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The Committee refers to its observation on the Convention and asks the Government to provide information on the following points.

1. Articles 10 and 16 of the Convention. The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Labour -- "Force ouvrière" (FO) and the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) concerning the numbers in the inspection divisions of the labour inspectorate. According to the FO, although the numbers have increased slightly in absolute terms, the percentage of labour inspectorate personnel assigned to the inspection divisions has dropped over the last 20 years from 90 per cent to 53 per cent as regards inspectors and from 50 per cent to 34 per cent as regards supervisors, whereas the workload has increased. The FO notes that the total staff amounts to 432 inspectors, whereas in 1995 the total staff under the budget of the Ministry of Labour was 811 inspectors and 2,565 supervisors. According to the FO, these figures show the importance attached to employment issues in labour inspection to the detriment of the supervision of the application of labour law. In this context, the CFDT points out that the number of inspectors has barely increased despite the growing complexity of the legislation and the growing number of infringements. The Committee asks the Government to provide detailed information on the numbers of the labour inspectorate. It recalls that under Article 10 of the Convention the number of labour inspectors must be sufficient to secure the effective discharge of the duties of the inspectorate and must be determined with due regard for the importance of duties, the material means and the practical conditions of visits, in order to ensure that, in accordance with Article 16 of the Convention, workplaces are inspected as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of legal provisions.

2. Article 5. The Committee notes that the FO and the CFDT state that the members of the National Labour Council of the labour inspectorate, established by Decree No. 83-135 of 24 January 1983, have not been appointed. The Committee asks the Government to make such observations as it deems appropriate on this matter.

3. Article 14. The Committee notes the Government's statement that occupational accidents or cases of occupational disease are brought to the attention of the public social security service and the labour inspection service in a single declaration. The Committee notes that, according to the CFDT, the legislation does not require serious occupational accidents to be notified to the labour inspectorate; if the labour inspector is not informed by the police, he must wait to be informed by the declaration transmitted by the Regional Sickness Insurance Funds (CRAM) several weeks later. The Committee refers to paragraphs 84 to 88 of its General Survey of 1985 on labour inspection in which it indicates that notification to the labour inspection service is not an end in itself but forms part of the more general aim of preventing occupational risks. Its purpose is to enable labour inspectors to conduct inquiries in the enterprise to determine the causes of occupational accidents and diseases and to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to avoid recurrences of such cases. The Committee asks the Government to indicate any improvements envisaged in this respect, with a view to ensuring that the labour inspectorate is informed as soon as possible.