taken lightly. They are conditions set by public authorities at the time of registration in order to reduce the risk to the user handling or applying the pesticide. The Code of Conduct notes that preference should be given to pesticides that require inexpensive personal protective and application equipment procedures appropriate to the conditions of handling and use, including climatic conditions.247 However, it is not uncommon for pesticides to be applied without appropriate protective clothing and safety equipment – whether due to lack of awareness, lack of resources for purchasing the necessary equipment, or because the protective clothing and equipment is too uncomfortable under the conditions of handling and use. The international instruments specify that protective clothing and equipment should be: •
Manufactured according to recognised national or international standards;
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Affordable;
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Adapted to the local conditions of use, including climatic conditions and pose low risks;
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Maintained, repaired and cleaned after use;
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Provided to workers at no cost.
Compliance with these requirements implies different duties for public authorities, the pesticide industry, employers and employees. Public authorities could, for example, establish national standards for protective clothing and equipment, application equipment, and so on, and then ensure compliance by only permitting the marketing of clothing and equipment meeting those standards.
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Art. 10.1(a) & (b) and Art. 9.5 of the Stockholm Convention.
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Art. 7.1 of the Code of Conduct.
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Art. 3.5 of the Code of Conduct.
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The Stockholm Convention includes a broad obligation to inform decision makers and the public at large about POPs, particularly information related to health and safety of humans and the environment.245 Information on alternatives is also to be provided. This could be distributed through safety data sheets but also within a more general strategy or information campaigns on POPs, particularly in agricultural areas if there is concern that POPs are being sold and used illegally.