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Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Russian Federation (RATIFICATION: 1998)

Other comments on C081

Observation

Direct Request

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Parts I and V of the report form. Legislation and general appreciation of the application of the Convention. The Committee notes that following a restructuring in 2004, the labour inspectorate has been operating within the Federal Service on Labour and Employment (Rostrud) established under the auspices of the Ministry of Health and Social Development. In reply to the Committee’s previous requests, the Government indicates in its latest report, that Rostrud operates in the framework of the National Labour Code, the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Federal Law No. 134-Ø3 of 8 August 2001 on the protection of the rights of legal entities and individual entrepreneurs during inspections, Governmental Decree No. 324 of 30 June 2004 on the status of the Rostrud and Governmental Decree No. 156 of 6 April 2004 on the model regulations for territorial authorities of the Rostrud, approved by Ministerial Order No. 378n of July 2009, and the regulations for the territorial authorities of the Rostrud relating to state labour inspections in the constituent units of the Russian Federation. The Committee asks the Government to provide an organizational chart of the labour inspection system and, once again, to:

(a) provide a copy of the above documents of a legislative, regulatory or administrative nature relating to the matters covered by the Convention (including a copy of the current version of Governmental Decree No. 324 on Rostrud, the model regulations for territorial authorities of the Rostrud, approved by Ministerial Order No. 378n of July 2009, the regulations for the territorial authorities of the Rostrud relating to state labour inspections in the constituent units of the Russian Federation and of any applicable texts setting out the functions of labour inspectors);
(b) give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied, including, for instance, extracts from official reports and information on any practical difficulties encountered in its application; and
(c) indicate whether employers’ and/or workers’ organizations have made any comments on the application of this Convention and, if so, transmit them to the ILO.

Articles 2(1), 3(1), 16, 17 and 23 of the Convention. Labour inspection activities relating to the protection of workers. The Committee notes the reference in the Government’s report to the cases of child labour detected, although it does not provide any statistics or information on the activities of the labour inspection services in this regard. The Committee also notes the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2758 (365th Report, November 2012) relating to the investigation of anti-union persecution by the competent authorities including the labour inspectorate, in the Russian Federation, as well as the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia (Application No. 25965/04) on the obligation to prevent trafficking and protect victims, including the obligation to investigate situations of potential human trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to enforce the legal provisions pertaining to fundamental rights at work, including equality and non-discrimination, freedom of association, the eradication of forced labour practices and child labour, as well as the results achieved. Please also include relevant statistics in the annual report of the labour inspectorate.

Articles 3(1), 8, 10, 11 and 16. Number and functions of labour inspectors, material resources at their disposal, and impact of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes from the information provided in the activity report of the Rostrud for 2010 (available in Russian on its website www.rostrud.ru), that of the 3,666 people that worked within the services of the Rostrud as at 31 December 2010, 2,852 were officials authorized to carry out state supervision and control over observance of laws and regulations on labour, i.e. 1,251 labour inspectors in the area of labour legislation and 1,601 in the area of occupational safety and health (OSH). These labour inspectors carried out a total number of 183,435 inspections of which 89,000 related to OSH.

The Committee notes with interest that the Government’s report refers to the positive impact of the work of the federal labour inspection service on the overall state of compliance with the requirements of labour law in workplaces. For instance, according to the Federal State Statistical Service (Rosstat), on 1 January 2011 the total outstanding wage arrears amounted to 2.4 billion roubles (RUB), a drop of RUB 827 million or 25.6 per cent, by comparison to 1 December 2010, and almost 33 per cent by comparison to the beginning of 2010. The Government emphasizes that this is the lowest recorded figure for wage arrears in the Russian Federation for the past ten years and adds that in 2010, employers had settled wage arrears owed to 632,000 workers, amounting to over RUB9 billion. Positive trends were also noted in the absolute numbers of serious accidents at work, including fatal accidents which decreased to a total of 10,295 in 2010 from 10,809 in 2009. The total number of fatalities fell by 2.5 per cent. Employers rescinded 1,543 unlawful dismissals and over 2,300 unlawfully imposed disciplinary sanctions. Over 2,000 sets of equipment were stopped and 170 workplaces were temporarily shutdown pending correction for defects posing a risk to workers’ lives and health. The relative number of breaches of labour law identified by inspectors on average during a single inspection fell by 11.5 per cent in 2010 by comparison to 2009, which can be seen, according to the Government, as a positive sign of the effectiveness of the steps taken to prevent infringements of the law in the workplace.

The Committee also notes, however, that the number of labour inspectors appears to have decreased by 14 per cent since 2003, and by 31 per cent since 1995 while the total number of undertakings liable to inspection amounted to 8,171,000 in 2010, which means that the workplaces actually inspected were 2.4 per cent of the total. Moreover, the material resources (e.g. 324 cars) available for the 82 regional inspection offices throughout the country do not appear to be sufficient for the effective discharge of the functions of the labour inspection, especially in remote regions.

In the light of the important socio-economic role performed by labour inspection and the positive results produced during the reporting period, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed information on any steps taken or envisaged in order to meet the needs of the labour inspection system in terms of human resources in the light of the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein and to provide further information on the category, geographical distribution, fields of specialization of labour inspectors in service. Finally, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the proportion of women in the labour inspection staff at all levels of responsibility and, where appropriate, the special tasks assigned to men and women inspectors, respectively.

The Committee also requests the Government to indicate any measures taken or envisaged in order to improve the material resources at the disposal of labour inspectors, in particular transport facilities to enable the effective inspection of remote workplaces. It also requests the Government once again, to communicate any legislative text concerning the reimbursement to labour inspectors of travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, as well as a copy of a reimbursement form and information on the average length of procedures for reimbursement.

Article 3(1)(b). Preventive activities by the labour inspection services. The Committee notes with interest the reference in the Government’s report to various activities relating to the provision of information and advice on labour legislation and labour rights by the labour inspection services of the Rostrud throughout its territorial structure to citizens, employers and workers and their organizations, the public administration and the public at large. In this regard, the Government refers, for example, to the provision of advice through a dedicated hotline, the conduct of a very large number of symposia, periodic campaigns and awareness-raising activities on current issues through media and modern technologies and online conferences. It also notes that workers and employers may post questions and receive detailed answers on the website of the Rostrud. The Government is asked to provide details on the preventive activities carried out by the labour inspection services, especially vis-à-vis small and medium-sized enterprises, including information on the number of questions answered, the subjects covered and the impact of these activities on compliance with the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers.

Article 3(2). Additional functions entrusted to labour inspectors. The Committee notes that under the terms of Governmental Decree No. 324 of 30 June 2004 on the status of the Rostrud, the Rostrud is entrusted with multiple functions, among others, with the provision of services in the areas of employment promotion, protection from unemployment and “internal migration” as well as the settlement of collective labour disputes. The Committee refers to paragraph 69 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection where it underlined that the primary duties of inspectors are complex and require time and resources; in this respect, Article 3(2) stipulates that any further duties which are entrusted to labour inspectors should not be such as to interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties (enforcement and advice). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide clarifications on the functions carried out by labour inspectors and, in particular, whether they are entrusted with additional tasks other than those relating to advisory and enforcement functions as provided for in Article 3(1)(a) and (b) of the Convention, such as for instance, “internal migration”, protection from unemployment and the settlement of collective labour disputes. If that is the case, the Committee requests the Government to indicate any steps taken or envisaged to dissociate these functions from the primary duties of labour inspectors so that they can devote themselves more fully to securing the enforcement of legislation on conditions of work and the protection of workers.

Articles 5(a), 17 and 18. Cooperation with the justice system and enforcement of penalties for violation of legal provisions enforceable by labour inspectors. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that a large number of cases submitted to the Public Prosecutor’s Office by the labour inspection (14,700 in 2008 and 12,700 in 2010) related to sections 143, 145 and 145.1 of the national Labour Code concerning industrial accidents resulting from negligence of provisions on protective measures, non-payment of wages and other benefits, and dismissal of women protected by provisions on maternity. Nevertheless, the Committee notes a discrepancy between the cases reported, the criminal investigations initiated and the number of convictions pronounced. In 2008, for instance, 13,756 cases reported on investigations on industrial accidents resulted in 277 criminal investigations and the conviction of 50 persons; 924 cases on the non-payment of wages or other benefits resulted in 23 criminal investigations and the conviction of eight persons.

The Committee further notes in this regard that despite its repeated requests since 2004, the Government has still not sent a copy of any legal provisions adopted for the implementation of sections 362 (responsibility for infringements of the labour legislation), 363 (responsibility for obstructing the activities of state labour inspectors) and 419 (types of responsibility for infringement of the labour legislation) of the national Labour Code.

With reference to its general observation of 2007, where it emphasized the importance of effective cooperation with the justice system in order to achieve the effective enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers as required by Article 3(1)(a) of the Convention, the Committee asks the Government to describe the procedure to be followed by labour inspectors in the case of detected violations of labour legislation, particularly in relation to wage payment, OSH and non-discrimination and to indicate any steps taken or envisaged so as to enhance the cooperation between the labour inspection services and the judicial authorities. It also once again requests the Government to provide a copy of any relevant legislative texts in their current versions, including the previously requested texts adopted for the implementation of sections 362, 363 and 419, and to specify the sanctions applicable for violations of labour law provisions.

Article 12(1)(c)(i). Investigation powers. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide a reply to its previous comments on this question. In its previous report, the Government had indicated that, pursuant to section 357 of the Labour Code, labour inspectors have the right to interrogate, alone or in the presence of witnesses, the employer or his/her representative on any matter related to the labour inspector’s visit and that according to section 229 of the Labour Code, staff may be interrogated only in case of the investigation of accidents at the workplace. The Committee once again notes that Article 12(1)(c)(i) of the Convention does not limit labour inspectors’ right to interrogate staff in cases of accidents and that this right forms part of the labour inspectors broader power “to carry out any examination, test or inquiry which they may consider necessary in order to satisfy themselves that the legal provisions are being strictly observed”. Consequently, the Committee requests the Government to take, in the near future, the necessary measures aimed at bringing the legislation into compliance with Article 12 and keep the ILO informed of progress achieved to this end.

Article 14. Notification of cases of occupational disease to the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes with interest that according to the Government’s report, in 2010, 17,800 workplaces were inspected to ensure compliance with the established procedure for the reporting and investigation of industrial accidents, as a result of which over 37,000 breaches of procedure of various kinds were identified and 1,686 unreported accidents were discovered and properly investigated, including 55 collective incidents, 1,023 serious accidents and 326 fatal accidents.

The Committee also notes, however, that while the activity report of the Rostrud for 2010 contains statistics of industrial accidents, it does not seem to contain information on cases of occupational disease. The national Labour Code does not seem to contain any provision stipulating the need to notify cases of occupational disease to the labour inspection services (in its report of 2007, the Government referred to articles 228–230 of the national Labour Code, and indicated that there were accompanying documents and guidelines for the reporting and investigation of industrial accidents only). The Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 118 of the 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, in which it emphasized the importance of establishing a systematic information mechanism to enable the labour inspectorate to have access to the data necessary to determine which activities present a risk and the categories of workers most at risk, and to investigate both the causes of occupational accidents and diseases in workplaces and enterprises under its control. In this regard, it also wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the ILO code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease which offers guidance on the collection, recording and notification of reliable data and the effective use of such data for preventive action (available at www.ilo.org/safework/info/standards-and-instruments/codes/WCMS_107800/lang--en/index.htm). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the steps taken to ensure that national legislation provides for the conditions and the manner in which cases of occupational disease should be notified to the labour inspectorate. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on whether labour inspectors inform employers and workers about the importance of notifying industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease so as to encourage compliance with the relevant legal provisions in pursuance of Article 3(1)(b). In addition, the Committee draws the attention of the Government to Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81) on the collaboration of employers and workers in regard to health and safety.

Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention. Publication and communication to the ILO of the annual report on labour inspection activities. The Committee notes that the Government has again not communicated an annual report on the work of the labour inspection services. It notes however that the activity reports of the Rostrud, of which the Russian labour inspectorate is part, are regularly published online at www.rostrud.ru. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the Government, in the reports communicated in 2009–10, refers to laws and regulations relevant to the supervisory and inspection work of the Rostrud; and contains some information on the number of the staff of the labour inspection service; statistics of inspection visits; statistics of violations and penalties imposed, as well as statistics of industrial accidents. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate any steps taken or envisaged in order to publish a consolidated labour inspection report containing detailed information on all the items listed in Article 21(a)–(g) of the Convention, and ensure its regular transmission to the ILO, as required by Article 20(3) of the Convention.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.