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Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - El Salvador (RATIFICATION: 1995)

Articles 6, 7, 12(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2), and Article 17(2) of the Convention. Status and conditions of service of labour inspectors: scope of inspectors’ right to enter workplaces and their authority to investigate; freedom of inspectors to decide to issue warnings or advice instead of instituting or recommending proceedings. The Committee notes with interest the information sent by the Government to the effect that measures have been taken to promote the scheduling of night visits by inspectors, and the attached standard reports for night inspections. It also notes that according to the Government the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, with technical and financial support from the ILO in the context of the project “Verification of the implementation of the White Paper recommendations”, is pursuing its work to amend the Act on the organization and functions of the labour and social security sector (LOFT) so as to bring the law into line with the provisions of the Convention. The Government states that the draft amendments are currently under examination by the Higher Labour Council, which is tripartite. The Committee refers to its previous comments on the need to: (i) provide a basis in law for the right of labour inspectors to enter freely at any hour of the day or night any workplace liable to inspection (Article 12(1)(a)), and to enter by day any premises which they may have reasonable cause to believe to be liable to inspection (Article 12(1)(b)); (ii) to abolish the requirement for the employer, the workers or their representatives to be present during the inspection; and (iii) to authorize labour inspectors not to notify the employer or his representative of their presence if they consider this preferable in the interests of effective supervision. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the draft amendment of the LOFT reflecting the points raised is adopted shortly, and to send a copy of it to the Office.

Further to its previous comments, the Committee also asks the Government to keep the Office informed of any progress made in the revision of the LOFT regarding the following: (i) recognizing labour inspectors as public officials and assuring them of stability of employment and career prospects (category I inspectors, category II inspectors, supervisors) (Article 6); (ii) recruiting inspectors by competition (Article 7); (iii) discretion of labour inspectors to give offenders warning or advice before envisaging proceedings (Article 17(2)).

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease to the labour inspectorate. In its previous comments the Committee referred to the need for the labour inspectorate to be informed of industrial accidents and instances of occupational disease with a view to preventing occupational risks. The Committee notes that according to section 8 of the Act on the general prevention of risks at work (LPRT), the programme on management of the prevention of occupational risks in enterprises must provide for an up-to-date record of accidents and other dangerous incidents. It also notes that according to LPRT section 66, injuries caused by occupational accidents must be notified in writing to the General Directorate of Social Welfare within 72 hours and all fatal accidents must be notified immediately to the same Directorate. Furthermore, the Government indicates that in order to give effect to the provision of section 66 and facilitate their application by employers, the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has set up a National System for the Notification of Occupational Accidents (SNNAT). The Committee refers to paragraph 118 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, and points out that it is vital that formal mechanisms be put in place to provide the labour inspection service with the data it needs to identify high-risk activities and the most vulnerable categories of workers and to carry out research into the causes of occupational accidents and diseases in establishments and enterprises liable to inspection. The Committee therefore urges the Government to ensure that measures are taken to define the instances of occupational accidents and diseases to be notified to the labour inspectorate and the procedure for doing so. The Government is asked to provide copies of any texts adopted in this connection.

Articles 19, 20 and 21. Publication and communication to the ILO of an annual inspection report. The Committee notes that significant progress has been made with the electronic case management system (SEMC). It notes with interest that the system has been installed in the 14 departmental offices, that an electronic register of cases is now operational, that the inspection visit procedures, the standard report forms and the method for treating cases have been revised and standardized and that reports and charts have been drawn up. The Government also indicates that with technical and financial support from the ILO it is working on a yearbook of labour statistics which should contain information on all the Ministry’s activities, including labour inspection. The Committee hopes that the measures taken to improve the SEMC will help the local inspection offices in the preparation of the periodical reports on the results of their activities required by Article 19, and that such reports will be used by the central inspection authority as a basis for the annual report to be published and transmitted to the ILO in accordance with the provisions of Articles 20 and 21. The Committee reminds the Government in this connection of the guidance to be found in Part IV of Recommendation No. 81 as to how the information required by Article 21 might be presented.

The Committee raises other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.