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The Committee notes the report and the statistics provided by the Government in response to its previous comments.

Articles 3, paragraph 1(a), and 10 of the Convention. Labour inspection system and number of labour inspectors. In its report, the Government states that the enforcement of provisions relating to labour relations and conditions of employment and work (hours of work, payment of wages, etc.) is the responsibility of the Labour Relations and Workplaces Division (LRWD) and, in particular, the Standards Compliance Section (SCS) established in March 2007, which employs 37 inspectors. Occupational safety and health is the responsibility of the Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHD), which has a total of 148 inspectors. In its previous observation, the Committee noted with interest the plans to increase the number of labour inspection staff in the area of occupational safety and health to a total of 280 inspectors in 2006. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide in its next report updated information on the number of staff in each of the inspection services and on the criteria for the distribution of inspection staff.

Article 3, paragraph 1(b). Preventive information and advisory activities of labour inspectors. The Committee notes the Government’s information, according to which the LRWD provides employers and workers with advice on conditions of employment and work and responds to numerous inquiries. According to the Government, these activities have helped to minimize the number of disputes. The Committee emphasizes the importance of activities relating to prevention and information aimed at workers and employers and would be grateful if the Government would continue providing information on these activities in all the areas covered by the inspection services.

Articles 16, 17 and 18. Effectiveness of the labour inspection system. Inspections (conditions of employment and work, occupational safety and health) and penalties for violations. With regard to the monitoring of conditions of employment and work, the Committee notes that 277 inspections were carried out in 2006 by the inspectors of the LRWD following complaints in 273 establishments, when, according to the information provided by the Government, the total number of active employers, as at 31 December 2006, was 95,563. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether this number corresponds to the total number of establishments effectively liable to inspection by these inspectors. It also asks the Government to provide detailed information on the total number of inspections carried out, whether or not following a complaint, and on the criteria used to determine the establishments to be inspected (planning of inspections, sectors identified as priority sectors, etc.), as well as particulars concerning the elements which are the focus of on-site investigations. The Committee notes with interest the adoption in 2006 of the Workplace Safety and Health Act (Act No. 7 of 2006) which determines, inter alia, the rights and duties of inspectors in this respect (sections 41–45), in particular the right to enter the workplace freely at any time and the right to inspect machinery, request records and take samples. In its report submitted in 2007, the Government states that occupational safety and health inspections concern approximately 23 per cent of the establishments liable to labour inspection and that the new Act will gradually be extended to cover more establishments over the coming years. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue providing detailed information on the increase in the number of establishments and workers covered by the new Act and on the monitoring of its implementation in practice, taking into account, in particular, the establishment, under this Act, of a system based essentially on effective risk management.

The Committee notes also with interest that the Workplace Safety and Health Act of 2006 provides for heavier penalties than those set by the Factories Act in the event of the violation of its provisions (sections 50 and 51). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the handling of violations and the imposition of penalties in its next report, .

Articles 20 and 21. Annual reports by the central authority on the work of the inspection services. Further to its previous comments and its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection (paragraphs 320–345), the Committee recalls that, pursuant to these provisions of the Convention, annual inspection reports must deal with all the areas covered by the labour inspection services and contain information and statistics on all the subjects listed. The 2006 report published on the Ministry of Manpower web site, like the previous reports on inspection activities, refers only to occupational safety and health. The Committee once again asks the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that effect is given to these provisions of the Convention as soon as possible.