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Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - Antigua and Barbuda (Ratification: 2002)

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Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Articles 1 and 4 of the Convention. Effective operation of a system of labour administration. The Committee previously noted that a review of the functions and organizational structure of the Department of Labour took place in 2004, with a view to restructuring the Department, within the framework of the reform of the public sector. The final report of this review raised a number of concerns, including the need for better collaboration between the Department of Labour and the Industrial Court, and made a number of recommendations regarding the organizational structure of the Department. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the Department of Labour is the central body with responsibility for labour administration in the country. The Labour Department employs 64 workers and includes units on labour relations, labour inspection, employment, labour statistics, free movement within the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy and matters related to the ILO. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), in 2012, that public sector reform was ongoing. The Committee asks that the Government provide information on any measures taken, including within the ongoing public sector reform, to ensure the effective operation of the labour administration system. It also asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken to facilitate coordination within the labour administration system, including between the Department of Labour and the Industrial Court.

Article 5. Consultation, cooperation and negotiation between the public authorities and employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the labour relations unit, within the Department of Labour, promotes and maintains regular dialogue with representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations with a view to informing them about the labour policies of the Government. The Government also indicates that the Labour Code establishes two tripartite bodies: the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, which is constituted every two years to review the national minimum wage, and the National Labour Board, which is charged with reviewing national labour laws and policies. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the operation of the National Labour Board, including the frequency of its meetings and the matters addressed, and to supply any reports or documents relating to these activities. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of the most recent report of the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee, with its next report.

Article 10. Human resources and material means necessary for the operation of the labour administration system. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that there is one central agency for providing equipment and transport facilities within the public service. The Committee recalls that the final report of the review of the Department of Labour, undertaken in 2004, raised concerns regarding the difficult physical accommodation and working conditions under which staff of the Department of Labour worked, as well as the need for a full complement of trained staff. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on measures taken to ensure that the material means and financial resources allocated to the labour administration system are sufficient for the effective exercise of its functions. It also requests the Government to provide information on the criteria and procedures followed for the recruitment of labour administration staff, as well as the training provided during the course of their service.

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

The Committee notes the Government’s first report covering the period from June 2005 to June 2007 as well as the report received on 28 August 2009 which does not contain the information requested by the ILO by letter of 29 September 2008. The Committee notes with interest that the Government had requested in 2004 a review by the Office of the functions and organizational structure of the Department of Labour with a view to restructuring the Department for more comprehensive and effective labour administration services, within the framework of the reform of the public sector. This assessment took place in November 2004 and a number of recommendations were issued in February 2005. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on any follow‑up actions undertaken following such review and particularly information on the following points:

(1) financial resources (i.e. proportion of the national budget allocated to the operation of the system of labour administration) and material means (transport facilities, office equipment, etc.) allocated to the staff for the performance of their duties;

(2) staff of the labour administration system: (i) staff numbers; (ii) status (recruitment, conditions of service, independence, access to training, etc.); and (iii) impact of the ongoing public sector reform on such status, including any developments with regard to a possible integration of the “non-established” workers into the established staff structure.

(3) organization and coordination of the system of labour administration: (i) administrative structures and bodies at the central and decentralized levels and their respective functions; and (ii) competent body or structure responsible for the coordination of such functions;

(4) competent bodies within the system of labour administration whose functions are: (i) the preparation, administration, coordination, checking and review of a national employment policy; (ii) the study of the situation of employed, unemployed and underemployed persons and the identification of defects or abuses in conditions of work and of appropriate remedies; and (iii) the provision of services to employers and workers and their organizations with a view to promoting effective consultation and cooperation between public authorities and bodies and such organizations, as well as between such organizations; and operation of such bodies in practice;

(5) practical measures taken to ensure consultation, cooperation and negotiation between the public authorities and the most representative organizations of employers and workers or employers’ and workers’ representatives, including tripartite bodies or structures within administrative entities set up to ensure tripartite relations within the system of labour administration (such as the National Advisory Board and the National Economic and Social Council); and details on the matters addressed during the period covered by the next Government’s report as well as on the results achieved.

The Committee also requests the Government to provide a copy of any reports or extracts thereof illustrating the operation and coordination in practice of the labour administration system, including reports of any tripartite body entrusted with labour administration activities.