Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in 2007, in response to its previous comments, and the annual reports on labour inspection activities for the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. It notes with interest the creation of the labour inspectorate as a body within the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, following the entry into force of the Law on Ministries in 2007. The Committee further notes the comments of the Union of Employers of Serbia and the observations of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia communicated with the Government’s report on 11 October 2007.

Article 3, paragraphs 1(a) and 2, of the Convention. Action against illegal employment, and monitoring of legislation relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the labour inspectorate’s priority for 2007 was again the fight against illegal employment through targeted and unannounced inspections. Even if inspection activities targeting illegal employment can also be an opportunity to monitor the application of the legal provisions relating to the conditions of work and the protection of workers, the Committee underlines, in its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection (paragraphs 75–78), that when labour inspectors are invested with the function of verifying the legality of employment, the exercise of such function should have as its corollary the reinstatement of the statutory rights of all the workers if it is to be compatible with the objective of labour inspection. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the follow-up measures taken to this end in such cases of infringement with regard to workers engaged in illegal employment and their employers.

Article 3, paragraph 1(b). Preventive role of the labour inspectorate in the field of occupational safety and health. The Committee notes that, in accordance with the 2005 Law on Safety and Health at Work (hereinafter the OSH Law), labour inspectors shall provide information and advice to employers and workers and to their organizations in the area of occupational safety and health (section 63(6)). It notes with interest the implementation of a new policy regarding health and safety of workers in small and medium-sized enterprises, according to which regular inspection visits focus on prevention through information and education. In order to improve the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases and to enforce the relevant legal provisions, the labour inspectorate recommends a set of measures in its 2007 report, such as the establishment of efficient cooperation with all the services and institutions dealing with prevention, including the social partners, the intensification of media campaigns, particularly in high-risk sectors, and the development of promotional material for public information. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on any action taken or envisaged further to these recommendations to reinforce the preventive role of labour inspectors.

The Committee notes with interest that, as provided for by Part I (Paragraphs 1–3) of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), labour inspectors are responsible for supervising the fulfilment of health and safety requirements in establishments prior to the beginning of their business activities, under the Law on Private Entrepreneurs and the Law on Companies.

Articles 5(a) and 18. Effective cooperation of labour inspection services with government institutions and with the judicial system. Adequate penalties imposed and effectively enforced. The Committee notes the allegations of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia, according to which the system of penalties against employers is not efficient. It observes that the annual report for 2007 states the number of requests instituting minor offence proceedings (5,942) and the number of criminal reports (22) established by labour inspectors, without indicating how these requests and reports were processed once they were transmitted by the labour inspectors to the competent authorities. However, according to this report, a closer cooperation was established with the Ministry of Justice and the bodies dealing with minor offences. Furthermore, guidelines for the institution of the minor offence proceedings were issued by the director of the labour inspectorate and sent to all departments and sections with a view to improving the efficiency of labour inspectors in drafting the requests for instituting such proceedings. The Committee requests the Government to supply information regarding the follow-up by the competent authorities to the requests and reports on offences committed, particularly on the penalties imposed, and to indicate how it is ensured that these penalties are effectively enforced. With reference to its general observation of 2007 in which it emphasizes the importance of developing effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the judicial authorities, the Committee encourages the Government to continue to take measures to strengthen such cooperation.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Adequate initial and further training of labour inspectors. In response to the Committee’s request on the training of labour inspectors, the Government refers to section 62 of the OSH Law which prescribes the qualifications required for being recruited to perform inspection activities in the field of occupational safety and health as a labour inspector. However, it adds that the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy does not have a training centre for labour inspectors or any special programme for basic and advanced training for labour inspectors. New inspectors receive in-house training from more experienced colleagues, and conferences, consultations and seminars are organized on the application of the Law on Labour and the OSH Law, the list of which is in the annual report. The Committee notes, in this regard, the allegation of the Union of Employers of Serbia, according to which, following the restructuring of the labour inspectorate as a single body, labour inspectors are not provided with adequate training to perform both legal and technical supervision. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on any measures envisaged or taken to ensure that labour inspectors receive more adequate training with regard to the complexity of their missions.

Article 8. Gender balance within the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes with interest that the numbers of men and women in managerial positions (head of department and head of section) in the labour inspectorate are equal (15).

Articles 12, paragraph 1, and 18. Penalties for obstructing labour inspectors in the performance of their duties, particularly with regard to their right of free entry in establishments. The Committee notes that section 273(10) of the 2005 Labour Law and section 69, paragraph 1(32) of the 2005 OSH Law set fines in cases where a labour inspector is prevented from conducting an inspection. In its communication, the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia alleges that labour inspectors are occasionally denied the right to enter a workplace for inspection purposes, particularly in new private enterprises. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information in response to this allegation. It requests the Government to indicate if any acts of obstruction were reported by labour inspectors to the central inspection authority and, if so, to describe the penalties imposed and the proceedings followed to ensure their effective enforcement. The Government is further requested to supply information on the legal provisions governing the right of labour inspectors to enter workplaces liable to inspection, as prescribed by Article 12, paragraph 1(a) and (b), of the Convention.

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. In its report for 2007, the labour inspectorate observes that, despite the existence of a legal obligation for an employer to notify occupational accidents and diseases (section 50 of the OSH Law), the actual system is not efficient. With regard to industrial accidents, the inspectorate reports difficulties due to differences in the methodological approaches used to record, process and evaluate the information on accidents as well as a lack of effective communication and exchange of information among the institutions concerned. It also states that the notification of occupational diseases is sporadic and inadequate and that, as a result, data concerning such diseases are incomplete. Drawing the Government’s attention to the 1996 ILO code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases which offers guidance in this respect, the Committee requests it to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to strengthen the efficiency of the system for recording and notifying occupational accidents and diseases and to encourage the collaboration of all institutions concerned for that purpose, with a view to reducing their occurrence.

Article 21. Content of the annual report. The Committee notes with interest that the report contains detailed information on the labour inspection activities for 2007 and wishes to underline the quality of this information. However, the Committee observes that it does not contain some of the statistical data necessary for the appraisal of the scope of competence of the labour inspection system. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the total number of industrial and commercial establishments under the supervision of the labour inspectorate and the number of workers employed therein will be included in the next annual report. Moreover, in order to assess the coverage of labour inspection, the Committee would also be grateful if the Government would indicate, in addition to the number of inspections carried out, the number of establishments visited. With reference to the above comments under Article 18 of the Convention, the Committee emphasizes that Article 21(e) requires the inclusion in the annual report of statistics of penalties imposed, and hopes that the next annual report on the work of inspection services will also contain such information.