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The Committee notes the Government’s report and the annual inspection reports for 2003 and 2004 that it provides, as well as comments made by the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions (CNV) and the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW). It requests the Government to provide additional information in its next report on the following points.

1. Supervision of the application of legal provisions. The Committee notes with interest that the labour inspection service has been relieved of various functions of an administrative nature. It notes, however, that the volume of the labour inspectorate’s activities related to the monitoring of the illegal employment of foreign workers is much greater than that accounted for by activities concerning the application of the provisions relating to employment conditions and the protection of workers while engaged in their work. In this regard, the Committee invites the Government to ensure that the labour inspectors secure the application in practice of all the legal provisions for which they are responsible under Article 3, paragraph 1(a), of the Convention, as well as to ensure that the additional functions allocated to the labour inspectors do not prevent them from exercising their main functions, in conformity with Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention.

2. Supply of technical information and advice. The Committee notes that, according to the VNO-NCW, the obligations resulting from a new Regulation of 2004 on the listing and assessment of risks are extremely complex for a number of enterprises which are not familiar with specific prevention and protection procedures. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether measures have been taken or envisaged so that the labour inspectorate can provide the necessary technical information and advice, in conformity with Article 3, paragraph 1(b), of the Convention.

3. Cooperation with other inspection services. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the agreements concluded in 2004 between the labour inspectorate and other inspection services to which it refers in its report (Article 5(a)).

4. Staff of the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes the concern expressed by the CNV concerning the reduction of the supervisory functions of the labour inspectorate between 2003 and 2004 and the reduction in the number of inspectors exercising functions in the field of safety and health. It requests the Government to provide information on the number, nature and geographic distribution of the workplaces subject to the control of the labour inspectorate and the number of workers employed in such workplaces (Article 10).