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The Committee has noted the global figures provided as to numbers of accidents, breaches of the law, sanctions applied, and inspection visits in 1985-91. It notes, however, that, apart from this brief information, the Government's report contains no reply to its comments. It hopes that the next report will include full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Articles 3, paragraph 2, and 16 of the Convention. In its previous direct request, the Committee noted that the fact that labour inspectors act as arbitrators in respect of individual and collective disputes has an influence on their principal functions and, in view of that fact, it requested full information on the frequency of visits to workplaces liable to inspection. In reply, the Government states that statistics of inspection visits are not yet available. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to provide detailed information on this matter in its next report.

Article 6. The Committee notes that the draft Decree conferring special status on labour inspectors and supervisors, to which the Government has been referring for several years, has not yet been adopted. It trusts that this draft will be enacted shortly and requests the Government to provide a copy of the text as soon as it has been adopted.

Article 9. In reference to the Committee's previous comments, the Government states that it has not been possible to recruit specialists (physicians and technal experts) for the labour inspectorate because of the austerity measures taken as in the context of the financial restrictions dictated by present economic circumstances. The Committee wishes to draw the Government's attention to the fact that, under this Article of the Convention, the association of technical experts and specialists in the work of inspection does not require the labour inspectorate to recruit duly qualified persons. The application of the provisions of this Article of the Convention can be ensured by other methods, which are "deemed most appropriate under national conditions" (e.g. cooperation between the labour inspection service and competent institutions in various fields: hospitals, universities, institutes, etc.).

Articles 20 and 21. The Committee notes with regret that no report on the work of the inspection services has yet been transmitted to the International Labour Office. It trusts that the Government will not fail to take the necessary steps to ensure that annual inspection reports containing all the information required under Article 21 are published and transmitted to the International Labour Office within the period established in Article 20.