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Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the activities of the labour inspectorate are still very limited, the lack of transport facilities and financial resources being the main obstacles to qualitative and quantitative improvement in the inspection services. According to the Government, matters are made even worse by the lack of any career prospects for inspectors and the humiliating treatment they receive at the hands of economic operators. The Government further indicates that budgetary constraints have prevented the recruitment and training of labour inspection candidates. Nevertheless, between January and May 2003, inspections were carried out in 1,385 establishments, mostly located in the provincial capitals, accounting for some 23 per cent of visits scheduled for that year. Referring to a previous report in which the Government stated that in most provinces workplaces are often anywhere from 50 to 400 kilometres away from the provincial capital, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed information, by province, on the average number of workplaces inspected annually, and specify the proportion of commercial or industrial undertakings classified as harbouring a risk to the health and safety of workers.

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the content and length of the course, referred to in the report, on child labour held for inspectors in a number of provinces and on the measures taken to develop inspection activities to combat illicit child labour, their results and the main difficulties encountered.

Noting that the Government makes no mention of having taken steps, as was proposed, to obtain the financial and technical assistance needed for the quantitative and qualitative enhancement of human and material resources or the labour inspection system, the Committee trusts that it will be in a position to do so in its next report and that the conditions needed for more effective application of the Convention will soon be met and reported to the Office.