Introduction

Background

1. In accordance with the provisions of article 19, paragraph 5(e), of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office decided at its 288th Session (November 2003) to request the governments of member States which had not ratified either the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), or the Protocol of 1995 to the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), to report on the present state of their laws and practices in regard to the matters dealt with in these instruments, showing the extent to which effect has been given, or is proposed to be given, to the respective provisions of the instruments by legislation, administrative action, collective agreement or otherwise and stating the difficulties which prevent or delay their ratification. As a result of this decision and in accordance with the provisions of article 19, paragraph 6(d), of the Constitution, the governments of all the member States were requested to report on the present state of their laws and practices in regard to the matters dealt with in the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), the Labour Inspection (Mining and Transport) Recommendation, 1947 (No. 82), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1969 (No. 133).

3. Since its beginnings, the International Labour Organization has made labour inspection one of its priorities. The question of labour inspection was one of the general principles under article 427, ninth point, of Part XIII of the Treaty of Versailles which set up the ILO. It stipulates that "Each State should make provision for a system of inspection, in which women will take part, in order to ensure the enforcement of laws and regulations for the protection of the employed". Under article 10(2)(b) of the ILO Constitution, the International Labour Office shall assist governments in the improvement of labour inspection systems. At the very first International Labour Conference in 1919, a Recommendation was adopted with a view to establishing a system that would ensure factories and workshops were inspected effectively and establishing a public service in all member States, which, in cooperation with the International Labour Office, would be responsible for protecting workers' health. (Endnote_3) Four years later, in 1923, a new international Recommendation established the set of principles which remain the basis for the effective establishment and functioning of a labour inspection system. (Endnote_4) Convention No. 81, which applies to industrial and commercial workplaces, has been considered ever since its adoption in 1947 as the universal reference instrument on labour inspection and was enormously influenced by the 1923 Recommendation. In the majority of international labour Conventions on working conditions and the protection of workers adopted subsequently, there are provisions for the establishment of labour inspection or at least the appointment of authorities who will be responsible for ensuring the supervision of the application of relevant legislation. Finally, labour inspection plays an important role in applying a number of ILO codes of practice on occupational safety and health. (Endnote_5)

9. Many and various economic, social and technical changes have affected not only each and every country but also the whole world of work through the effects of economic globalization. Thus, at the beginning of the third millennium, questions have been raised not so much about the need for inspection systems to be developed but about the opportunity to reflect on a possible change of direction in terms of the role and the objectives of labour inspection, and also in terms of the distribution of expertise and responsibility concerning inspection, having regard to such factors as an increasingly diverse workforce and the need to take steps to prevent discrimination. In the industrialized countries, the role of labour inspection has been gradually changing over the last ten to 15 years, particularly as a result of the increased responsibility taken by enterprises with respect to occupational health and safety. Mechanisms for the self- evaluation of occupational hazards have been implemented to this end and labour inspection can now concentrate on preventative and advisory activities. The extension of inspection to the psychological and psychosomatic aspects of the employment relationship, such as stress, harassment and bullying in the workplace, means that labour inspectorates in some industrialized countries are now focusing more attention on these aspects.

12. The ratification of the Conventions and the Protocol on labour inspection provide the legal basis for international supervision of the application of these instruments at a national level. Regular supervision is carried out by the Committee of Experts biennially and is based on reports due under article 22 of the ILO Constitution, and also by the Committee on the Application of Standards of the International Labour Conference. Although the Recommendations that accompany Conventions are not mandatory, they contain highly relevant directions and practical advice, as is evidenced by the information on laws and practices that many countries transmit to the ILO. At the time the Committee was finishing its work on this survey, Convention No. 81, which is one of the four priority Conventions, (Endnote_13) had been ratified by 135 Members, that is 29 more since the previous survey on labour inspection in 1985. For many years it has been one of the ILO instruments with the most ratifications, and requests from a number of countries for ILO technical assistance with a view to ratifying it are evidence of the interest it continues to generate. It is undoubtedly significant that support from the majority of Members for the principle of international supervision of their inspection systems was not sufficient for there to be a similar move for the ratification of the Protocol of 1995 to the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947, which applies to the non-commercial services sector. Only ten countries have ratified it.

14. The Committee received information from the reports transmitted under article 19 of the Constitution by the governments of 100 countries. It also used the documents and information provided under article 22 of the Constitution by countries bound by one or the other of the Conventions and the Protocol. The Committee also duly took account of observations from the employers' and workers' organizations. (Endnote_15) Lastly, relevant information for the purposes of this survey was received from the International Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), and the technical departments of the ILO responsible for labour inspection (SAFEWORK) and social dialogue (DIALOGUE).

Endnotes

Armenia, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Montenegro and Viet Nam. Endnote 13

Cross references
Constitution: Article 19
Constitution: Article 22
Constitution: Article 35
Conventions: C085 Labour Inspectorates (Non-Metropolitan Territories) Convention, 1947
Conventions: C178 Labour Inspection (Seafarers) Convention, 1996
Not in ILOLEX: General Survey 1966, para. 235