Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments in the report received by the ILO on 14 August 2009, as well as in the report on the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), received on 1 September 2009, and the attached documentation, namely the texts of Decree No. 2.08.69 of 9 July 2008 issuing the conditions of service of the labour inspectorate, Decree 2.08.70 of 9 July 2008 respecting the professional travel indemnities for labour inspectors and the report of the Labour Directorate of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training providing an assessment of the work of the labour inspection services for 2008.

Articles 6, 9 and 14 of the Convention. Number and qualifications of labour inspectors in agriculture. The Committee notes with interest that, to make up for the retirement of labour inspectors in 2005, the Ministry of Labour recruited 40 inspectors in 2007 and organized the recruitment of 15 inspectors in 2009. However, although it explains the reduction in the number of inspections on the grounds of the additional responsibilities entrusted to inspectors, the Government does not specify the number of those responsible for inspecting agricultural undertakings. Similarly, it does not provide details allowing a distinction to be made between occupational safety and health training activities undertaken for inspectors in agriculture in relation to the activities intended for all the inspection staff. The Committee therefore requests the Government to indicate the number and geographical distribution of labour inspectors and deputy inspectors in agricultural and forestry undertakings and to provide detailed information on the specific training which may have been provided to them to enable them to discharge their missions of supervision, information and technical advice in agricultural undertakings.

Article 12. Cooperation between inspection services in agriculture and other government services or institutions. The Committee notes the general institutional information concerning the coordination of the activities of the external services of public administrations and public institutions at the level of the governorates. The Committee wishes to emphasize that the cooperation that the Government is called upon to promote by this provision of the Convention does not consist of entrusting inspection duties to other institutions but, more generally, of making it possible for the labour inspection services to exchange information or services relevant to the operation of the labour inspection system in agriculture with other public or private bodies and institutions. In its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, the Committee noted that a range of different structures and bodies have at their disposal a wide range of data, information and research on the world of work which should be communicated systematically to the appropriate labour inspection departments through appropriate mechanisms (paragraph 154). In particular, it advocates such cooperation between the labour inspection services and those responsible, respectively, for employment, equality in the workplace, vocational training, job placement, migration, youth, basic or compulsory education, the disabled and for the gathering of statistical information with a view to defining the priorities for action of the labour inspection services (paragraph 155). In particular, the Committee emphasizes the value of effective cooperation with social security institutions and the police, as well as the judicial authorities, the tax authorities and the ministries responsible for the sectors covered by the labour inspection system (paragraphs 157 and 158).

In 2007, the Committee addressed an observation to the Members bound by this Convention and by Convention No. 81 on the various forms of cooperation that could be promoted between the labour inspection services and the judicial authorities and, in 2009, a general observation on the cooperation required between the labour inspection services and other public and private bodies for the establishment and regular updating of a register of workplaces liable to inspection. It notes in this respect with interest the guidance provided in the Methodological guide for inspections drawn up in 2006 with ILO support for the establishment of such a register and its content. The Committee would be grateful if the Government, with a view to the establishment of the register of workplaces liable to inspection, would take measures to facilitate the establishment of the above forms of cooperation, describe these measures and provide any relevant documentation, as well as information on their impact on the operation of the labour inspection services in agriculture.

Noting with interest that, according to the Methodological guide for inspections, an independent occupational health service has to be established in agricultural and forestry undertakings and their subsidiaries when they employ at least 50 workers, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the methods of collaboration followed in practice between labour inspection services and such medical services, particularly with a view to the prevention of occupational risks, and particularly those that cause pathologies specific to agricultural activities. It also requests the Government to provide data on the geographical distribution of these services and those that are competent for workers in smaller agricultural undertakings.

Article 13. Collaboration between the labour inspection services and employers and workers or their organizations. According to the Government, such collaboration is focused in particular on the field of industrial relations (collective bargaining, occupational elections, particularly with a view to the establishment of enterprise committees and safety and hygiene committees). While taking due note of this information, the Committee wishes to emphasize the need for collaboration between inspection services and the social partners in the forms and using the means advocated by the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1969 (No. 133), namely through the development of education campaigns intended to inform the parties concerned, by all appropriate means, of the applicable legal provisions and the need to apply them strictly, as well as of dangers to the life or health of persons working in agricultural undertakings and of the most appropriate means of avoiding them (Paragraph 14). The Committee therefore requests the Government to keep the ILO informed of any progress achieved with a view to effective collaboration between the inspection services and employers, workers or their organizations for the achievement of the objectives of the Convention and the results expected or achieved.

Articles 15(1)(b) and (2), and 21. Transport facilities and the reimbursement of the professional travel expenses of inspectors for the inspection of agricultural undertakings. Frequency of inspections. The Committee notes that under the terms of Decree No. 2.08.70 of 9 July 2008 of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, the travel indemnities allocated to labour inspectors and deputy inspectors are determined as a function of the grade of each official, to the exclusion of any other criterion. The text does not, for example, contain specific provisions applicable to the discharge of inspections and tours of agricultural undertakings, for which purpose the distances to be covered can be very variable and give rise to higher meal expenses and other costs than those for inspections in urban areas, where public transport may be available. Circular No. 2556 of 2 April 1999 respecting inspections nevertheless establishes the number of 15 inspections a month for each district supervisor of labour laws in agriculture and for each official responsible for the inspection of these laws. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to allow labour inspectors principally or partially covering the agricultural sector to be provided with appropriate allowances for their inspection visits and to be able to recover, where appropriate, any additional costs that they may have had to cover in the course of their work. If such measures have not yet been adopted, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would make up this shortcoming and provide relevant information and documentation, such as cost reimbursement forms.

Articles 16(2) and 20(c). Confidentiality of complaints. The Committee notes that, according to the Government in its report on the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), section 531 of the Labour Code and Dahir No. 1-58-008 of 24 February 1958 issuing the general conditions of service of the public service, as amended and supplemented, constitute an adequate legal basis for ensuring compliance by labour inspectors with the obligation of confidentiality in relation to complaints, as required by this provision of the Convention. However, the Committee observes that the texts referred to by the Government concern the general obligation of professional secrecy and discretion incumbent upon all officials, but that they do not explicitly establish the prohibition on giving any intimation to the employer or his representative that a visit of inspection was made in consequence of the receipt of a complaint. The recommendation made to labour inspectors in the Methodological guide for inspections to indicate, “according to circumstances”, the purpose of the visit and its desired cause would moreover appear to constitute a real obstacle to the protection of the authors of complaints against any risk of reprisals by the employer. It would be desirable for this recommendation only to be applied in specific circumstances, namely when inspections require the presence of the employer or his representative or the preparation of a workplace, the stoppage of machinery or equipment, in the case of inspections to verify the implementation of an earlier order or injunction, during information visits or those organized in the framework of a thematic campaign or as a result of an industrial accident or the notification of a case of occupational disease. Inspections carried out on the basis of a complaint should, in principle, in the same way as those that are planned (routine), be initiated and undertaken in full freedom by the labour inspector without having to indicate the purpose or inform the employer (or his representative). This is the essential condition for compliance by labour inspectors with the obligation of confidentiality set out in Article 20(c) of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to take measures in the light of the above to ensure the freedom necessary for labour inspectors in the discharge of their functions during inspections so as to enable them to protect the authors of complaints from any risk of reprisals by the employer or his representative.

Articles 26 and 27. Information and statistical data necessary for the functioning of the labour inspection services and the publication of an annual report on the work of the inspection services in agriculture. The Committee notes the recommendations in the Methodological guide for inspections concerning the register, data entries and files on workplaces and the information that has to be contained therein, such as their characteristics, the number of persons employed, etc. It cannot overemphasize the value of also including data, such as the distribution of the workforce by type of employment (managerial and administrative staff, manual workers), sex and age, as well as the presence of persons with disabilities. In this respect, the Committee notes with interest the specific recommendation to inspectors in relation to monitoring the protection of certain categories of workers (pregnant women, young workers and workers exposed to risks).

The Committee also considers that information on the existence of trade unions and their representative nature would enable inspectors to make use of such organizations for the communication within agricultural undertakings of information designed to raise the awareness of men and women workers concerning matters related to legal provisions and occupational risks. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would ensure that the annual report on the work of the inspection services, with a view to the establishment of the register of workplaces in the agricultural sector, contains information and statistics which enable the central authority to make an assessment that is as reliable as possible of the operation of the labour inspection system in agricultural undertakings with a view to identifying priorities for action and determining appropriate budgetary allocations in relation to the national situation. Such information, which must necessarily include the number of undertakings liable to inspection, is also useful to the Committee to enable it to assess the level of application of the Convention.

The Government is requested to indicate whether the annual assessment of the work of the labour inspection services in agriculture is published as an annual report, as provided for in Article 26 of the Convention. If so, please indicate any comments to which it may have given rise from occupational organizations of employers and workers. If it is not published in that form, please take measures for the publication of the document on a regular basis within the required time-limits.