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1. Impact of the restructuring on the operation of the labour inspection system. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the comments made by the Latin American Confederation of Labour Inspectors (CIIT) in a communication dated 20 May 2002 on the application of the Convention, stating that there had been no change in the situation as described in the observations made in 1999. The Committee also noted the explanations provided by the Government on the consequences of the economic and financial crisis on the operation of the labour administration and requested information on developments in the situation with regard to Articles 1; 3, paragraphs 1(a) and 2; 4; 6; 7, paragraph 3; 10; 11; 14 and 16 of the Convention which, according to the CIIT, were not applied.

The Committee notes that the Government has replied in part to its previous comments. It notes that Act No. 25.877, of 2 March 2004, maintains the designation of the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security as the central authority of the Integrated Labour and Social Security Inspection System (SIDITYSS).

According to the CIIT, the mediation functions assigned to labour inspectors amount to an additional obstacle to the discharge of their supervisory duties of the legislation for which they are responsible, which is rendered difficult by a situation that has already deteriorated markedly, particularly with regard to resources, but also by reason of the dispersion of responsibilities and the disparities, to the detriment of labour inspectors, of the remuneration conditions of public servants. The lack of human resources is even reported in certain provinces to have led to the abolition of any labour inspection system while, in others, labour inspectors are confined to supervising homework, with the majority of the other fields covered by inspection being assigned to contractual employees not covered by the status of public officials, but better paid than the labour inspectors of the Ministry of Labour.

Noting that the provisions of Act No. 25.877 provide responses to certain of the concerns expressed by the CIIT, the Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any text or measure of a practical nature adopted under the provisions of the new Act on labour inspection, as well as a description of the new inspection system throughout the territory and particulars on the impact of the Act on the status and conditions of service and working conditions of labour inspectors (Articles 6, 7, 10, 11, 14 and 16); on their fields of competence (Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2); and on any measures adopted to promote cooperation with other institutions engaged in similar activities (Article 5).

2. Labour inspection and child labour. With reference to its general observation of 1999, the Committee notes with satisfaction that regional training days on the issue of child labour and the role of labour inspectors have been organized for labour inspectors with a view to raising the awareness of provincial administrations on the importance of the issue and the need to establish their own methods of work and special teams to monitor child labour. The Committee also welcomes the structural measures adopted in the context of the measures to combat child labour. These include the establishment by Decision No. 125/003 of March 2003, within the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, of a child labour inspection unit responsible for ascertaining the working conditions of children, the nature of their activities, the level of risk to which they are exposed, and for analysing and systematically compiling relevant information from the various inspection services and for maintaining coordination with the Federal Labour Council and provincial labour administrations to carry out operations to detect cases of violations in this field. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the outcome of the measures adopted and, in particular, to provide relevant statistical data.

The Committee is addressing a request directly to the Government on certain matters.