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The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following points raised in its previous direct request:

The Committee notes the Government’s reports for the period ending 31 May 1999. It also notes the comments made by workers’ representatives concerning the functioning of the labour inspectorate and the absence of practical measures for the implementation of the legislative provisions giving effect in law to the Convention.

According to the workers’ representatives, the operation of the labour inspectorate is in contradiction with the Convention with regard to the following points.

1.  Hours of work of labour inspectors. The working time of inspectors is limited to the morning and a part of the afternoon, which means that inspections by night are not possible.

2.  Total number of inspections. This number is very low in relation to the number of workplaces.

3.  Official reports of violations. Labour inspectors do not properly discharge their duty to make official reports on cases of infringements of labour laws.

4.  Level of penalties. The maximum financial penalties set out in the various labour laws are inadequate and should be revised to avoid frustration among labour inspectors and to achieve the preventive effect which is their main goal.

5.  Authority of labour inspectors. According to the comments made by the trade unions SEPA and ABV, labour inspectors are often prevented from supervising the application of legal provisions in major enterprises, and particularly multinationals. ABV calls upon the Government to grant them the support of the police force so that, where necessary, they can enter workplaces, carry out routine controls, impose sanctions and make official reports of the violations observed.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate its views on the allegations made above concerning shortcomings in the application of Articles 12, paragraph 1(a), 13, 16 and 18 of the Convention, and to provide additional information on the following points.

Articles 6 and 16. The Committee notes the information on the process of reorganizing the Department of Labour and harmonizing the labour legislation and the new Code on Penal Procedures with regard to labour inspection. Noting with interest that the staff of the inspection services of the Labour Inspection Section of the Department of Labour has been upgraded, but that the training of labour inspectors is encountering difficulties of a practical nature which prevents them, among other matters, from carrying out inspections with a minimum frequency of two per year per establishment, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the progress and impact of the reorganization of the Department of Labour and the upgrading of labour inspectors, as well as on inspection activities and the frequency of inspections in industrial and commercial establishments.

Articles 4 and 5. Noting that labour inspection functions are divided between the Department of Technical Inspection of the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Public Health of the Ministry of Health, the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Economy and the Immigration Department of the Police Department, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide the necessary clarifications on the manner in which effect is given to Article 4, under which labour inspection shall be placed under the supervision and control of a central authority, and Article 5, which prescribes that the central authority shall make arrangements to promote: (a) effective cooperation between the inspection services and other Government services and public or private institutions engaged in similar activities; and (b) collaboration between officials of the labour inspectorate and employers and workers or their organizations.

Article 7. Noting the information concerning the conditions of recruitment and the methods of training inspectors during their employment, as well as the training announced by the Government, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of inspectors engaged in the various bodies of the inspection system, and the number of those benefiting from each of the training methods referred to by the Government in its report.