Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2002, published 91st ILC session (2003)

The Committee notes the Government’s information in reply to its general observation of 1999, the reports drawn up by the General Directorate of Labour and Labour Legislation concerning, firstly, the activities of the inspection services for 1999 and, secondly, a synthesis of reports of the external labour services for 1998. It also notes the Government’s partial replies to its previous direct request.

Labour inspection and child labour. With reference to its general observation of 1999, the Committee notes that the Government ratified the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), in 2001 and has launched various awareness-raising activities with regard to child labour in the context of the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC). In particular, it notes with interest the measures taken to train labour inspectors in this field and the implementation by the ministries responsible for labour and justice, in collaboration with IPEC, of a programme to strengthen the relevant institutions. The Government is requested to provide full particulars on the progress made in the revision of the Labour Code with a view to strengthening the statutory means for supervising the application of legal provisions respecting child labour, as well as information on the impact of the above activities.

Article 6 of the Convention. With reference to its repeated comments concerning the application of this provision, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide the information requested on the distribution of labour inspection staff as a function of their status as public officials or non-titularized state employees.

Article 8. Please provide the information requested in the Committee’s previous comments concerning the difficulties which, according to the Government, explain the low numbers of women staff in the labour inspectorate.

Article 12, paragraph 1(c). With reference to its previous comments, in which it noted the absence of legal provision conferring upon labour inspectors the powers of investigation set out in points (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) of this provision, the Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to take the opportunity of the revision of the provisions of its labour laws and regulations to ensure that they provide for such powers, which are indispensable for the effective discharge of labour inspection duties.

Articles 10, 11 and 16. The Committee notes that, in addition to the inadequacy of the geographical distribution of the staff of provincial labour services, and despite the slight general increase in relation to 1998, the Government’s announcement in its 1995 report of a five-year programme for the additional recruitment of 40 labour inspectors has not been given effect. Indeed, the Committee notes that the numbers of labour inspectors fell from 28 to ten between 1995 and 1999. However, it notes the indication that there was a substantial increase in the number of inspections between 1998 and 1999 following an improvement in transport facilities and the recruitment of eight new inspectors. The Government is requested to indicate in its next report the number and geographical distribution of workplaces liable to inspection, and of the vehicles available to labour inspectors, and to ensure that future annual reports on the activities of the inspection services contain indications of the type of inspections undertaken (routine inspections; inspections to verify the implementation of injunctions; thematic inspections).

Article 11. With reference to the information concerning the poor condition of the buildings housing the labour inspection services and the lack of equipment due to the inadequacy of the budget assigned to the labour administration, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to improve the situation.

Article 14. Please indicate whether, as advocated by the Committee in its previous comments, measures have been taken to ensure the coordination between the central authority responsible for health and the labour inspectorate with a view to the development of an appropriate system for the recording and notification of occupational diseases, and please provide copies, as appropriate, of any relevant text.

Articles 20 and 21. While noting the reports on the activities of the labour inspectorate provided to the ILO for 1998 and 1999, the Committee wishes to indicate that such reports cannot act as annual reports as required by these provisions of the Convention. In practice, a large part of the reports is devoted to the activities of the inspection services for the settlement of labour disputes and in relation to labour relations (trade union activities and the representation of workers), which are not the functions with which labour inspectors should principally be entrusted in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention. In contrast, they contain no information on such important matters as the number of workplaces liable to inspection, the number of workers employed therein, statistics of the penalties imposed in the event of violations of the legal provisions which the labour inspectorate is responsible for supervising, and statistics of industrial accidents and occupational diseases. The Committee cannot over-emphasize the value of compiling such information in a synthesis document with a view to an annual evaluation by the central labour inspection authority of the functioning of the inspection system with a view to its constant adaptation to national conditions within a framework of tripartite dialogue and, at the international level, to allow the ILO supervisory bodies to assess the extent to which the Convention is applied and to supply useful pointers to improve its application. The Government is therefore requested to take the necessary measures to ensure that an annual report on the activities of the inspection services, containing information on each of the matters enumerated in Article 21(a) to (g), is published by the central authority so that it is accessible to any interested person, and particularly to the social partners, and that it is transmitted to the ILO within the time limits set out in Article 20.