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Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention. Reporting obligations on the activities of the labour inspection services. The Committee notes with interest the indication in reply to its request of 2008 that the Department of Labour is in the process of establishing a labour market information system with technical assistance provided by the ILO Subregional Office in Port-of-Spain. According to the Government, as of 31 July 2009, all preliminary and follow-up consultations with key stakeholders, including employers’ and workers’ representatives, had already been concluded and all existing forms had been revised and new forms and electronic databases created. Moreover, the training of staff in the use and operation of the new system was due to have been completed by the end of September 2009 and the system is expected to be functional by 31 July 2010. The Government is of the view that, once operational, the system will significantly assist the Department of Labour in generating in an efficient and timely manner a wide range of labour market statistics including those on labour inspection. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the new system will allow the labour inspection central authority to publish and communicate to the ILO in the very near future and on an annual basis a report on the work of the services placed under its supervision and control, and that the report contains the information indicated in points (a)–(g) of Article 21. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate any progress made and any difficulties encountered.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make use of the guidance provided in Paragraph 9 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81) to this end.

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