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Also referring to its observation under this Convention, the Committee notes the information sent by the Government in response to its previous comments and the documentation attached thereto. It notes in particular the activity reports of the Mono, Zou and Collines departmental public service and labour directorates for the first quarter of 2004; the activity report of the Ouémé and plateau departmental directorates for February 2004 and Decree No. 2000-644 of 29 December 2000 setting expenses for missions carried out inside the country. It would be grateful if the Government will provide copies of Decrees Nos. 85-375 of 11 December 1985 and 2000-369 of 22 August 2000 establishing the duties, organization and working of the Ministry of the Public Service, Labour and Administrative Reform, and any other legal texts (laws, decrees, orders, circulars, regulations, instructions, etc.) on labour inspection.

Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of the organization chart of the Labour Inspectorate for the whole of the country.

Articles 6 and 10. The Committee notes that the activity report of the Zou and Collines departmental directorate shows that the labour administration staff is dwindling. It further notes with concern that, according to the Government, the lack of human resources in the labour inspection services is due to the fact that managerial staff from the labour administration are moving to other bodies, where they hope to find better working conditions. While noting that the Government’s statement that it has endeavoured to keep these employees in their posts and for that purpose plans to grant a bonus periodically to public employees in the labour administration, the Committee would like to remind the Government that, as it stressed in paragraph 144 of its General Survey of 1985 on labour inspection, although security of tenure in a permanent administration is the prime guarantee of the independence of labour inspection staff, the efficiency of the inspection service demands levels of remuneration and career prospects that are sufficient to attract and retain high-quality personnel and to safeguard them from any undue influence. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take all appropriate steps to improve the working conditions of labour inspectors and to strengthen the inspectorate staff, and to report on progress made in this regard.

Article 7, paragraph 3. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that between 1998 and 2003, 24 labour inspectors and 24 labour controllers received continuous vocational training as part of the cooperation provided by the ILO. Noting, however, that the activity report of the Mono departmental directorate shows a lack of technical personnel and of retraining for unskilled personnel, the Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position in its next report to provide information on measures to ensure that inspectorate staff receive periodical training of a kind enabling them to carry out their duties effectively.

Articles 11, paragraph 1, and 16. The Committee notes that in the activity reports of the Mono and Zou departmental public service and labour directorates, mentioned above, the main obstacles to their operation are: lack of suitable premises; insufficient budgetary appropriations for operations and inadequate equipment maintenance funds; heavy dependence on the ministry for some categories of expenditure; no working capital fund; insufficient fuel and no mission expenses for technical staff. Stressing, as it did in paragraph 214 of the abovementioned General Survey, the economic and social value of labour inspection and the social cost of reducing its effectiveness, the Committee points out to the Government that when the national budget is drawn up, the priority assigned to the inspectorate should be commensurate with the objective set for it. It accordingly requests the Government to make available to the inspectorate the financial and material resources it needs to perform its duties effectively, and to provide relevant information.

Article 11, paragraph 2. While noting that Decree No. 2000-644 of 29 December 2000 on domestic mission expenses, the Committee reminds the Government that it is important to have a mechanism for reviewing such expenses to ensure that their value is maintained. It would be grateful if the Government would provide information on any measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

Article 18. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether measures have been taken to ensure that pecuniary sanctions are kept sufficiently dissuasive regardless of monetary fluctuations, by reviewing their amounts. The Government is therefore requested to provide copies of any relevant texts, and if there are none, to take measures in this respect and inform the Office of them.

Articles 19, 20 and 21. While noting the abovementioned reports of the departmental directorates of the Ministry of the Public Service, Labour and Administrative Reform, the Committee reminds the Government that it is important, in order to achieve the Convention’s objectives, for an annual inspection report to the published, containing information on the subjects listed in (a) to (g) of Article 21, based on the guidelines in Part IV of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81). At national level, access to such document allows all those concerned, particularly employers and workers or their organizations, to find out about the working of the inspection services and the difficulties inspectors may encounter in carrying out their duties, and to elicit their reactions with a view to making any necessary improvements. Furthermore, the purpose of submission of such reports to the Office within the prescribed time limit is to allow the supervisory bodies to ascertain the extent to which the Convention is applied and provide governments with useful guidelines and advice for improvement. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would take all necessary steps to ensure that the central inspection authority discharges its obligation to submit a report, the form and content of which are prescribed in Articles 20 and 21, and in its next report to provide information on any progress made in this respect and on any difficulties encountered.

Labour inspection and child labour. While noting that the Government ratified in 2001 the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), and referring to the general observation it addressed to Members bound by this Convention and by the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide specific information on the role of the inspection services in combating child labour, including under the IPEC programme, and ensure that statistics of child labour in industry and commerce are regularly included in future annual inspection reports.