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The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the Government’s first report. It also notes the comments made by the Lugansk Regional Office of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions, received by the ILO on 6 January 2006 and transmitted to the Government on 4 May 2006, on the precarious living and housing conditions of miners in the Nikanor-Nova coal mine and their families in the region of Lugansk. It would be grateful if the Government would provide additional information on the following points.

Articles 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention. Functions and organization of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes that there are three independent labour inspection systems, operating under the control of three different authorities, each responsible for different legislative fields: (i) the State Department for the Supervision of Labour Legislation, under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, which through its territorial bodies supervises the application by enterprises of the legislation on general conditions of work and compulsory social insurance; (ii) the State Department for Industrial Safety, the Protection of Workers and the Supervision of Mines, under the Ministry for Emergency Situations and the Protection of the Population against the Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster, which through its territorial bodies supervises the application of the legislative provisions relating to the protection of workers; and (iii) the State Department for Sanitation and Epidemiological Surveillance, under the authority of the Ministry of Health, which is responsible, through its territorial bodies for labour inspection in connection with occupational health and safety.

The Committee notes that only the system functioning under the authority of the State Department for the Supervision of Labour Legislation appears to be concerned by the application of the Convention. The activities and powers of labour inspectors responsible for occupational health and safety, as provided for under Articles 3 and 13 of the Convention, come within the remit of the two other entities mentioned above. The Committee notes with interest, however, that it is planned to create an integrated inspection system which would be responsible for ensuring the application of the legal provisions relating both to general conditions of work and occupational health and safety. The Government indicates that mining and transport undertakings could be excluded from the scope of such a system, as authorized by Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed information on the development of the labour inspection system and a copy of any relevant text.

Articles 5(a), 20 and 21. Cooperation between the various inspection bodies and services. Preparation and publication of an annual report on the activities of the inspection services. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that there is an obligation of cooperation between the State Department for the Supervision of Labour Legislation and the central and local bodies of the executive authority, the bodies responsible for enforcing the legislation and employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Government also states that, in the performance of their duties, labour inspectors covered by the inspection system under the Ministry for Labour who enforce general labour legislation are empowered, where they identify a risk to the health or safety of workers, to inform the workers with a view to the implementation of the appropriate measures. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the importance of the occupational health and safety aspect of the labour inspection system in assessing its effectiveness. This importance is established not only by the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Convention, which define the scope of the labour inspection system referred to in the Convention as being the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers, and Article 3, paragraph 1(a), which include health and safety at work among the matters to be covered by the inspection system, but also by the provisions of: Article 12, paragraph 1(c)(iv), concerning the powers of investigation of inspectors with a view to analysing materials or substances used or handled; Article 13 on the powers of injunction of inspectors in relation to occupational health and safety; Article 14 concerning the notification of the labour inspectorate of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease; Article 21(f) and (g) on the inclusion of relevant statistics in the annual inspection report; and Article 13 on defects in plant. The Committee has emphasized in successive General Surveys that the information on the subjects listed in Article 21 constitutes the minimum to be included in annual inspection reports. It trusts that, pending the creation of a labour inspection system incorporating occupational health and safety issues, the Government will take measures to ensure that, based on cooperation between the various existing inspection systems, an annual inspection report containing the information required on all these issues is published and a copy provided to the ILO. It would be grateful if the Government would keep the ILO informed of any progress made in this regard.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Adequate training of labour inspectors. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, persons who have passed the competitive examination for labour inspectors do not receive specific training. However, they can improve their knowledge during their inspection activities and in the seminars organized regularly by regional inspection services or through a one- or two-week placements under the responsibility of an experienced inspector. Recalling that, under Article 7, paragraph 3, labour inspectors have to be adequately trained for the performance of their duties, and referring to the Government’s report for 2006 relating to the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), according to which it was envisaged to create a training centre for labour inspectors, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress of this project.

Articles 17 and 18. Prosecutions and enforcement of penalties for the protection of workers in the Nikanor-Nova mine. The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report for 2006 on the Protection of Wages Convention, 1949 (No. 95), according to which labour inspectors have carried out inspections at the Nikanor-Nova coal mine (Lugansk region) on several occasions and orders to cease violations relating mainly to the payment of salary arrears were issued to the management of the enterprise responsible for the mine. According to the Government, the regional Directorate of Labour Inspection for the Lugansk region participated in the meetings of the arbitration board responsible for resolving the situation. In its comments, the Confederation of Free Trade Unions asserts that the authorities have not responded to the particularly difficult situation of the miners and their families and no financing has been made available to ensure the legal succession of the mine. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on developments in the inspection actions carried out to protect the workers concerned and the results of those actions.