Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 1964)

Scope of the ILO/ADMITRA project for the modernization of the labour administration and inspectorate. With reference to its previous comments focusing on the inadequacy of labour inspectors’ conditions of work, particularly the lack of reimbursement of their travelling expenses, the Committee notes that the Government has not supplied the information requested on the measures taken to seek, in the context of bilateral or international financial cooperation, the funds needed to improve the practical situation of the labour inspectorate. In response to this specific request from the Committee, the Government refers to the launching of the ILO/ADMITRA project. However, the Committee observes that the objective of this project, which covers seven French-speaking African countries, is not to assist in the search for the resources required for the functioning of labour administration structures, but to provide technical support for governments, mainly in the following three areas:

1.     Initial and further training for managers and employees in the administration and the labour inspectorate.

2.     Modernization of labour tools and organizational methods.

3.     Strengthening cooperation between the structures comprising the labour administration system (labour, employment, social security, vocational training), on the one hand, and between the labour administration and other administrations operating in related areas (justice, finance, health, etc.), on the other.

With reference to its general observation of 2007 inviting member States which have ratified Conventions on labour inspection to take measures enabling effective cooperation between the labour inspection system and the judicial authorities, the Committee notes with interest that an official from the Directorate-General of Labour and a member of the labour tribunal participated in the subregional workshop on the relations between the labour administration and the labour courts, held in the context of the above project from 8 to 10 May 2008 in Dakar. While noting that cooperation between the labour administration and the judicial system was already advocated in an ILO technical memorandum of 2004 to the Government concerning the reinforcement of labour administration, the Committee hopes that the information provided at this workshop and the fruitful exchanges it produced between participants representing the countries of the subregion will give rise to action and that information on the implementation of the recommended measures will soon be sent to the Office.

Deficiencies in the labour inspection system. Need for urgent financial and organizational measures for improvements relating to the inspection of conditions of work. The Committee notes that, although the labour legislation referred to by the Government under each of the Articles of the Convention may appear to a large extent compatible with the requirements of the Convention, its first report to the ILO on the application of the Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150), shows that the operation of labour inspection suffers from serious deficiencies. The Government states that the Directorate of Labour and Social Security – which is responsible for the enforcement of labour legislation though its labour inspection structures – does not have its own budget line and the special status of officials and employees of the labour administration was repealed by Act No. 99/016 of 19 July 1999 issuing the general public service regulations. Moreover, no labour administrator has been recruited since. This information is a cause for concern. It seems to imply that, for nearly ten years, labour inspectors have no longer enjoyed the guarantees provided for by Article 6 of the Convention with regard to conditions of service. Furthermore, information available to the ILO shows that successive measures have been adopted to reduce the salaries of all officials pursuant to the financial legislation in force in recent years. As regards the conditions for the performance of their duties, the Committee notes that there has been no improvement, as inspectors are still obliged to pay for their travelling expenses “out of their own pockets”, the expression used by the Government itself. Even though, in legal terms, no enterprise is exempt from inspection, inspection visits are rare and inspection reports non-existent, as indicated by the Government in its report on the application of Convention No. 150. Inspectors are therefore far removed from the establishments liable to inspection and their role remains restricted to the amicable resolution of disputes, which is  however considered to be a subsidiary role by the Government.

The Committee reiterates that the technical memorandum of 2004, which recommended speeding up the process for the adoption for the new Labour Code and the decrees necessary for its implementation, also provided for thorough restructuring with technical support from the ILO for strengthening the capacities of all labour administration staff, particularly labour inspectors, in cooperation with the ILO and the African Regional Centre for Labour Administration (CRADAT). The memorandum also considered that it was necessary to draw up files on enterprises backed up by statistical documentation made available to the inspectorate so that inspection staff could enter the required information. It also recommended that inspection methods should be defined for labour inspectors using standardized documentation so as to facilitate and ensure uniformity of investigation techniques, and in particular to gather all information likely to be of interest to all labour administration bodies. The specialization of certain employees in a number of areas and the ongoing redeployment of other employees were considered necessary to cope with rapid change in the world of work and with the emergence of certain epidemics in workplaces. The establishment of a database referring in particular to industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease was also highly recommended.

Noting that the new Labour Code has not yet been adopted, but that it is planned to include provisions establishing heavier penalties for persons obstructing inspectors in the performance of their duties, the Committee can only encourage such an initiative and hope that the definitive text will soon be adopted.

The Committee also notes the Government’s announcement of the preparation of draft conditions of service for labour inspectors and hopes that information on progress made on this draft will soon be sent to the Office. However, it considers that such legislative measures can only have an impact in practice if inspectors can ensure the effective discharge of all the duties defined by Article 3 of the Convention by inspecting the workplaces under their supervision as often as is necessary to ensure the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work. However, such coverage cannot be ensured if workplaces liable to inspection have not been identified by the inspection services. The allocation of resources to this end is essential, with funding being sought not only from national financial authorities, but also though international cooperation. The above memorandum, together with up to date information on the actual situation and the difficulties facing labour inspection, might constitute effective arguments in this respect.

The Committee therefore urges the Government to promote, in accordance with Article 5(a), effective cooperation between the labour inspectorate and other competent government bodies (including the tax authorities and social insurance funds) for drawing up a list of workplaces liable to inspection, with an entry in a register indicating at least their geographical location, the branch of activity, the number and categories of workers employed there, and also disaggregation of the latter information by gender.

The availability of a register of enterprises that is regularly updated should allow the central inspection authority to fix priorities for action to ensure, as a minimum, the protection of the most vulnerable workers or those most exposed to occupational hazards and to defend its requirements in human, material and logistical resources on the basis of relevant data from national and international financial authorities, so that an adequate budget can be allocated to them, in so far as national conditions permit. A programme of inspections could be drawn up according to the available resources for each labour inspection structure, and periodic reports on inspections, as provided for by Article 19, could be sent to the central authority for the production of the annual report required by Articles 20 and 21. Such a report would inform the social partners, the other government bodies concerned and the ILO supervisory bodies of the progress made and the shortcomings of the labour inspection system so they can provide their opinions for its improvements.

The Committee hopes that the Government will be able to provide information in its next report on specific measures taken to reinforce the resources, organization and working of the labour inspection system. It trusts that, in the first place, it will be able to provide information on targeted measures for promoting effective cooperation between the inspection services and other government services or public and private institutions for the purpose of the application of the Convention, particularly for the establishment of a register of workplaces liable to inspection under the present Convention (Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 10(a)(i) and (ii)), and on measures taken to increase the number of men and women labour inspectors and to reinforce their training during employment (Articles 7 and 10), particularly within the labour section of the National School of Administration and Magistracy, the establishment of which has been announced by the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to indicate the steps taken at the national level and in the framework of international financial cooperation to obtain resources for these purposes, and also the results thereof.