Trade Union Training on

Occupational Safety and Health and

HIV and AIDS

Labour Inspection and
Role of Trade Unions
Outline of the Presentation
What is labour inspection?
ILO standards concerning labour inspection
Key functions of labour inspection
Principles of labour inspection
Who is a labour inspector?
Powers of labour inspectors
Obligations of labour inspection
Conditions of service of labour inspectors
Criteria for determining the number of labour inspectors required
Material means and practical conditions
Types of labour inspection visits
How do labour inspection services ensure decent working conditions
Why are sanctions required to promote compliance
Current challenges in labour inspection
Role of trade unions in labour inspection

What is Labour Inspection?
The labour inspection is the national
competent authority that ensures that labour
legislation and policies are applied in practice at
the enterprise level.

An efficient labour inspectorate is the surest
guarantee that national and international labour
standards are complied with not only in law but
also in fact.


Continues
Labour inspection is the most important
instrument of State presence and intervention to
foster a culture of prevention covering all
aspects potentially under its purview:
- Industrial relations
- Wages and general conditions of work
- Occupational safety and health
- Issues related to employment and social
security

ILO Standards concerning Labour
Inspection
Conventions Recommendations
C. 81 Industry and commerce R.81
C. 110 Plantations R82 (mining & transport)
C. 129 Agriculture R133 (Agriculture)
C. 178 Maritime

Protocol C. 81 (not commercial)

The above-mentioned instruments together with C.122 and C.144
constitute the authority of labour inspection systems and play a
pivotal role in promoting full, productive and freely chosen
employment, building social cohesion through social dialogue, and
maintaining decent conditions of work through a functional labour
inspectorate



Labour Inspection Convention No.
81
The Labour Inspection Convention No. 81 was adopted
by the ILC in 1947.
Has been ratified by 141 member States of the ILO
Convention 81 remains the principal international
reference for labour inspection services and is as
relevant today as it was 60 years ago.
The provisions of the Convention No. 81 cover:
- The functions, duties and responsibilities of labour inspection
systems;
- Requirement for the recruitment of staff;
- Resources for inspectors;
- Powers and obligations of inspectors.

Key Functions of Labour Inspection
Promote compliance with relevant national legislation

Give advice and information

Enforcement when necessary

All these functions are particularly relevant for the
inspection of working conditions.

Continues
Information and Awareness Raising Campaigns

Information campaigns

TV and radio talk shows and other forms of media
campaigns on the importance of decent working
conditions

Training, in different forms and modalities, can play a
key role for building awareness, knowledge and
competences for promoting better working conditions.


Continues
Compliance
Ensure compliance with the national labour legislation is
an effective way of achieving decent working conditions.
Ensure revision of national minimum wage on a periodic
basis, in order to protect the lowest paid workers and to
ensure decent standards of living to workers and their
families.
Ensure full compliance with the 8-hour day and 48-hour
week working time, recognizing the right to a certain
amount of weekly rest and annual holidays with pay.
Guarantee in law and practice protection of the health
and well-being of the child and prevention of
discrimination and dismissal of the mother during her
maternity leave.

Continues
Provide information, guidance and support
to social partners
Organise awareness-raising campaigns
Prevent poor working conditions by
identifying abuses and ensuring
compliance with labour legislation, and
taking enforcement action where needed.


Which Principles Guide Labour
Inspection?
Pubic Service: Labour inspection is a public function

Accountability: Labour inspectors are public officials guaranteed
of security of tenure and are accountable for their actions and
performance.

Efficiency & Effectiveness: Priorities are set on the basis of
appropriate criteria to maximise impact

Universality: The aspirations of labour inspection services is to
achieve universal coverage.

Transparency: Employers, workers and other stakeholders are
informed of their rights and duties, what is expected of them under
the law, and what they can expect from the labour inspection
services.






Continues
Consistency & Coherence: In labour inspection matters,
inspectors, will treat similar cases in similar ways under similar
conditions to achieve similar prevention and compliance ends.
Labour inspectors should be provided guidelines for common,
coherent and consistent intervention approaches.

Proporsonality: Relating enforcement action to risks.

Equality: Equal protection for all workers in comparable situation is
ensured with regard to the law.

Cooperation: Inspection staff should cooperate with other
organisations and bodies.

Collaboration: Inspection staff should collaborate with employers
and worker and their organisations at national, sectoral and
enterprise levels.

Who is a Labour Inspector?
Labour inspectors are supervisors, advisors and
enforcement agents, with an overall mission of guidance
of improving working conditions and productivity in the
workplace.

The system of labour inspection is backed up by a body
of specialists to whom the more complex cases are
referred by the generalists

Generalists are inspectors who know something about
everything

Specialists are experts who know everything about
something

Powers of Labour Inspectors
Supervision: including its right of free entry to
establishments and the right of free inspection.

Injunction: ordering the enterprise to adopt necessary
measures to remedy defects in accordance to the labour
legislation.

Continues
Supervision Powers of Labour Inspectors
To enter freely and without previous notice at any hour of
the day or night any workplace liable to inspection

To enter by day any premises which they may have
reasonable cause to believe to be liable to inspection

To carry out any examination, test or enquiry which they
may consider necessary in order to satisfy themselves
that the legal provisions are being strictly observed, ()

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IN PARTICULAR:
To interrogate the employer or the staff

To require the production of documents, the keeping of
which is prescribed by national laws, and to copy such
documents

To enforce the posting of notices

To take or remove for purposes of analysis samples of
materials and substances used or handled

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Injunction Powers of Labour Inspectors
Make legal orders and require the adoption of measures
needed to correct the law breach () within a set
timeframe

Order the immediate adoption of corrective measures or,
the immediate stoppage of working activities

Apply, or propose to the competent authority to start a
procedure to impose sanctions and penalties

Decide in each case to give advice or warning, or start
enforcement proceedings

Obligations of Labour Inspectors
Integrity, independence and impartiality

Professional secrecy

Confidentiality regarding the source of complaint

Professionalism and competency

Discretion

Conditions of Service of Labour
Inspectors
Public officials assured of stability of employment
Recruited with sole regard to their qualifications (women
shall be eligible for appointment to the inspection staff)
Adequately trained and provided with the necessary
instructions and support for the performance of their
duties
Competent to undertake their responsibilities
Impartial and independent of improper external
influences
Remuneration and career prospects sufficient to attract
and retain qualified personnel

Criteria for Determining the Number
of Labour Inspectors Required
The importance of the duties they have to perform, in
particular:
The number, nature, size and situation of the
workplaces liable to inspection
The number and classes of workers employed in such
workplaces
The number and complexity of the legal provisions to
be enforced
The material means at their disposal

The practical conditions of the visits

Material Means & Practical Conditions
Proper credentials to allow free access to the workplaces

Properly equipped with suitable offices

Provided with transport facilities and adequately
reimbursed for any necessary expenses they incur in
carrying out their duties

Supported by adequate penalties for violations of legal
provisions enforceable by them and for obstructing them
in the performance of their duties

Properly empowered with intervention powers

Types of Labour Inspection Visits
ROUTINE VISITS

VISITS BY REQUEST

EMERGENCY VISITS

How Do Labour Inspection Services
Ensure Decent Working Conditions?
The Labour Inspection can achieve decent working
conditions through:
- Enforcement of law, which is traditionally
perceived as control or supervision; and

- Prevention of poor working conditions from
existing in the first place.

Prevention in the context of labour inspection means a
determined effort to avoid or eliminate the risk of
accidents and diseases, labour disputes, conflicts, unfair
treatment of workers, etc. by assuring compliance with
existing legislation.

Continues
The preventative role of the labour inspection services
implies an increasing emphasis on proactive activities
namely:
- Carrying out planned proactive inspection visits to
identify cases of non-compliance and taking
corrective action;

- Assessing plans for new buildings, plant, equipment,
processes, etc.;

- Promotion of preventive culture in the enterprises
themselves among employers and employees.



Continues
Labour inspection services ensure the effective
application of legal provisions through:
- Securing enforcement of laws by verifying how far
they are actually adhered to, by dealing with
accidents, incidents and disputes and enforcing
penalties and sanctions;

- Supplying information and advice and providing
relevant education and training to employers and
workers that are directed towards the future.

- Inspectors give advice about the measures to be
taken to:
- Ensure safety;
Continues
- Devising and implementing policies to prevent poor
working conditions from existing and promoting a
prevention culture in enterprises.
- Explaining the legal requirement concerning the
payment of wages;
- Indicating where and how medical examinations can
be carried out;
- Demonstrating the importance of limiting work hours;

- Discussing existing or potential problems with the
employer and workers.

Why are Sanctions Required to Promote
Compliance?
Deterrence is the most important purpose of the
sanctions and a key to promote compliance. In addition
deterrence, the other main purposes of sanctions are:
- Punishment: sanctions have value as a means of
securing social justice.
- Rehabilitation: sanctions may be used to help
educate offenders, albeit through forceful means, as
to what the law requires and the need to comply with
it.
- Restoration: restorative justice gives victims the
chance to understand the real impact of what they
have done and to do something to repair the harm
(in this case against workers or workers families).


Current Challenges in Labour Inspection
Changes in the economic situation and social structure

Changes in industrial structure

Changes in the organization of labour and employment

Changes in social and political expectations.

Changes in technology and in the nature of work
hazards

Continues
Changes in Economic situation & Social Structure
Economic crises

International migration

Ageing

Change in the gender profiles at work

Continues
Changes in Industrial Structure
Switch from manufacturing to services

Privatisation

Downsizing
concentrating on core activities
contractorization


Continues
Changes in labour organisation
Small Firms growth

Trade Union membership decline.

Changes in the working relationships:
People working remotely
Increased use of contractors/subcontractors.
Increase of self-employed workers
Increase of the informal workers


Continues
Changes in working hazards
New and emerging health hazards

Ergonomics

HIV/AIDS

Stress

Role of Trade Unions in Labour Inspection
Trade unions should negotiate decent working conditions
for their members.
Disseminate information about collective bargaining
agreements to all union members.
Educate shop-floor union leaders about labour
legislation, CBAs, Codes of practice and support their
actions in ensuring members & employers compliance.
Advocate for the creation of functional bipartite and
tripartite labour inspection committees and play
constructive roles in these bodies.
Continues
Take active part in the formulation of sound labour
inspection legislation and policies and monitor and
evaluate their implementation
Identify, expose and report abuses of workers working
conditions
Organize awareness raising campaigns through
multifaceted channels to educate members, employers,
public authorities and the population at large about the
importance of improved working conditions and effective
labour inspection.

The End!
Any Questions?