Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Colombia (Ratification: 1976)

Referring also to its observation, the Committee asks the Government to provide additional information on the following matters.

Bilateral cooperation and labour inspection. The Committee notes from the “General Report on Evaluation and Follow-Up Visits for the Reinforcement of Territorial Departments, Special Offices and Labour Inspection Services”, attached to the Government’s report, that the Ministry of Social Protection hopes, with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to be able to improve and strengthen the labour inspection system. Within this framework, measures are planned to abolish or simplify certain administrative procedures and to introduce an inspection system which focuses on prevention, particularly in respect of high-risk activities and undertakings, the participation of employers’ organizations and trade unions and the promotion of a culture of respect for national legislation. With a pilot project already launched in the territorial departments of Bolívar, Caldas, Huila, Valle del Cauca and the special office Urabá-Apartadó, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities developed within this framework, their impact on the work of the labour inspection service and the results achieved by this service, and to communicate any relevant texts or documents.

Safety of labour inspectors performing duties in agricultural undertakings. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s reference to section 486, paragraph 2, of the 1990 version of the Labour Code, under which officials designated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security shall be bestowed with the authority of the police in all matters relating to the supervision and monitoring of labour legislation, and shall be authorized, in that capacity, to impose fines the amounts of which are set in accordance with the gravity of the violation observed. The Committee notes that the Government has not replied to its previous request concerning the measures taken or envisaged to ensure the physical protection of labour inspectors when working in certain regions considered to be dangerous. The abovementioned provision of the Labour Code does not indicate whether the police powers bestowed on labour inspectors include the authorization to be accompanied, when so required in order to guarantee their safety, by police officers who possess the necessary means to protect their physical integrity. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on any measures taken in this respect and their application in practice.

Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Advisory and enforcement functions relating to conditions of life of agricultural workers and their families. The Committee notes with interest that labour inspectors have participated in legal assistance days organized throughout the country, including in the most remote areas. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further information on the specific issues dealt with on these days and indicate whether, as a result, there was any indication of a need to extend the functions of the labour inspection service to advisory or enforcement functions in respect of the application of legal provisions relating to conditions of life of workers and their families in agricultural undertakings.

Article 9, paragraph 3. Training of labour inspectors in agriculture. The Committee notes that a training course on general conditions of work has been given to all labour inspectors. It notes with interest that 256,000,000 pesos was allocated to labour inspector training during 2005 and 2006. This training was based on a new inspection service approach which focuses on the retraining of inspectors and the unification of inspection methods and objectives across the services. The Committee notes that no indication has been given as to whether any training dealing specifically with the exercise of the inspection function in the agricultural sector was included on that occasion. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the measures taken to give labour inspectors performing duties in agriculture appropriate training, taking into account, most notably, the characteristics inherent to different categories of workers, the nature of the work performed and the specific risks to which workers and their families are exposed.

Article 15. Conditions of work of labour inspectors in agriculture. The Committee once again asks the Government to indicate the part of the territorial departments’ budget which is allocated to labour inspection in the agricultural sector.

Article 19. Notification of accidents and cases of occupational disease to labour inspectors. The Committee notes that in the event of the death of a worker, the employer and the joint occupational health committee or,  as the case may be, the monitor, are to carry out, in the 15 days following the death, an inquiry into the causes of the accident or the illness that led to the death of the worker and to communicate the results to the relevant insurance company. Within a maximum of 15 days, this company will decide upon the measures that the employer must take in order to eliminate the cause of the accident or illness. This decision is communicated with the inquiry report to the competent Regional Labour Directorate or to the Special Office of the Ministry of Social Protection, so that further investigations and legal proceedings may be instituted, if necessary. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether this procedure is also applicable in the event of occupational accidents and diseases in agricultural undertakings and to provide full and detailed information on the role of labour inspectors in the context of this procedure.

Articles 26 and 27. Annual inspection report. The Committee notes the report on inspection, surveillance and monitoring activities for the years 2005, 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. It notes that this report contains information mainly on the number of visits carried out, the advice and information provided, the investigations of an administrative nature and the number and amount of the fines imposed. The Committee regrets, however, that the data are presented for all the economic sectors covered, which does not allow for the work of the inspection system in agriculture to be assessed in a specific manner, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 26 and 27. The Government is requested to take the necessary measures promptly so as to ensure that the central inspection authority complies with these provisions by following the valuable guidelines set forth in Part IV of Recommendation No. 81. It hopes that it will be possible to make progress in this respect, particularly with the assistance provided by USAID, and that an annual report on the activities of the inspection services in agriculture will soon be published and communicated to the Office.