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Safety and Health at Work > International Conventions

Safety and Health at Work



International Conventions

The Republic of Cyprus is a member of the Council of Europe, which was founded after World War II, to achieve a closer cooperation among its members in an effort to safeguard and develop the ideals and principles vested among them and to facilitate economic and social progress.

The Republic of Cyprus has ratified all fundamental Conventions of the Council of Europe. As far as the basic human freedoms and rights are concerned, Cyprus ratified the following Conventions:
  • the European Social Charter of 1961, which complements the protection of civil and political rights provided by the European Convention of Human Rights, consolidating the fundamental social rights,
  • the Amending Protocol to the Charter of 1991 with which the monitoring mechanism of the Charter was improved,
  • the Additional Protocol of 1995 providing for a System of Collective Complaints, and
  • the Revised European Social Charter of 1996, which revised and complemented, with the addition of new fundamental articles, the essential protection provided by the Charter of 1961.

The European Social Charter and its amendments includes a number of articles that refer to the basic human rights and the fundamental freedoms that the member states of the Council of Europe should promote and develop in order to ensure an improvement of the living standards and the well being of their citizens.

The Revised European Social Charter was ratified by the Republic of Cyprus through the Revised European Social Charter of 1996 (Ratification) Law of 2000 (L. 27(III)/2000).

The full text of the Revised European Social Charter of 1996 in the English language resides at the official website of the Council of Europe at the following address:
Among the articles of the above Charter, article 3 refers to the right to safe and healthy working conditions. The full text of article 3 is the following:

Article 3 – The right to safe and healthy working conditions

With a view to ensuring the effective exercise of the right to safe and healthy working conditions, the Parties undertake, in consultation with employers' and workers' organisations:
  1. to formulate, implement and periodically review a coherent national policy on occupational safety, occupational health and the working environment. The primary aim of this policy shall be to improve occupational safety and health and to prevent accidents and injury to health arising out of, linked with or occurring in the course of work, particularly by minimising the causes of hazards inherent in the working environment;
  2. to issue safety and health regulations;
  3. to provide for the enforcement of such regulations by measures of supervision;
  4. to promote the progressive development of occupational health services for all workers with essentially preventive and advisory functions.

Note: Cyprus has not ratified paragraph 4 of article 3.

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