Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

The Committee notes that the Government's report does not contain a reply to its previous comments. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the points raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 2, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Please provide information on the manner in which the Convention is generally applied in the mining industry, including information on laws or regulations relevant to the labour inspectorate and the facilities and personnel used for the inspection of mines.

Article 5. Please provide information on the arrangements made to promote effective cooperation between the inspection services and other government services, in particular those responsible for occupational health.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure that labour inspectors are adequately trained for the performance of their duties.

Article 11. Please provide information on the sufficiency of office and transport facilities and equipment in relation to the obligation under Article 16 to inspect workplaces as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legal provisions.

Furthermore, the Committee notes the information and statistical data provided by the Government in its annual inspection report for 1992. It recalls that this report must be prepared annually and published so that it is widely disseminated among the authorities and administrations concerned, as well as employers' and workers' organizations, and made available to all persons concerned. Furthermore, this obligation must take place within a reasonable period, not exceeding 12 months in any event. The Committee attaches great importance to the regular communication of inspection reports to the Office, within the time-limits set out in Article 20, so that it can assess the manner in which the inspection system functions in practice. With regard to the data supplied, the Committee notes that no statistics are provided of industrial accidents or occupational diseases (Article 21(f) and (g)). Furthermore, in relation to the latest data supplied on which a comparison can be based (1988), the information has been subdivided by ten economic sectors so that, for example, eight workplaces in the extractive sector and 29 in the manufacturing sector were liable to inspection, of which five and 23 respectively were inspected in 1992, whereas 122 workplaces under the heading "Industries - mines and quarries" were liable to inspection and 49 inspections were made in 1988. This difference could indicate a decrease in the number of workplaces liable to inspection in these sectors. The Committee requests the Government to include all the statistical data required by the Convention in future inspection reports and to supply information on such substantial differences so that the Committee is in a position to assess whether workplaces are inspected as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legal provisions (Article 16).