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2006, Labour Inspection: Final remarksDescription:(General Survey) Convention:C081 Convention:P081 Convention:C129 Recommendation:R081 Recommendation:R082 Recommendation:R133 Subject classification: Labour Inspection Subject: Labour Administration and Inspection Document:(Report III Part 1B) Session of the Conference:95 Display the document in: French Spanish Document No. (ilolex): 252006G13 Final remarks 363. The importance of labour inspection has always been recognized by the ILO. It has been high on the agenda since the Organization was founded over 80 years ago. Whilst, over recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the increased importance of labour inspection in today's global economy, there has been inadequate recognition of the increasing complexity of labour inspection and the problems experienced in responding effectively to the increasing demands made upon it. 364. The fundamental changes in the world of work, which are set to continue, are now well understood. These changes include fragmentation of the labour market; the rapid growth in foreign and migrant workers; the rise in deregulation and privatization; new forms of subcontracting or outsourcing; the increase in atypical working arrangements and relationships; the increased participation of women in the labour market, with greater awareness of the need to eliminate gender discrimination in pay and working conditions and, further, the need to eliminate all forms of discrimination on grounds other than gender; the rapid and complex developments in technology; and concerns as to job insecurity and increased levels of stress at work. All these factors, combined with others, have had a considerable impact on the traditional concept of labour protection. 365. Against this background there can be no doubt as to the need for increased protection of workers. This in turn requires specific recognition of the more complex responsibilities of the labour inspectorate, its mandate and priorities and the need to identify the scope of workers' needs. It is also essential that the inspectorate be strong, informed, impartial, properly resourced, organized and managed, able to adapt to change and able to do its job. 366. As the Committee already observed in its 1985 General Survey, the high number of ratifications of Convention No. 81 bears witness to the recognition by member States of the important role played by labour inspection as a guarantee of compliance with labour law and the protection of workers. At the same time, however, only 43 of the 135 States parties to Convention No. 81 have also ratified Convention No. 129, and only ten the Protocol of 1995. The gap, as already noted in 1985, between the very broad acceptance of obligations relating to industry and commerce and a marked reluctance to extend them to agriculture, even where agriculture is an important sector of the economy, due in part to administrative, technical and economic obstacles cited by certain governments, has been confirmed, if not accentuated. The Committee therefore hopes that this survey will help to clarify the requirements of the respective instruments and to enable many countries to eliminate the perceived obstacles to the ratification of Convention No. 129. 367. The Committee is of the view that Conventions Nos. 81 and 129, as priority Conventions, should be the objects of a promotional campaign within the ILO. Such a campaign could stress the essential contribution of a labour inspection system, operating in accordance with Convention No. 129, to the promotion of decent work in agriculture. 368. Examination of national law and practice shows that the functions entrusted to labour inspection are generally those envisaged by the instruments, securing essentially the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work. Nevertheless, the manner in which these functions are discharged varies greatly between countries. The differences lie in the amount of time devoted to the various inspection functions, including prevention and control and inspections at the initiative of the inspection services on the one hand, compared with those undertaken in reaction to complaints, functions relating to occupational safety and health and those relating to compliance with other conditions of employment on the other hand. In certain countries, priority is given by governments to combating clandestine work or illegal employment, which is increasingly linked to enforcing immigration law. However, this should not be given such prominence that it detracts from the essential labour inspection function of protecting all workers without distinction. In other countries the labour inspectorate may be used to supervise trade union and employer organizations, which may interfere with the exercise of freedom of association and collective bargaining. Moreover, labour inspectors are still too often entrusted with additional tasks outside their principal functions of enforcement, information and advice foreseen in the instruments and these tasks interfere with the effective discharge of their principal functions. As discussed earlier in this survey, while promotional activities to raise awareness of working conditions and of labour inspection are important, these should not have priority over the principal functions entrusted to inspectors, to which the available resources should always be allocated first. 369. The Conventions set out general principles and provide the essential and universal framework for the status, structures and function of labour inspection. It is the responsibility of the competent authority in each country, in consultation with the social partners, to define the needs and to determine priorities and the principal fields of action, having regard to national circumstances, duly taking into account the fundamental principles and rights at work set out in the ILO Declaration. The labour inspection services then need to be provided with the necessary material and human resources to ensure that they can function effectively and to ensure, as a minimum, that the workplaces under their supervision are inspected thoroughly and with sufficient frequency. 370. In many developing countries, as well as certain industrialized countries, it is clear that the resources allocated to labour inspection are insufficient to enable inspection functions to be discharged properly. Budgetary constraints result in insufficient staffing, inadequately trained personnel and conditions of service which do not provide full guarantees of independence and integrity. The recruitment, training and retention in the profession of competent and motivated personnel presupposes a level of budgetary resources that is too often lacking. Similarly, the inadequacy of material resources seriously limits the impact of the labour inspectorate. In many developing countries, the influence of labour inspection is confined to formal activities in urban areas, while workers in agriculture and the informal economy, who are in greater need of protection, remain outside its scope. The lack of resources also hinders the ability of the inspectorate to respond to the evolving recognition and awareness of other hazards in the workplace, including stress, sexual harassment and aggressive or violent conduct towards workers. 371. The Committee wishes to emphasize that the priority nature of labour inspection should be reflected in the level of resources allocated. Governments, as well as international financial institutions, when considering whether to provide assistance to a particular project, should recognize the vital contribution to development and social cohesion made by an efficient labour inspection service. Governments should also provide financial resources or guarantees for the purchase of equipment to strengthen labour inspection in all sectors of activity. 372. Finally, the Committee has been struck by the significant contribution that labour inspection under the terms of Conventions Nos. 81 and 129 has to make to the achievement of the ILO's Decent Work Agenda. The Committee has drawn attention in this General Survey to specific, important issues such as HIV/AIDS in the workplace, equal remuneration, the fight against all forms of discrimination and child labour, where labour inspection is an indispensable part of national strategies. It would like to think that its own work in supervising the application of these Conventions might assist the Office in identifying problems which require action at the national level; and in monitoring progress and compiling good practices. 373. In its examination of the reports the Committee has been made aware of the practical relevance of labour inspection especially in developing countries. It is clear that the terms of the ILO instruments on this subject draw on experience in the formal sector whereas, in many countries of the world, formal employment relations apply only to a small minority of the population; and the mandate of the labour inspectorate simply does not extend to the vast, informal economy where conditions of work are generally poorer. In this context the Committee notes, in addition to Article 5(1) of Convention No. 129, that Article 7 of Convention No. 150 calls for the extension of labour administration functions to workers who are not "employed persons". It would therefore urge further consideration of how labour inspection services might develop in this respect. Article 5(a) and (b) of Convention No. 81 and Articles 12 and 13 of Convention No. 129, on which little information has been provided in the reports, point to the interest in extending labour inspection activities, particularly in countries where resources are so scarce, through cooperation with employers and workers, and public and private institutions. 374. In conclusion, the labour inspection system has the potential to play an even greater role than it has hitherto, in ensuring the protection of both men and women workers in all sectors and at all levels; in ensuring compliance at national level with national labour laws; and, ultimately, in assisting and strengthening the international supervisory system. Further, an effective system of labour inspection at the national level, carried out by professionally trained and adequately resourced inspectors, who are suitably qualified and independent of improper external influence, benefits both employers and workers. A strong and effective labour inspectorate provides not only better protection, but also better prevention and productivity at work, to the benefit of everyone.
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