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The Committee refers the Government to its observation and asks it to provide further information on the following points.

Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Functions of labour inspectors. The Committee refers to its observation and notes that according to the Industrial Relations Act (No. 1) of 2000 (section 82, as amended in 2005), the Commissioner of Labour or any person authorized to act on his behalf, is empowered to intervene in a labour dispute if he has reason to believe that it could have serious consequences for the employers, the workers or the economy if not resolved promptly. The Committee would be grateful if in its next report the Government would describe the procedure under which such authority is exercised. It would be grateful if the Government would keep the ILO informed of cases in which this provision is used.

Articles 10 and 11. Human and material resources of the inspection services. According to information in the report of the Department of Labour for 2005, the inspectorate faces a shortage of staff, equipment and transport facilities. The Committee notes from a table showing the Occupational Safety and Health Unit’s activities for 2005, that the number of workplace inspections varies considerably from one month to another. A footnote indicates that the number of inspections was high in March because transport was available. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the reasons why transport is more often than not unavailable. It would be grateful if the Government would indicate how effect is given to the provisions of paragraph 1(b) and paragraph 2 of Article 11 of the Convention. Lastly, the Government is asked to keep the Office informed of any measures taken or envisaged, either nationally or in the context of international cooperation, to obtain the necessary resources to strengthen the staff of the labour inspectorate and improve the conditions of work of inspectors.