Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Zimbabwe (Ratification: 1993)

Other comments on C081

Observation

Direct Request

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Articles 3(1)(a) and (b), 4 and 5(b) of the Convention. Delegation of inspection duties and supervision of the labour inspection system by a central authority. The Committee notes that in reply to its previous comments the Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour, which is the central labour inspection authority, is vested with administrative powers to inspect the operations of all labour market institutions including the employment councils, which have “designated agents”. The “designated agents” exercise delegated authority pursuant to section 63 of the Labour Act, as amended. The Employment Councils submit quarterly reports to the Ministry of Labour for purposes of supervision. Ministry officials and employment councils’ “designated agents” have authority to discharge both enforcement and advisory functions. In the case of the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), these functions are nonetheless differentiated. There are 31 NSSA occupational safety and health (OSH) inspectors with enforcement powers, and they are located in all the NSSA regional centres in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo and Chinhoyi. There are 25 NSSA OSH promotion officers performing advisory functions, who are also located in all the NSSA regional centres. Joint inspection visits are organized between OSH officers, “designated agents” and Ministry of Labour officials. Furthermore, where one inspector comes across apparent violations that require the intervention of competencies of other inspectors, information is shared accordingly, resulting in follow-up inspections. The Committee requests the Government to specify the criteria used in distributing enforcement and advisory functions between labour inspectors and “designated agents”, and to provide figures showing such distribution.

Articles 3(1)(b) and 13. Prevention functions of labour inspection. The Committee notes that in reply to its comments, the Government indicates that through its OSH division, the NSSA carries out a number of preventive activities, namely: inspection activities where OSH legislation is enforced; OSH promotion and training; provision of technical guidance at workplaces on the establishment of occupational health services; and targeted OSH research in high-risk sectors, etc. Furthermore, an in-house journal on OSH is published about three times a year and distributed to industry. The Government undertakes to supply statistics relating to the number of measures with immediate executory force in due course. The Government indicates that in 2012 the NSSA carried out 4,285 inspections, mainly in factories, and that 652 boiler inspections were conducted, including in the agricultural sector. In addition, 2,120 workplace assessments were carried out in the form of audits, and 774 surveys, 202 seminars and 35 training programmes were conducted in an effort to promote OSH in all industrial sectors. The Committee requests the Government to specify the measures with immediate executory force that inspectors are empowered to take or to order if necessary, through the competent authority in the event of imminent danger to the health or safety of the workers, in accordance with Article 13(2)(b) of the Convention, and to provide the ILO with a copy of any relevant legal texts. The Committee also hopes that the Government will not fail to provide figures pertaining to the measures taken during the period covered by its next report.

Article 3(2). Role of labour inspectors in labour disputes. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, the legislative process necessary for the separation of the roles of labour inspectors and conciliators and arbitrators is still ongoing, and that the principles to govern the labour law reform process are being discussed. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would keep the Office informed of progress made in separating the functions of labour inspection from those of conciliation and arbitration.

Articles 5(a), 17 and 18. Effective cooperation between the labour inspection system and the justice system, legal proceedings and enforcement of adequate penalties. In reply to the Committee’s comments, the Government indicates that the training seminars provided for labour practitioners under the ILO Technical Assistance Package since 2011 have included labour inspectors, labour court presidents and high court judges. The training includes awareness raising on the way in which labour inspectors can use the existing legal framework to facilitate the prosecution of offenders through the justice system, over and above the usual remedial mechanisms of conciliation and arbitration. The Government mentions that in 2011, there were 51 prosecutions in the area of OSH, 20 of which involved fatalities, while in 2012 there were 48 such prosecutions, 25 of which involved fatalities. The applicable penalties range from level 3 to level 9 and offenders can face penalties of imprisonment ranging from one month to two years pursuant to the Factories Act (Chapter 14:08). It is felt that these penalties are not sufficiently dissuasive and the Government states that the new OSH law is expected to remedy this. Since there are no statistical data on the enforcement of sanctions at the moment, the Government expects that the recently adopted project on labour administration, with its section on labour inspection, will be able to contribute to the collection of such statistics. The Committee requests the Government to send detailed information on any other measures taken, in accordance with Articles 17 and 18 of the Convention, to improve the machinery for preventing and punishing breaches of labour law. The Committee further asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to ensure that adequate penalties for violations of the legal provisions on OSH are included in the relevant legislation and enforced, and to provide, when applicable, copies of any new legal provisions adopted in this area.

Articles 20 and 21. Preparation of and transmission to the ILO of an annual report on the work of the labour inspection services. In reply to the Committee’s comments, the Government reiterates that it is unable to supply comprehensive statistical information on the activities undertaken, due to the non-existence of a labour market information system. The Committee notes, however, from information available at the office that the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTATS) has received ILO technical assistance for the preparation of the 2014 labour force survey, and that the Ministry of Labour likewise receives assistance for the printing of its annual labour market bulletin. The Government furthermore indicates that the currently available registers are compiled at sectoral level by the employment councils, while the NSSA keeps a separate register for purposes of OSH as required by the Factories Act. Consultations are under way with a view to consolidating the separate registers, and progress in this regard will be reported. The Government states that reported occupational accidents and diseases are collated into various economic sectors and published yearly in a statistical booklet by the NSSA. The Government nonetheless indicates that the major challenge in this area is the limited information on occupational diseases due to limited awareness, which is an obstacle to the recognition of such diseases. The Government nonetheless hopes that the new OSH laws will provide guidance and strengthen the national capacity to collect occupational disease data in all economic sectors. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the practical guidelines published by the ILO in 1996, Recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, to which it referred in its general observation of the same year. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would in any event provide in its next report the information available through the registers compiled by the employment councils and the NSSA, on the number, activities and geographical distribution of industrial and commercial workplaces subject to supervision by the labour inspectorate; and the number and categories of workers employed in them (for example, men, women, young persons). Please also provide any other information required by the competent authority to evaluate the labour inspectorate’s needs for human and material resources, facilities and means of transport, necessary for determining priorities for action, taking into account the country’s economic circumstances. It also reminds the Government that it may, should it so wish, seek technical assistance from the ILO in collecting and compiling data for the preparation, drafting and publication of an annual report on the work of the labour inspection services, in accordance with Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention.

The Committee raises other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.