Chapter VII. Reports from labour inspection services

I. Periodical reports from labour inspectors

268. If the higher inspection authority is to exert control over the operation of the inspection services which are subordinate to it, it must be kept regularly informed of their activities. For this reason Article 19 of Convention No. 81 and Article 25 of Convention No. 129 provide that labour inspectors or local inspection offices, as the case may be, are to be required to submit periodical reports on the results of their activities to the central inspection authority at least once a year; the form and content of such reports are to be distinguished from the reports normally made by labour inspectors after each visit and referred to in Chapter V, "Means of action available to the labour inspection services". (Endnote 1)

269. Although in many countries the obligation of inspectors to submit a periodical report is prescribed either by the legislation or by administrative instructions, the information available has not always made it possible to determine with precision whether and to what extent this obligation is complied with in practice.

270. The periodicity of the reports to be presented by labour inspectors varies from one country to another. They may be required to submit daily, (Endnote 2) weekly, (Endnote 3) monthly, (Endnote 4) quarterly, (Endnote 5) six-monthly (Endnote 6) or even annual reports. (Endnote 7) In some countries an annual report supplements reports presented at shorter intervals. (Endnote 8) Furthermore, inspectors may also be required to furnish special reports on specific questions. (Endnote 9)

271. The content of reports also differs from one country to another, although they generally include information on the number of establishments visited during the period covered, the infringements noted and the accidents that have occurred. In certain countries inspectors are required to present their reports within a given framework. (Endnote 10) The generalisation of such a practice would be highly desirable in order to facilitate the analysis and interpretation of information at the national level. Moreover, the preparation of the overall report which the central authority must establish each year on the activities of the inspection services will be far easier if the reports on which it is based are drafted according to a uniform model.

II. Reports of the central inspection authority

A. Basic objectives

272. Under Article 20 of Convention No. 81 the central inspection authority must publish annual general reports on the work of the inspection services not later than 12 months after the end of the year to which they relate, copies of which must be transmitted to the ILO within a period of three months from their publication. The content of these reports is defined in Article 21 of the Convention and in Paragraph 9 of Recommendation No. 81. Articles 26 and 27 of Convention 129, and Paragraph 13 of Recommendation No. 133 contain equivalent provisions regarding the preparation of annual reports on the work of the agricultural inspection services.

273. The Committee has stressed on many occasions the great importance it attaches to the publication and communication to the ILO of annual inspection reports within the prescribed time-limits. (Endnote 11) These reports, if well prepared, constitute valuable sources of information from two points of view. From the national point of view, the annual inspection reports are essential for an assessment of the practical results of the activities of labour inspectorates. Moreover, these reports give the national authorities significant data for the application of labour legislation and may also reveal gaps in the legislation which may be instructive to the authorities for the future. The publication of annual inspection reports should also provide information to employers and workers and their organisations and elicit their reactions. From an international point of view, annual inspection reports also should make it possible to judge the manner in which inspection systems function in practice and to assess the extent to which the international labour Conventions ratified by the different countries are being applied with reference to the extent of application of the relevant national laws and regulations.

B. National practice

(a) Publication of reports

274. Although the ILO receives a fairly large number of annual inspection reports, half of the countries which have ratified Convention No. 81 and/or Convention No. 129 appear to have difficulties in fulfilling their obligations in this respect, either because they do not prepare annual reports, or because they do not transmit them to the ILO within the prescribed time-limits. (Endnote 12) In a number of countries the documents communicated by certain governments as annual inspection reports cannot be regarded as giving effect to Article 20 of Convention No. 81 and Article 26 of Convention No. 129, to the extent that they do not appear to have been published. Additional information has been requested of the governments concerned. (Endnote 13)

275. The lack of qualified staff and of financial resources has often been mentioned as the major cause of these shortcomings. Given the importance which it attaches to annual inspection reports, the Committee cannot but be gravely concerned at this situation, which appears to be worsening over the years.

276. In countries which are not bound by any of the labour inspection Conventions, it has in most cases not been possible to determine from the information available whether annual inspection reports are published regularly. (Endnote 14) One government indicated in this connection that most of the information requested under Article 21 of Convention No. 81 and Article 27 of Convention No. 129 was prepared for internal use by the State. (Endnote 15)

(b) Form of the reports

277. Annual inspection reports, where they exist, very often appear in a separate publication of the central authority, (Endnote 16) although other arrangements may also be found. Thus, in certain countries, annual inspection reports are included in the general report of the ministry responsible for labour and/or social affairs, (Endnote 17) whereas in others they are published in the official gazette (Endnote 18) or in administrative or other reviews. (Endnote 19) All these various arrangements give effect to Article 20 of Convention No. 81 and Article 26 of Convention 129, which merely require the annual report to be published. In cases where there are difficulties of a financial nature in the publication of an annual report, recourse to inexpensive methods of printing -- for instance roneoed or mimeographed inspection reports -- should enable the requirements of the Conventions to be met, provided that the reports are widely disseminated among the authorities and administrations concerned and among workers' and employers' organisations, and that they are placed at the disposal of all interested parties.

278. However, the Committee considers it desirable that the information to be contained in the annual inspection report should be published in a single document and not scattered throughout a number of publications. Needless to say, in countries where a number of autonomous labour inspection services exist for different branches of activity or different objects of supervision, the reports of each inspection system may be published separately. In particular, as regards labour inspection in agriculture, Article 26 of Convention No. 129 states that the report may either be published separately or as part of the annual general report of the inspection services; in the latter case, the report must naturally contain specific information on agriculture, which is not always the case.

(c) Content of the annual inspection reports

279. Under Article 21 of Convention No. 81 and Article 27 of Convention No. 129 annual inspection reports must contain information on the following subjects: (a) laws and regulations relevant to the work of labour inspection; (b) staff of the labour inspection service; (c) statistics of undertakings liable to inspection and the number of persons working therein; (d) statistics of inspection visits; (e) statistics of violations and penalties imposed; (f) statistics of occupational accidents; (g) statistics of occupational diseases. This is a minimum requirement designed to ensure a measure of uniformity in the information requested, but it would of course be useful for annual inspection reports to include other information, as advocated by Recommendations Nos. 81 and 133, particularly suggestions and recommendations on the social objectives to be attained and on desirable improvements in the relevant fields.

280. The content of annual inspection reports varies substantially from one country to another. In countries with well-equipped statistical services the reports are often voluminous documents which not only contain most of the data required by the labour inspection Conventions but also stress the most outstanding events of the year in order to give the national authorities subjects for reflection. In other countries with insufficient human and material resources, on the other hand, the information is less complete. A comparison of the different annual reports available shows that statistics of occupational diseases are those most frequently missing from annual inspection reports. One of the reasons for this shortcoming is undoubtedly that employers do not always fulfil their obligations in this respect. (Endnote 20) This could also explain why the statistics of occupational diseases, where they exist, as well as statistics of occupational accidents, may be understated with respect to reality. (Endnote 21)

281. In accordance with the wish expressed by the Committee on Labour Inspection (Agriculture) of the International Labour Conference in 1969, the ILO has prepared a simplified model annual report in order to facilitate the task of governments and to achieve uniformity in the presentation of the information requested by Conventions Nos. 81 and 129. Even though this model report should be updated to take account of certain developments, the Committee considers it useful to include it in the present survey (Appendix III) in case governments may wish to refer to it.

Endnotes

Endnote 2

Endnote 3

Endnote 4

Endnote 5

Endnote 6

Endnote 7

Endnote 8

Endnote 9

Endnote 10

Endnote 11

Endnote 12

Endnote 13

Endnote 14

Endnote 15

Endnote 16

Endnote 17

Endnote 18

Endnote 19

Endnote 20

Endnote 21

Cross references
Constitution: Article 19
Constitution: Article 22
Constitution: Article 35