Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Referring to its observation, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

Article 10 of the Convention. Number and categories of labour inspectors. The Committee notes that according to the Government’s report, the Labour Department has ten inspectors, while the statistics attached to its report indicate a that there are 11 labour inspectors. It further notes that under section 12 of the Social Security Act (CAP. 408) special inspectors may be designated to ensure the application of the provisions of the said Act. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed information on the composition of the labour inspection staff entrusted with the three primary duties listed in Article 3(1) of the Convention, as well as their respective areas of competence.

Articles 3, paragraph 2, and 16. Additional functions entrusted to labour inspectors and frequency of inspection visits. According to the job description communicated by the Government, the Committee notes that in addition to their primary functions, such as inspection visits, the enforcement of legal provisions and the provision of advice on labour conditions, labour inspectors are obliged to carry out other functions in the Labour Department, as well as the functions assigned to them by their immediate supervisor, the Labour Commissioner or the Deputy Labour Commissioner. The Committee is of the view that the heavy workload deriving from such additional duties entrusted to labour inspectors is liable to prevent them from performing labour inspection duties, which seems to be demonstrated by the significant decrease in the number of inspections over the last decade in industrial and commercial workplaces. Referring to Article 3(2) of the Convention, according to which any further duties which may be entrusted to labour inspectors shall not be such as to interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties, the Committee asks the Government to take measures aimed at ensuring that full effect is given to this provision and to keep the ILO informed of such measures and of the results achieved in terms of numbers and frequency of inspections in industrial and commercial workplaces.

Article 6. Status and conditions of labour inspectors. The Committee notes from the information contained in the statistics on labour inspection activities in 2008, that only two of the 11 inspectors mentioned are public officials. The Committee wishes to remind the Government that under Article 6 of the Convention, labour inspection staff must be composed of public officials whose status and conditions of service are such that they are assured of stability of employment and are independent of changes of government and of improper external influences. The Committee therefore asks the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that full effect is given to the above provision and to provide information on the conditions of service of the labour inspection staff (especially as regards remuneration and career prospects) and to communicate any relevant documentation.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Training of labour inspection staff. The Committee notes that inspectors received training in the area of occupational health and safety in January 2008 and April 2009. The Committee asks the Government to provide further information (specific topics dealt with, duration of training, number and categories of participants), to indicate any steps taken to ensure the continuous training of labour inspectors to adapt their skills to the changing work environment and to communicate copies of any relevant documents.

Articles 17 and 18. Necessary balance between warnings and the prosecution of employers in violation. The Committee notes that according to the statistics of infringements and prosecutions for 2008, the policy of the Labour Department is to use advice and persuasion rather than prosecution for minor breaches of regulations. It would like to draw the Government’s attention in this regard to paragraphs 279 and 280 of its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection, in which it explains that while advice and information can only encourage compliance with legal provisions, they should nonetheless be accompanied by an enforcement mechanism enabling those guilty of violations to be prosecuted. The Committee further states that the credibility of any inspectorate depends to a large extent on its ability to advise employers and workers on the most effective means of complying with legal provisions, but that it also depends on the existence and implementation of a sufficiently dissuasive enforcement mechanism and it emphasizes that, for the labour inspectorate, the functions of enforcement and advice are inseparable in practice. The Government is therefore asked to ensure, in accordance with these provisions of the Convention, that labour inspectors are free to decide, even in the case of minor infringements, whether they should issue warnings or initiate the prosecution of those in breach of legal provisions relating to conditions of work, taking into account criteria such as the usual conduct of the employer, the length of time that the enterprise has been operating and the goodwill shown.

Articles 19, 20 and 21. Annual report on labour inspection activities. The Committee notes that no annual labour inspection report has been sent to the ILO since the report for 1995. While noting with interest the statistical information on labour inspection activities, the Committee would like to recall once again that an annual report has to be published and communicated to the ILO, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, and that Part IV of Recommendation No. 81 provides guidance on how the information and statistics requested under Article 21 can be disaggregated to give a reliable basis for the assessment of the work of the labour inspection system. The periodic reports provided for by Article 19 have to be drawn up in accordance with standardized instructions from the central inspection authority in order to facilitate the drawing up of annual reports. Noting the Government’s commitment to do its utmost to ensure that an annual report is published in the near future, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to take the necessary steps to this effect and to ensure the communication of such a report to the ILO as soon as practicable.