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1. Organization and operation of the labour inspection system in the agricultural sector. The Committee notes the Government’s brief report and the annual inspection report for 2002. It notes from the replies to its previous comments that the duties of the labour inspectorate in agricultural enterprises are performed by inspectors who are responsible for other sectors of activity as well. The Committee notes that the statistical data on inspection activities carried out by the two regional sections are too general in nature to be of any real use in evaluating how effective labour inspection is in the agricultural sector. For example, the number of inspection visits indicated for 2002 can be of use only if it is supplemented by data on the number and size of the agricultural enterprises subject to inspection, the number of workers covered or the results of inspections and their impact on compliance with the relevant legislation. Furthermore, the inspections mentioned appear to have been carried out solely for preventive purposes or in order to issue licences to master farmers. The Committee would remind the Government that the transfer of authority for labour inspection to New Caledonia implies amongst other things a transfer of the obligation to report, pursuant to article 22 of the ILO Constitution, on the measures taken to apply this Convention and Convention No. 81. In its previous comments the Committee accordingly requested the Government to report on any developments in the establishment or operation of the labour inspection system for the agricultural sector and to provide, in particular, information on the manner in which effect is given to the provisions of the Convention in answer to the questions set out in the relevant report form.

The Government is also requested to ensure that the central inspection authority discharged its obligation to publish and send to the Office an annual report containing up-to-date and separate information for each of the items set forth in Article 27(a) to (g) of this Convention.

Noting with interest that the inspectorate has been reinforced by the recruitment of two inspectors, the Committee hopes that it will be possible for the information to be sent in the requisite form.

2. Child labour and labour inspection. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, there have been no reports of any employment of children 14 and 15 years of age in agriculture, and points out to the Government that there may be hidden forms of child labour, particularly in agricultural enterprises. It requests the Government to ensure that labour inspectors have efficient means of checking, inter alia, the reliability of the data supplied by the employers, namely means of transport that enable them to inspect agricultural undertakings without warning and as often and as thoroughly as is necessary, as required by the Convention (Article 21). Specific data on investigations concerning child labour might also be included in a specific section of the annual report as a source of useful information for the implementation of a policy to combat child labour.