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With reference to its observation, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the effect given to the recommendations of the tripartite mission for the audit of the labour inspection system in 2005 and, in particular, information on the following points.

Article 6 of the Convention. Status of the staff of the labour inspectorate. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested information on the status of inspection “employees” among the staff of the labour inspectorate. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government according to which the “civil servants” in the labour inspectorate exercise functions of supervision and control and other tasks specified in the law. The Committee also notes the information provided on the terms of their employment (wages and leave). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would further clarify the status of labour inspection “employees” and, in particular, the manner in which they are ensured of stability of employment and independence of any external influences and to send copy of the legal provisions governing their conditions of service.

Article 7(3). Adequate training for labour inspectors. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments on the various training programmes at the disposal of labour inspectors initially or during the course of employment with an indication of their duration and the subjects covered. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue providing information on the initial and on-the-spot training sessions organized for labour inspectors in 2010.

Article 12(1)(a). Extent of the right of free access by labour inspectors to workplaces liable to labour inspection. The Committee notes with interest that, according to section 5(2)(1) of the State Labour Inspectorate Law, officials of the labour inspectorate have the right to visit and inspect persons and objects liable to control without prior notification or without receiving permission, also in the absence of the employer. However, this right is limited to the day period. The Committee recalls that, according to Article 12(1)(a) of the Convention, labour inspectors should enjoy such a right of free access to workplaces liable to inspection at any hour of the day or night. In paragraph 267 of its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection, the Committee stresses that the conditions for the exercise of the right of free entry to workplaces laid down by the Convention are intended to allow inspectors to carry out inspections, where necessary and possible, to enforce the application of legal provisions relating to conditions of work. The protection of workers and the technical requirements of inspection should be the primordial criteria for determining the appropriate timing of the visits, for example to check for violations, such as abusive night work conditions in a workplace officially operating during the daytime, or to carry out technical inspections requiring machinery or production processes to be stopped. The Committee is of the view that it should be for the inspector to decide whether a visit is reasonable as long as inspections are only carried out at night or outside working hours where this is warranted. The Committee therefore requests the Government to do its utmost to supplement the legislation by a provision, according to which labour inspectors are authorized to access freely also by night workplaces liable to inspection.

Article 15. Professional ethical principles. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government on the content of the Ethics Code developed for labour inspectors in the context of the 2005 and 2006 amendments to the Law on the prevention of conflicts of interest in the operations of state officials. It notes that no information is provided with regard to the obligation of confidentiality by the labour inspectors as to the source of any complaint bringing to their notice a defect or breach of legal provisions as well as to the relation between the complaint and the visit, as provided in Article 15(c). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify any provisions which impose on labour inspectors an obligation of confidentiality as to complaints.

Articles 18 and 21(e). Penalties. In its previous comments the Committee requested the Government for clarifications concerning the minimum amounts of the fines applicable in the event of violations by individuals of either the occupational safety and health (OSH) regulations giving rise to a direct threat to the health or safety of workers, or of the obligation to conduct an investigation into a work accident resulting in serious injury or the death of a worker, which appeared to have decreased (the minimum fine falling from 500 Latvian lats (LVL) to LVL350 in both cases). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide clarifications in this respect and if it would continue to provide information on the administrative penalties actually imposed by labour inspectors.

Article 5(a) and Article 21(e). Effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the justice system. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to its 2007 general observation, which encourages effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the justice system, and requested the Government to indicate whether appropriate measures have been taken, as required by Article 5(a), to promote such cooperation, particularly with a view to raising the awareness of judges concerning the role of labour inspection in the protection of workers and ensuring that the labour inspectorate is informed of judicial decisions relating to its activities. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s reply that the labour inspectorate shall cooperate with the justice system in the field of employment rights and labour protection; if an accident has occurred at work, the subsequent actions of the labour inspectorate in the investigation shall depend on court judgements, for example to determine if the accident victim was employed by the relevant employer, and on opinions of forensic experts, for example, if the cause of death is not connected to the accident. Moreover, the Government indicates that Cabinet Regulation No. 432 of 21 June 2005, on procedures for operative exchange of information, prescribes the exchange of information among administrative entities including the labour inspectorate in performing their functions. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further information on the number of cases referred to the courts by the labour inspectorate and the outcome of the judicial examination.

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The Committee takes note of the Government’s report, which was received on 12 October 2009, and the attached documents.

Articles 3(1), (2) and 10 of the Convention. Principal labour inspection functions and the strengthening of inspection staff. The Committee notes from the Government’s report and the annual labour inspection reports sent to the ILO (covering 2007 and 2008) that there are two distinct structures within the labour inspection system to deal respectively with labour relations and labour protection. The Committee notes that the officials exercising their functions in both structures are all labour inspectors but the number of those assigned to combating illegal employment has been increased while the number of those assigned to supervising conditions of work has been reduced and a number of vacancies remained for the position of inspector and competitions were under way, as of 1 June 2009. The Committee must recall that, according to Articles 2 and 3(1) of the Convention, the labour inspection system should primarily be aimed at ensuring the application of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work. Consequently, the control of the legality of employment can only be considered as an additional function entrusted to the labour inspection structures. According to Article 3(2) of the Convention, any further duties which may be entrusted to labour inspectors shall not be such as to interfere with the effective discharge of the primary duties defined in paragraph 1 of the same Article or to prejudice in any way the authority and impartiality which are necessary to inspectors in their relations with employers and workers.

However, the Committee notes that, according to the Government and to the information included in the annual reports for 2007 and 2008, the labour inspectorate mainly focuses on illegal employment as an issue becoming even more pressing in the current conditions of high budget deficit and unemployment in the context of the economic crisis. In 2008, 4,554 inspections aimed at combating illegal employment resulted in the identification of 623 cases of illegal employment, the conclusion of 600 written employment contracts between workers in irregular situations and their employers, and the stoppage of labour relations of a number of shadow workers (1,023). No information is provided concerning the protection of the rights of the latter derived from their employment relationship in connection with the period worked. The Committee cannot emphasize enough the importance of ensuring that the same protection should be provided to all workers by the labour inspection system regardless of the type of the employment relationship. It emphasizes in paragraph 77 of its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection that the Convention does not contain any provision suggesting that any worker be excluded from the protection afforded by labour inspection on account of their irregular employment status and that, to be compatible with the objective of labour inspection, the function of verifying the legality of employment should have as its corollary the reinstatement of the statutory rights of all the workers (wages, leave benefits, overtime and any other related matters).

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the structure of the labour inspectorate and the number of positions allocated respectively to the supervision of labour relations and labour conditions, as well as those positions which remain vacant.

The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that the functions entrusted to the labour inspectorate to combat illegal employment do not interfere with the effective discharge of the primary duties defined by the Convention which are aimed at securing the application of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work. If no measures have been taken or envisaged, the Government is requested to take such measures and to keep the ILO duly informed.

Articles 3(1) and 21(d) and (e). Labour inspection enforcement activities and relevant statistics. The Committee notes with interest from the annual report of the labour inspection service in 2008, the information concerning its activities centred on the issue of occupational safety and health (OSH), in pursuance of the objective of the implementation of European Union campaigns in the area of OSH (SLIC information and inspection campaign on manual handling of loads, and information campaign on risk assessment), including inspection campaigns in sectors with increased risk of accidents and occupational diseases (in 2008, construction, textiles, and hairdressers and beauty parlours). The Committee observes however that the statistical data provided do not enable the Committee to evaluate the activities carried out in relation to other areas of labour conditions such as wages, working time, leave, child labour and areas of protection of workers such as social security, freedom of association, etc. and the results achieved in terms of legal notices, injunctions, fines, etc. The statistics only refer to violations identified and sanctions applied by the labour inspectorate in relation to so-called “labour protection”, without further detail as to the nature, area and seriousness of the legal provisions at issue nor to the nature of the sanctions imposed. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed statistical data on the labour activities and results achieved with regard to legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work. To be in a position to assess the level of application of the Convention, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would also ensure that, in the future, the labour inspection annual reports include the number of workplaces liable to inspection, the number of inspection visits made, their purpose, the classification of infringements according to the legal provisions to which they relate, and the nature of the penalties imposed (see the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), Paragraph 9(b)(ii), (c)(i), (d)(ii) and (e)(ii)). The Committee also refers in this regard to its general observation of 2009 on the crucial importance of information on the number of industrial and commercial workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein.

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted the adoption of Regulation No. 585 of 9 August 2005 establishing the procedure for the investigation and registration of work accidents, as well as Regulation No. 908 of 6 November 2006 on the procedure for the investigation and registration of cases of occupational diseases and had requested information on the operation of these procedures in practice and their impact on the detection and registration of work accidents and cases of occupational disease. The Committee notes with interest that in 2008, for the first time in five years, the number of accidents fell in part thanks to inspection campaigns implemented in high risk sectors which had not been previously inspected, and an active publicity campaign in the media. It also notes with interest that, according to the Government, an occupational therapist can request the labour inspection service to prepare an OSH report on the workplace in order to evaluate how the work may have influenced a person and diagnose an occupational disease, even in cases where the indications of an occupational disease are revealed in an employee or a person after termination of the employment relationship. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on the operation of the procedures for the investigation and registration of work accidents and cases of occupational disease and, in particular, their impact on the registration of work accidents and cases of occupational disease.

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

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With reference to its observation on this Convention, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the effect given to the recommendations of the tripartite mission for the audit of the labour inspection system in 2005 and, in particular, information on the following points.

Article 6 of the Convention. Status of the staff of the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes in the part of the annual report on the work of the labour inspectorate for 2006 relating to staff, that there appears to be a distinction between “civil servants” and “employees” in the labour inspectorate (180 and 31 budgeted positions, respectively). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide clarifications on the status of inspection “employees”, with an indication of the manner in which they are ensured of stability of employment and are independent of any external influences, and on the legal provisions governing their conditions of service.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Adequate training for labour inspectors. The Committee notes the efforts made by the Government and the action undertaken to improve the training of labour inspectors, both in relation to general and sectoral training and training activities on specific themes, including in the context of European Social Funds projects. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to provide information on the training programmes prepared and the training that is actually provided to labour inspectors initially or during the course of employment, with an indication of their duration and regularity and the subjects covered.

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. The Committee notes the adoption of Regulation No. 585 of 9 August 2005 establishing the procedure for the investigation and registration of work accidents, which contains provisions calling for an exchange of information between medical institutions and the labour inspectorate with a view to identifying concealed accidents. Also noting the adoption of Regulation No. 908 of 6 November 2006 on the procedure for the investigation and registration of occupational diseases, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information in its next report on the operation of these procedures in practice and their impact on the detection and registration of work accidents and cases of occupational disease.

Articles 18 and 21(e). Penalties. The Committee notes the new provisions of the Administrative Violations Code (section 41) establishing administrative penalties applicable for violations of the legislation respecting industrial relations and occupational safety and health. The Committee notes with interest that these provisions establish higher penalties for repeat offences. However, in the light of the information provided by the Government in its report received in 2005, it would appear that the minimum amounts of the fines applicable in the event of violations by individuals of either the occupational safety and health regulations giving rise to a direct threat to the health or safety of workers, or of the obligation to conduct an investigation into a work accident resulting in serious injury or the death of a worker, have however decreased (the minimum fine falling from 500 Latvian lats (LVL) to LVL350 in both cases). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide clarifications in this respect and if it would continue to provide information on the administrative penalties actually imposed by labour inspectors.

Furthermore, the Committee requests the Government to ensure that information on the penal sanctions imposed under section 146 of the Penal Code, and effectively imposed on those responsible for violations, are also included in the annual report of the labour inspectorate.

Finally, with reference to its 2007 general observation, which encourages effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the justice system, the Committee also requests the Government to indicate whether appropriate measures have been taken, as required by Article 5(a), to promote such cooperation, particularly with a view to raising the awareness of judges concerning the role of labour inspection in the protection of workers and ensuring that the labour inspectorate is informed of judicial decisions relating to its activities.

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The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the Government’s report for the period ending June 2007 and the numerous legislative texts attached. In its previous observation, it noted the report of the tripartite mission which had undertaken an audit of the labour inspection system in October 2005 and it requested information on the measures taken to give effect to the recommendations of the mission as they related to the present Convention. The Government reports in this respect the formulation of strategies and the implementation of programmes intended to develop a preventive culture in the field of occupational safety and health at the national level and involving the labour inspection services to a large extent.

Article 6 of the Convention. Conditions of service of labour inspectors. With regard to the staff of the labour inspectorate, the Committee emphasized in its previous comment the recommendations concerning the improvement in the conditions of service of inspectors, and particularly the need to increase their remuneration. It notes with satisfaction that, according to the information provided by the Government in its report, the salaries of personnel in the labour inspectorate were increased by an average of 69 per cent in 2006, and then by 78 per cent in 2007, and that the salaries of junior state labour inspectors more than doubled in 2007, rising from 123 Latvian Lati (LVL) to LVL250 (or around US$525).

Article 3, paragraph 1, and Article 10. Principal functions of the labour inspectorate and the strengthening of inspection staff. The Committee notes the creation in 2006 of seven positions in the labour inspectorate which, according to the Government, have been assigned to combating illegal employment, one of the fields of priority action determined by the Ministry of Social Protection for that year. However, it notes that, taking into account the positions vacant (43 on 31 December 2006, or one-fifth of the inspection staff), the total number of positions filled in 2006 is slightly lower than that of 2005. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify whether the vacant positions are for inspectors and it hopes that the Government will be in a position to take the necessary measures to fill the positions in the near future. It requests the Government to provide information on any development in this respect and also to indicate the manner in which it will be ensured that inspections relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work continue to be carried out by all labour inspectors.

Article 15. Professional ethical principles. The Committee takes due note of the adoption, in the context of the 2005 and 2006 amendments to the Law on the prevention of conflicts of interest in the operations of State officials, that an Ethics Code has been developed for labour inspectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the content of this Code, and particularly on the principles that it advocates in relation to each clause of Article 15 of the Convention, namely relating to the absence of direct or indirect interest, professional secrecy and confidentiality as to the source of complaints.

Articles 20 and 21. Annual report on the work of the labour inspection services. The Committee notes the annual reports on the work of the labour inspectorate for 2004, 2005 and 2006, which were attached to the Government’s report. It notes in particular with satisfaction the detailed nature and quality of the information, and particularly the statistics that they contain. These data enable the Committee to gain an overview of the labour inspection system and to fully assess its operation. With regard to information relating to the violations reported, the Committee would be grateful if the annual report on the work of the inspection services continued to include information of an analytical nature on the type of violations (for example, technical violations relating to occupational safety and health or the organization of work, or violations concerning employment contracts or the payment of wages), as was done in the reports for 2004 and 2005.

The Committee is also addressing a request directly to the Government on other points.

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The Committee has taken note of the information contained in the Government’s report received in September 2005.

1. Labour inspection audit. The Committee has taken due note of the report of the tripartite mission for the audit of the labour inspection system in Latvia which was undertaken with the technical support of the ILO in October 2005. The Committee observes that several recommendations contained in the report relate directly to the application of the Convention. It notes, in particular, the recommendations concerning the need to strengthen enforcement of the legal provisions, for example by imposing tougher penalties and by submitting cases of repeated violations to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the recommendations relating to the conditions of work for inspectors, calling amongst other things for an increase of the inspectors’ remuneration. The Committee looks forward to receiving from the Government detailed information on the progress achieved in implementing the recommendations of this tripartite audit on the labour inspection system.

2. Legislation. The Committee has taken note of the adoption, between 2003 and 2005, of a number of regulations, by-laws, orders and amendments, which provisions have an effect on the implementation of the Convention. The Committee notes, in particular, with interest the Amendments to the Criminal Law of 12 February 2004, which adds new sanctions in case of breaches of the requirements governing labour protection, Regulation No. 284 on labour protection requirements for safeguarding of employees against risks caused by vibration in work environment of 13 April 2004 and Regulation No. 852 on labour protection requirements in work with asbestos of 12 October 2004, the implementation of which will be controlled by the State Labour Inspection. The Committee further notes that the Government refers to certain legislative texts, in particular the Amendments to the Administrative Offences Code of Latvia of 25 March 2004, the Amendments to the State Labour Inspection Law of 7 October 2004, the Amendments to the Labour Protection Law of 16 December 2004, Regulation No. 99 regarding the types of entrepreneurship where the employer shall involve a competent institution and Regulation No. 101 regarding requirements towards the competent institutions and competent specialists in labour protection matters and procedure for assessment of the competence, both of 8 February 2005. As these texts were not enclosed with the Government’s report and as compliance with some of these regulations will have to be controlled by the State Labour Inspection or add additional rights to the labour inspectors, the Committee would be grateful if the Government could provide a copy of the said texts in order for it to evaluate their effect in light of the requirements of the Convention.

3. Publication of an annual report. The Committee notes the Government’s indication according to which the annual report of the State Labour Inspection for the year 2004 was sent to the ILO in May 2005. As it appears that the Office never received this report, the Committee trusts that the Government will ensure that an annual report on all the issues mentioned under Article 21 will be published and communicated to the ILO within a reasonable period, as prescribed by Article 20 of the Convention.

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The Committee notes with satisfaction the manner in which effect is given to the provisions of the Convention by numerous laws and regulations adopted in recent years, including the Law of 22 September 2000 on the public service, the Laws of 20 June 2001 on labour protection and on labour, Regulation No. 293 of 9 July 2002 implementing section 13 respecting investigation procedures and the recording of accidents at work, of 9 July 2002, the Law of 28 December 2001 on state labour inspection and its implementing Regulation No. 158 of 16 April 2002 determining certain powers of labour inspectors. These instruments contain provisions on each of the matters covered by the Convention: the structure of the labour inspection system; the functions of the labour inspectorate; cooperation and collaboration between inspection services and other interested parties, such as institutions engaged in similar activities and organizations of employers and workers; the status, conditions of service, powers and duties of inspection staff; and the resources made available to them for the discharge of their functions. Furthermore, the Committee welcomes the quality and detailed nature of the information contained in the Government’s reports and in the annual inspection reports for 2001, 2002 and 2003. It further notes with interest that the results of inspection activities are examined by the central authority with a view to their analysis and the identification of solutions to improve the inspection system for better enforcement of the legislation. In the view of the Government, even though efforts still have to be made, particularly in relation to the supervision of occupational safety and health conditions in a climate dominated by a high level of economic competitiveness, the updating of the census of workplaces has made it possible to extend the supervision of the labour inspectorate to many activities which fell outside such supervision up to the present. The Committee considers that the achievement of the objectives set out in the labour inspection instruments necessarily involves exhaustive knowledge of workplaces, which in turn involves the regular updating of their registration. It hopes that the publication of the annual report will not fail to give rise to reactions by the representative organizations of employers and workers and that any points of view expressed by them can be brought to the knowledge of the Office in accordance with the relevant procedures.

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The Committee notes the Government’s report and the documentation supplied in annex. It requests the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

Article 5(b) of the Convention. According to the Government, the labour inspection services and the social partners collaborate in the context of a Sub-Council of the National Tripartite Cooperation Council, as well as through projects and activities at the national and regional levels. The Committee would be grateful if it would indicate the nature and arrangements for such collaboration in the context of the above projects and activities.

Article 10. The Committee notes that in December 2000, of the 181 positions budgeted for labour inspectors, 165 were occupied. It requests the Government to indicate any measures which have been taken or are envisaged to fill the positions in such a way as to meet the needs envisaged in budgetary allocations.

Article 12, paragraphs 1(c)(iii) and 2. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate whether labour inspectors are authorized, on the one hand, to enforce the posting of notices required by legal provisions and, on the other hand, to decide on the occasion of an inspection visit not to notify the employer or his representative of their presence where they consider that such notification may be prejudicial to the effectiveness of the inspection. If not, the Government is requested to ensure that measures are taken to give effect to these two provisions of the Conventions.

Article 14. Noting that the Medical Advisory Commission of the Professional and Radiation Centre of Medicine of the Paul Stradins Clinic University Hospital notifies the labour inspectorate of cases of occupational diseases and provides the relevant information for investigations, the Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of any relevant text.

Articles 20 and 21. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would take any necessary measures to ensure that an annual inspection report covering the matters set out in points (a) to (g) of Article 21 is published regularly and communicated to the ILO within the time limits set out in Article 20.

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The Committee notes the Government's first report (period ending 31 May 1999). It requests the Government to provide further information and clarification on the application of the following provisions of the Convention.

Article 2, paragraph 1. Please specify whether the duties carried out by the hygienists (at central level, in the regions and towns) and by their deputies, in respect of hygiene and epidemiology fall within the sphere of responsibility of the State Sanitary Inspection, or of a separate inspection system.

Article 5, paragraph (b). Please indicate the particular forms of collaboration between officials of the State Labour Inspectorate and employers and workers, or their organizations.

Article 6. Please indicate the grounds for termination of employment of civil servants according to their particular statute.

Article 11, paragraph 1(b). The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the transport facilities supplied to regional state labour inspectorates besides those mentioned in the report.

Article 12, paragraph 1(c)(iii). Please indicate whether state labour inspectors have the powers provided for in this provision of the Convention and, if so, indicate the corresponding provisions of the national legislation.

Article 12, paragraph 2. Please indicate the legal provisions giving effect to these provisions and the manner in which they are applied in practice.

Article 14. The Committee asks the Government to clarify whether employers are obliged to notify the State Labour Inspectorate of cases of occupational disease; and to indicate the provisions of legislation obliging the consultative commission of physicians of the Centre of Occupational and Radiation Medicine of Pauls Stradins Teaching and Research Hospital of the Latvian Medical Academy to inform the State Labour Inspectorate of cases of occupational disease.

Article 27. Please clarify whether the Regulations of the Tripartite National Council of Employers, State and Trade Unions, ratified on July 12, 1996 and the law on the technical supervision of dangerous equipment, dated 23 February 1995, are still effective or whether they have been superseded respectively by the Regulations of the National Tripartite Cooperation Council, of 30 October 1998 and by the law of the Republic of Latvia on the technical supervision of dangerous equipment, of 24 September 1998. Please also state whether collective agreements in Latvia are enforceable by the State Labour Inspectorate and, if so, provide information on the relevant legal provisions.

The Committee also asks the Government to provide a copy of the Civil Service Act of 21 April 1994.