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The Committee notes the Government’s first report and the attached documentation. It would be grateful if the Government would supplement this documentation by providing the texts of the Act of 1993 on labour protection, Decree No. 1920 of 28 December 2000 establishing the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Labour and the Social Protection of the Population, the two Acts ratifying international Conventions Nos. 81 and 129 on labour inspection and the Code of Administrative Violations of 2001. The Government is also requested to provide any relevant information concerning the progress made with the Bill respecting occupational security and protection, the adoption of which was announced by the Government for 2003.

The Committee notes with interest that the level of administrative fines which may be imposed on persons violating the many legal provisions on working conditions is set out in the Code of Administrative Violations adopted in 2001 in terms of "monthly wage units". The Committee has already advocated in its General Survey of 1985 on labour inspection (paragraph 263) that the methods for the determination of financial penalties should allow for them to be periodically reviewed so that they can retain their dissuasive effect, and that this objective cannot be achieved where the level of penalties is expressed in numerical form in the law.

The Committee hopes that the Government will provide additional information on the following points.

Article 3 of the Convention. The primary duties and further duties of labour inspectors. The Committee notes that, at each hierarchical level of the state labour inspection structure, in addition to a number of set functions, inspectors discharge other duties (sections 5.12, 6.12, 11.8, 12.6 and 13.5 of Decree No. 983 of 20 July 2001 issuing the regulations on labour inspection). Emphasizing the need to ensure that, in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article of the Convention, any further duties which may be entrusted to labour inspectors shall not be such as to interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties, as determined in paragraph 1, or to prejudice in any way the authority and impartiality which are necessary to inspectors in their relations with employers and workers, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the content of any duties which are not set out in the above regulations.

Articles 4, 19, 20 and 21. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the measures adopted to ensure that the central labour inspection authority publishes, on the basis of the periodic reports of inspection units, and communicates to the ILO within the time limits set out in Article 20, an annual inspection report containing the information required under each of the points of Article 21.

In this respect, with reference to the information provided by the Government in its report on the application of this Convention, as well as the report on the application of Convention No. 138, the Committee notes that structures have been established by the ministry responsible for labour to reinforce the enforcement of labour legislation, particularly with regard to the protection of young persons and occupational safety and health. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide clarifications on the geographical distribution of these structures and on the human and material resources available to them in relation to their assigned objectives.

The Government is also requested to take measures to ensure that information on the activities of the inspection services in the field of child labour, and their results, are regularly contained in the annual report produced by the central inspection authority.

Article 5(a) and (b). Noting the information of a general nature provided on the application of these provisions, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide precise examples of collaboration between the inspection services and other government services, as well as detailed information on the nature and frequency of its collaboration with employers, workers and their organizations.

Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2. While noting with interest the many training activities undertaken for labour inspectors in 2002 on matters relating to labour legislation, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the criteria for the recruitment or appointment of labour inspectors.

Article 8. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the proportion of women in the inspection staff, disaggregated by region and by grade, and if it would provide information on the special duties assigned to them.

Article 9. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure the collaboration of duly qualified technical experts and specialists in the work of the inspectorate.

Articles 10 and 21(c). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the geographical distribution of labour inspectors, as well as the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the numbers of workers employed therein.

Article 11. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the logistical resources and transport facilities available to labour inspectors, and on the arrangements made to reimburse any travel expenses for professional duties.

Article 12, paragraph 1(c)(i), (ii), (iii) and (iv). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted to ensure that labour inspectors are provided with the powers set out in these provisions on the occasion of inspections and to indicate, where appropriate, the relevant legal provisions.

Article 12, paragraph 2. Please indicate whether labour inspectors are obliged to notify the employer or her or his representative of their presence on the occasion of an inspection visit, unless they consider that such notification may be prejudicial to the effectiveness of the inspection. If such an obligation exists, please indicate the relevant provisions. If not, please take the necessary measures to give effect to this provision and inform the ILO accordingly.

Article 14. Please describe the manner in which industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease that are notified to the labour inspection services.

Article 15. The Committee notes that inspectors are bound to respect the confidentiality of state secrets and any professional or commercial secrets which may come to their knowledge in the course of their duties. It notes that, under section 8 of the Regulations on labour inspections, inspectors may be the subject of complaints to the hierarchical authority or the courts. The Committee reminds the Government that, subject to any exceptions set out in law, it should also be prohibited for labour inspectors to have any direct or indirect interest in the enterprises under their supervision and that they should be subject to the obligation of absolute confidentiality as to the source of any complaint and any link between a complaint and an inspection visit. It therefore requests the Government to provide any available information on the manner in which effect is given to Article 15(a), (b) and (c) and to provide a copy of any relevant text, including any text relating to the penalties to which labour inspectors are liable in the event of any transgression on their part.

Article 16. In the view of the Government, the fact that it is not possible for inspectors, under the terms of an Order, to carry out more than one inspection a year in the same enterprise encourages grave violations of the labour legislation, particularly in relation to the statutory protection of workers in relation to recruitment, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of employment accidents at work. Emphasizing that under the terms of this Article of the Convention, workplaces shall be inspected as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legal provisions, and with reference to paragraphs 235 to 252 of its General Survey of 1985 on labour inspection, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the above Order and, in any event, to take every measure as soon as possible to abolish the principle of the limitation on the number of inspections per enterprise. It would be grateful if it would inform the ILO of the progress achieved in this respect.

Article 17, paragraph 2. Please indicate whether it is left to the discretion of labour inspectors to give warning or advice instead of instituting or recommending legal proceedings against persons who violate the legal provisions that they enforce.

Article 18. Please indicate the penalties envisaged for obstructing labour inspectors in the performance of their duties and provide a copy of the relevant texts.

Article 19. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the content and frequency of the reports on their inspection activities due from inspectors at each of the levels of the labour inspection system.