Effective OSH inspection is vital for promoting national legislation and good practice on safety and health at the enterprise level, making Decent Work a reality. Inspectors thus need a sound technical and legal knowledge as well as good communication and other skills to promote compliance with the law, as well as effective and efficient organisations supporting their work.
Through regular preventive and reactive visits, they should therefore be able to give sound good advice, taking enforcement action where necessary, to reduce accidents and ill health at work and promote sound OSH management systems. In partnership with others, inspectors also frequently participate in educational, training and awareness-raising activities to increase understanding of OSH risks at work and how they may be effectively managed and controlled.
However, in the world of work today, resources for inspection services are often under significant pressure and inspectors face challenges in promoting compliance with the law in all economic sectors. In particular, their impact in the growing informal economy can be minimal. The implementation of international labour standards by governments and their social partners is vital here.
Thus the ILO gives high priority to the need to strengthen and modernise inspection services, and to highlight the need for sufficient resources for inspection. The Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization 2008 also calls for “effective labour inspection” to help promote the Decent Work agenda.