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Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Angola (RATIFICATION: 1976)

Other comments on C081

Observation

Direct Request

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Legislation. The Committee notes the adoption of Act No. 7/15 of 15 June 2015, enacting the General Labour Act, which repeals the General Labour Act of 2000 in its totality.

Reform of the labour inspection system. Noting that the Government’s report does not reply to its previous comments on this subject, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in the context of the reform of the labour inspection system. The Committee requests the Government to identify in particular the steps that have been taken to give effect to the recommendations made in the context of ILO technical assistance in relation to the implementation of the legislative reforms, including: (1) the adoption of the draft conditions of service of the General Labour Inspectorate; (2) the need to secure the enforcement of legal provisions (Articles 3(1), 16 and 17 of the Convention); (3) the conditions of service of labour inspectors (remuneration and career prospects, in accordance with Article 6); and (4) the requirement to notify labour inspectors of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease (Article 14).

Article 3 of the Convention. Additional functions assigned to labour inspectors. Mediation. The Committee notes that section 275 of the new General Labour Act entrusts labour inspectors with the function of mediating in disputes between employers and workers. The Committee recalls that the principal functions of labour inspectors are set out in Article 3(1) of the Convention and do not include mediation. The Committee refers to paragraphs 72 to 74 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, and emphasizes that the time and energy required for that function are liable to be to the detriment of the discharge of the principal duties of labour inspectors. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that labour inspectors are relieved in law and practice of the functions assigned to them in the field of mediation so that they can devote themselves fully to the discharge of their principal functions, as set out in Article 3(1) of the Convention.

Inspection of foreign workers. In the absence of a reply from the Government on this subject, the Committee once again requests the Government to specify the role of labour inspectors with regard to foreign workers who are not legally entitled to remain in the country, and the means by which it is ensured that these workers can obtain their entitlements acquired in the course of their working relationship.

Articles 4 and 11. Supervision and control of the labour inspection system by a central authority, human and financial resources, and means of action and transport facilities available to the inspection services. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the General Labour Inspector is the central inspection authority. The Committee indicated its understanding that the expenses related to inspection activities were assumed, to some extent, by the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security, as well as by provincial governments. In the absence of a reply to its previous request on this subject, the Committee once again requests the Government to specify how the central inspection authority ensures that inspection offices, especially local offices, have the human resources, equipment and office furnishings necessary, and the necessary transport facilities for the discharge of inspection duties in accordance with the needs of each province. It also requests the Government to specify the measures taken for the reimbursement to labour inspectors in the various provincial inspectorates of all travelling and incidental expenses necessary for the discharge of their duties.

Article 18. Appropriate penalties. The Committee notes that the terms of section 308 of the General Labour Act provide that violations of labour legislation are punishable by fines to be imposed in accordance with the law implementing this provision. The implementing law determines the minimum and maximum amounts of fines, identifies which body is responsible for their imposition and the criteria for their level and the conditions for their prescription. The Committee requests the Government to provide the implementing text for this provision.

Article 21. Annual inspection report. The Committee notes with interest the annual inspection reports communicated by the Government for 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, and the report for the first quarter of 2015. It notes that these reports contain information, in particular, on: the number of inspectors by category; the number of inspections and the number of workplaces inspected by sector; the number of contraventions by subject; the number of infringement reports; the number of industrial accidents by their gravity and by sector; and the number of occasions on which technical information and advice has been provided. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the annual inspection reports also contain information on cases of occupational disease, in accordance with Article 21(g) of the Convention.