Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1967)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report in reply to its previous comments, as well as the observations made by the Ibero-American Confederation of Labour Inspectors (CIIT) received by the ILO in June 2002, supplementing the observations made in 1999. It also notes the documents attached to the Government’s report.

In its successive comments, the CIIT refers to a number of dysfunctions in the labour inspection system including: the absence of inspection in certain regions, particularly in Chaco Paraguayo and certain towns in the country; and the precarious employment situation of labour inspectors, the alleged discrimination in relation to their salaries, the absence of training and working tools, the intimidation measures to which they are subjected, the impunity of employers who raise obstacles to the discharge of their functions, the impunity of those violating the legislation on conditions of work and the inadequacy of the human, logistical and material resources of the labour inspectorate.

1. Article 2 of the Convention. Coverage of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes that, without replying to the organization’s allegations on this subject, the Government nevertheless indicates that labour inspectors were brought together in a seminar on forced labour organized with ILO support in the region of Chaco Paraguayo. It requests the Government to specify whether all towns and regions, including those in which indigenous workers are engaged in industrial and commercial establishments, are covered by the inspection services and to provide any relevant statistical data.

2. Article 6. Status and conditions of service of labour inspectors. With regard to the precarious professional situation of labour inspectors, their extreme vulnerability on the occasion of the frequent changes of government and authority, and the discriminatory treatment in relation to salaries affecting certain of them, the Government has provided information to the effect that the personnel of the inspection services are covered by the Public Service Act, as well as by the collective agreement on conditions of work concluded by the Minister of Justice and Labour and the Single Union of Officials and Employees in that Ministry, approved by Decree No. 22264 of 7 August 1998, under the terms of which the appointment of career officials first involves a trial period of two months, at the end of which it becomes definitive. The Government adds that, in accordance with section 20 of the same text, decisions to change the functions and relocate officials can only be taken with their explicit consent, and that such decisions are first submitted to the union which can oppose them by means of a reasoned appeal. Noting that the Government has not however provided the Office, as it indicated that it would, and despite the request made on 7 April 2006, with the text of the above collective agreement, the Committee would be grateful if it would do so as soon as possible.

The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to secure for all the inspection staff, including those assigned to safety and health, a status and conditions of service commensurate with the level of their responsibilities and to provide a copy of any relevant text.

3. Article 7, paragraph 3. Training of labour inspectors. In reply to the point raised by the CIIT, alleging that labour inspectors do not have the required training, as the only manual made available to them is obsolete, the Government indicates that training is provided by the Paraguayan Institute of Labour Studies (IPET) before candidates to the profession of inspector enter service and that they each receive a copy of the “Labour inspection manual”. Furthermore, according to the Government, during the course of their employment, inspectors also benefit from retraining courses which are provided by the same institution. In addition to the specific training on forced labour provided to inspectors in Chaco Paraguayo, thematic courses and workshops were organized in 2004 and 2005 on child labour. The Committee trusts that the implementation of the project for the modernization and strengthening of the labour inspection service, with the support of the ILO, to which the Government refers, will target, among other subjects, the updating of training for labour inspectors so as to enable them to respond to the changing needs relating to the protection of workers, and that the Government will soon be in a position to provide detailed information on the content and duration of the training, and on the number of inspectors who received such training.

4. Articles 10, 11 and 16. Human, financial and material resources necessary for the operation of the labour inspection system and the frequency of inspections. The insufficient numbers of inspection staff, the lack of equipment, office materials and means of transport, the absence of the reimbursement of travelling and incidental expenses to inspectors, and the insufficient number of inspections, most of which are reactive rather than proactive, are all matters of concern referred to by the CIIT and acknowledged by the Government, with particular reference to the lack of means of transport and even suitably equipped offices for certain inspectors. It states that travel expenses are nevertheless reimbursed to labour inspectors who provide receipts and that a commission responsible for undertaking programmed inspections has been created, but that an increase in human and material resources is indispensable if the frequency of inspections is to increase. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to strengthen the human and material resources of the labour inspectorate so that it responds progressively to the requirements of Article 10 in relation to staff numbers, Article 11 concerning material conditions of work and transport facilities and Article 16 with regard to the frequency and quality of inspections.

5. Article 3, paragraph 2. Functions of mediation and supervision of legislation. The Committee notes with interest, in response to the point raised by the CIIT concerning the excessive volume of mediation undertaken by inspectors to the detriment of their inspection activities, that the situation has now been rectified due to the assignment of mediation functions to other officials. However, it is not clear from the two resolutions concerning staff appointments Nos. 11 and 12, of 9 and 10 December 2003, provided by the Government, that all labour inspectors have definitively been relieved of their mediation and conciliation functions in relation to the resolution of collective labour disputes. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on this matter and supply a copy of any relevant legal provision.

6. Article 12, paragraph 1(a), and Article 18. Free access of inspectors to workplaces liable to inspection and penalties for obstructing labour inspectors in the performance of their duties. According to the CIIT, the authorities have not reacted to information reporting the denial by certain employers of the right of labour inspectors to free access for the purposes of inspection. The Government indicates that, in practice, in such cases labour inspectors submit a report to the courts applying for judicial authorization to enter the premises. The Committee requests the Government to provide information of a practical nature concerning the duration of such a procedure and its impact in terms of the effectiveness of inspection and on the measures taken to ensure that, in accordance with Article 18, adequate penalties are imposed and effectively enforced against those obstructing labour inspectors in the performance of their duties.

7. Articles 20 and 21. Annual inspection report. The Committee notes with regret that no inspection report has been provided for around a decade. However, it notes with interest that the Government has been able to provide information concerning the imposition of penalties against employers in violation of the legislation respecting conditions of work, as well as statistical tables on industrial accidents in establishments located in the capital and the interior of the country in 2004. It trusts that the Government will not fail to take measures as rapidly as possible to enable the central inspection authority to develop its capacity for the compilation of information on the activities of the inspection services, where necessary with ILO technical assistance, and to publish and communicate to the Office, in accordance with Article 20, an annual inspection report covering the whole of the country and all the matters addressed in Article 21.