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

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Guyana (Ratification: 1971)

1. Obligation to report pursuant to article 22 of the ILO Constitution. The Committee notes with interest the communication by the Government, in reply to its previous request, of the circulars (notices) of 18 March 2005 designating the authorities which must be notified of occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease, in relation to Article 19 of the Convention. It also notes the communication of the annual report for 2004 from the Industrial Relations Department of the Ministry of Labour, containing brief information on labour inspection activities in the agricultural sector. However, the Committee notes that no detailed report on the application of the Convention has been sent for more than ten years. The Committee therefore requests the Government to supply, in its next report under article 22 of the ILO Constitution, all the information required by each part of the Convention report form.

2. Articles 26 and 27 of the Convention. Objectives and content of the annual report on the work of the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes that, despite the high number of strikes in sugar plantations and agriculture in 2004 and their socio-economic impact (227 strikes resulting in the loss of 82,880 workdays and wages amounting to 129,061,000 dollars) the labour inspectorate only performed six inspections for the whole sector. The Committee considers that these figures testify both to poor conditions of work and lack of vigilance on the part of the inspection authorities responsible for monitoring conditions of work in agricultural undertakings. In any event, they call for the adoption of measures to curb the deterioration of the social climate, particularly by means of inspection activities and initiatives to provide employers and workers with information. However, the Committee notes that the Government has not supplied any information indicating that such measures have been taken or are envisaged. It also notes that the content of the report does not allow any assessment to be made of the level of coverage of the labour inspection system in relation to worker protection requirements in the sector, these needs not being defined, particularly with regard to occupational safety and health. The significant lack of statistics relating to inspection visits (Article 27(d)) and violations (clause (e)) and the total lack of information regarding the laws and regulations giving effect to the provisions of the Convention (clause (a)), the number of staff of the labour inspection service (clause (b)), the number of agricultural undertakings liable to inspection and the number of persons working therein (clause c)), and also the lack of statistics with respect to penalties imposed (clause (e)), occupational accidents, including their causes (clause (f)) and occupational diseases, including their causes (clause (g)), make it impossible for the Committee to perform its role of monitoring the practical application of the Convention. The Committee reminds the Government that the requirement to publish an annual report on inspection activities and send it to the ILO serves an important purpose at both the national and international level. It is an essential tool for evaluating the operation of the labour inspection system and for making improvements to it, with the participation of employers and workers and their respective organizations (Articles 26 and 27). The Committee invites the Government to refer to paragraphs 320–328 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection and requests it to take the necessary measures, if need be with technical assistance from the Office, to enable the central labour inspection authority to include all the information required by each of clauses (a)–(g) of Article 27 in the annual report on its work.