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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Guinea (Ratification: 1959)

Other comments on C081

Observation

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Articles 1, 3, 4, 7, 10 and 11 of the Convention. Functioning of the labour inspectorate and available means of action. The Committee recalls that since 2005 it has expressed concern at the persistent inadequacy of the means of action available to the labour inspection service. It notes with interest that in the first report it has sent since 2006, the Government indicates that 80 new officials have been assigned to the labour inspectorate, and seeks support from the ILO to devise a programme of training for labour controllers and inspectors to provide the new officials with the requisite qualifications. The Committee nonetheless notes with concern that, according to the Government, the means of action available to the labour inspectorate – apart from a four-wheel drive vehicle made available to the General Labour Inspector – are scarce owing to the austerity plan the country has adopted. The Committee observes that, consequently, only 11 technical inspection visits for occupational safety and health were conducted in 2011. However, inspectors appear to devote much of their time to tasks that go beyond their main duties, such as dispute settlement, supervision of union elections, the negotiation of social claims, study of the internal rules of enterprises and job classifications. The Committee concludes from this that there is no real distinction between labour inspection and labour administration. It further notes with concern from the Government’s report on Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) that, according to an inquiry conducted by the National Committee against Corruption and for Economic and Financial Accountability (CNLC) in 2004, the General Labour Inspectorate is cited as one of the least effective public services. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report on Convention No. 150 that the Government requested assistance from the ILO for a study on the organization and functioning of the Ministry of Labour and the Public Service with a view to regrouping the labour administration services into a single department and building their capacity, and that the study was to be validated in the first quarter of 2012. The Committee hopes that the study will afford an opportunity to draw a clear distinction between the functions of the labour administration system and those of the labour inspectorate more particularly. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that it plans to make the necessary arrangements to provide the labour inspectorate with more resources to enable it to operate effectively, and that it will keep the ILO informed as soon as conditions allow.

The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to reinforce the resources, functioning and coordination of the labour inspection system to enable it to meet the requirements of the Convention. It asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken gradually to relieve labour inspectors of duties other than the labour inspection duties set out in Article 3(1) of the Convention, namely the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers. It also invites the Government to make a formal request to the ILO for technical assistance in training new inspectors and to extend its request to cover support in seeking the necessary sources in the context of international cooperation to provide the labour inspectorate with the material means it needs to perform its duties, including transport facilities suited to conditions in the country. It asks the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures taken or envisaged to these ends.

Articles 5, 20 and 21. Annual inspection report. The Committee notes with concern, that despite its repeated requests, the Government has not sent a labour inspection report since the one for the period from October 1994 to October 1995. The Government’s last report under article 22 of the ILO Constitution provides only scant information on the activities of the labour inspectorate. The Committee recalls its general observation of 2010, in which it stressed the importance it attaches to the publication and communication to the ILO of an annual inspection report, as an essential basis for evaluating in practice the activities of the labour inspection services and, subsequently, determining the means necessary to improve their effectiveness. Furthermore, referring to its general observation of 2009, the Committee recalls that a regularly updated register of enterprises should allow the central inspection authority to fix priorities for action to ensure, as a minimum, the protection of the most vulnerable workers or those most exposed to occupational hazards and to defend its requirements in human, material and logistical resources on the basis of relevant data from national and international financial authorities, so that an adequate budget can be allocated to them, in so far as national conditions permit. A programme of inspections could be drawn up according to the available resources for each labour inspection structure, and periodical reports on inspections, as provided for by Article 19, could be sent to the central authority for the production of the annual report required by Articles 20 and 21. Such a report would inform the social partners, the other government bodies concerned and the ILO’s supervisory bodies of the progress made and the shortcomings of the labour inspection system so that they can provide their opinions for improvement.

The Committee accordingly urges the Government to encourage, as required by Article 5(a) of the Convention, effective cooperation between the labour inspectorate and other competent government bodies (including the tax authorities and social insurance funds) for drawing up a list of workplaces liable to inspection, with register entries indicating at least their geographical location, the branch of activity, the number and categories of workers employed there and their distribution by gender. It expresses the hope that such measures will be taken in the near future so that an annual report on inspection activities containing the information required by each subparagraph from (a) to (g) of Article 21 can be produced and published by the central labour inspection authority.