Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Burkina Faso (Ratification: 1974)

Other comments on C129

Observation

Direct Request

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Articles 26 and 27 of the Convention. Availability of information to evaluate the application of the Convention in practice, statistics of agricultural undertakings liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein. The Committee notes that the annual labour inspection report for 2007, received by the Committee in 2009, contains at least some information on labour inspection activities in agriculture, or rather joint information relating to the sectors of agriculture, hunting, forestry and fisheries. The Committee notes that this information is limited to the number of agricultural enterprises inspected, which was 24, with 778 workers, and the number of industrial accidents registered in the sector, which was 19. While the Committee notes the efforts made to provide separate information on agriculture, this information alone does not allow an assessment to be made of the application of the Convention, particularly as there is still no information available on the number of agricultural undertakings liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein. In this regard, the Committee notes the information provided under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that the Government envisages a census of enterprises liable to inspection, and has requested ILO technical assistance for this purpose, which the Committee hopes will result in a better understanding of the situation in agriculture and enable the determination of needs in this sector. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the progress made in the establishment of a register of enterprises. It hopes that the identification of the agricultural undertakings liable to inspection (number of undertakings, activities, size and location) and the workers engaged therein (number and categories) will enable the Government to carry out an objective assessment of the situation with a view to adequate priority setting and the allocation of appropriate financial resources.

It further requests the Government to make every effort to publish an annual report on the work of the inspection system in agriculture, either as a separate report or as part of the general annual report on labour inspection, and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard.

Article 6. Enforcement and preventive activities in the field of occupational safety and health in agriculture. The Committee notes the reference to the ratification in 2008 of the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001 (No. 184), which, according to the Government, is an expression of its commitment to invest in the agricultural sector and to implement the present Convention more effectively. Noting the commitment expressed by the Government, the Committee asks it to provide information on any specific preventive measures carried out by the labour inspectorate in agriculture, particularly in areas that have been identified as having a high incidence of industrial accidents.

The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the outcome of inspections carried out in the agricultural sector and any other data on the application in practice of the legislation on labour inspection in agriculture and its impact in terms of improving the conditions of work of agricultural workers and, where appropriate, their living conditions and those of their families in agricultural undertakings.

Article 9 of the Convention. Specific skills and training of inspectors for the performance of their duties in agricultural undertakings. The Committee notes, from the information provided under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), that the initial training provided to new recruits to the grades of labour inspectors and controllers during two-year courses at the National School of Administration and Law (ENAM) covers, among other subjects, occupational medicine and occupational safety and health. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether the training courses at the ENAM also include areas particularly relevant to agriculture, such as the handling of chemicals and pesticides, personal protective equipment, the requirements of the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001 (No. 184), etc., and whether labour inspectors are also provided with training sessions in the course of their employment in areas particularly relevant to agriculture.

Labour inspection and child labour in agriculture. The Committee once again asks the Government to describe the measures taken by the labour inspectorate, and the progress achieved, with a view to securing the enforcement of legal provisions relating to the employment of children and young persons in the agricultural sector.