[Senate Treaty Document 106-8]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress 
 1st Session                     SENATE                     Treaty Doc.
                                                                  106-8
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



 
      CONVENTION (NO. 176) CONCERNING SAFETY AND HEALTH IN MINES

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

CONVENTION (NO. 176) CONCERNING SAFETY AND HEALTH IN MINES, ADOPTED BY 
  THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR CONFERENCE AT ITS 82ND SESSION IN GENEVA ON 
                             JUNE 22, 1995




 September 9, 1999.--Convention was read the first time, and together 
  with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate

                                 ______

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-118                      WASHINGTON : 1999



                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                The White House, September 9, 1999.
To the Senate of the United States:
    With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the 
Senate to ratification of the Convention (No. 176) Concerning 
Safety and Health in Mines, adopted by the International Labor 
Conference at its 82nd Session in Geneva on June 22, 1995, I 
transmit herewith a certified copy of that Convention.
    The report of the Department of State, with a letter from 
the Secretary of Labor, concerning the Convention is enclosed.
    As explained more fully in the enclosed letter from the 
Secretary of Labor, current United States law and practice 
fully satisfies the requirements of Convention No. 176. 
Ratification of this Convention, therefore, would not require 
the United States to alter in any way its law or practice in 
this field.
    Ratification of additional ILO conventions will enhance the 
ability of the United States to take other governments to task 
for failing to comply with the ILO instruments they have 
ratified. I recommend that the Senate give its advice and 
consent to the ratification of ILO Convention No. 176.

                                                William J. Clinton.
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                          Washington, July 6, 1999.
The President,
The White House.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you, with the 
recommendation that it be transmitted to the Senate for advice 
and consent to ratification, a certified copy of the Convention 
(No. 176) Concerning Safety and Health in Mines, adopted by the 
International Labor Conference at its 82nd Session in Geneva on 
June 22, 1995.
    In general, the Convention obligates ratifying countries to 
formulate, carry out and periodically review a coherent policy 
on safety and health in mines. The Secretary of Labor, in her 
enclosed letter of June 15, 1999, provides additional details 
concerning the Convention. As she notes, ratification of 
Convention No. 176 will be an important step in terms of U.S. 
participation in the ILO. All interested departments and 
agencies concur in that view.
    I am pleased to join with the Secretary of Labor in 
recommending that the Convention be transmitted to the Senate 
for advice and consent to ratification, a step which is 
consistent with our policy of support for and active 
participation in the work of the ILO.
    Respectfully submitted,
                                                     Strobe Talbot.
                          U.S. Department of Labor,
                                        Secretary of Labor,
                                     Washington, DC, June 15, 1999.
Hon. Madeleine Albright,
Secretary of State,
Department of State, Washington, DC.
    Dear Secretary Albright: I am writing to request that you 
submit to the President, for transmittal to the Senate with a 
request for advice and consent to U.S. ratification, Convention 
No. 176 concerning Safety and Health in Mines, adopted by the 
International Labor Conference at its 82nd Session on June 22, 
1995.
    Convention No. 176 obligates ratifying states, in 
consultation with employers' and workers' organizations, to 
formulate, carry out and periodically review a coherent policy 
on safety and health in mines, and to develop national laws and 
regulations to ensure implementation of the Convention's 
provisions. Steps to be taken include supervision and 
inspection of mines and maintenance of procedures for reporting 
and investigating accidents and occupational diseases. The 
Convention applies to all mines, both surface and underground 
sites. In regard to preventive and protective measures at the 
mine, the instrument sets forth the responsibilities of 
employers and the rights and duties of workers and their 
representatives.
    As Chairman of the President's Committee on the ILO, I have 
been presented with the report of our Tripartite Advisory Panel 
on International Labor Standards (TAPILS) with the Panel's 
conclusions that there are no legal impediments to U.S. 
ratification of Convention No. 176.
    TAPILS undertook an extensive review of Convention No. 176 
which included a detailed examination of the precise meaning 
and obligations of the Convention and of how U.S. law and 
practice comport with its provisions. A tripartite working 
group from the Panel also met and corresponded with experts 
from the International Labor Office in Geneva, Switzerland, to 
ensure that the ILO shared TAPILS' assessment that the U.S. is 
in full compliance with the Convention.
    Having reviewed TAPILS' legal findings, the President's 
Committee has unanimously agreed to recommend that the 
President transmit Convention No. 176 to the Senate with a 
request for advice and consent to ratification.
    I am enclosing the TAPILS report along with a detailed 
statement of how U.S. law and practice comport with the 
Convention. The law and practice statement was also prepared 
under TAPILS' guidance.
    I and the other members of the President's Committee 
believe that ratification of Convention No. 176 will be an 
important step in terms of U.S. participation in the ILO. I 
hope that Senate consideration can be requested as 
expeditiously as possible.
            Sincerely,
                                                  Alexis M. Herman.
    Enclosures.
    
    
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