Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

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

Referring to its observation, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2, and Articles 5(a), 6, 12, 15(c) and 17 of the Convention. Additional duties entrusted to labour inspectors. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, contrary to the comments made by the Ibero-American Confederation of Labour Inspectors (CIIT) in 2006, the function of mediation falls within the remit of a department within the Ministry of Justice and Labour which is separate from the labour inspectorate and that inspectors are only involved in conciliation work very rarely. Referring to the Government’s report, the Committee notes, however, that labour inspectors have carried out joint activities with other inspection services, such as the Social Welfare Institute, the General Directorate of Migration, which comes under the Ministry of the Interior, and other bodies responsible for enforcing standards in the public transport sector, particularly under Decree No. 8768 of 17 May 2000 establishing an inter-institutional committee composed of these ministerial departments responsible for supervising labour standards and migration in the border areas of the national territory. In its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection, the Committee was particularly interested in the negative effects that the involvement of labour inspectors in operations aimed at enforcing national migration policy can have on the performance of their primary duties (paragraph 78). In this regard, it drew the attention of governments to the need to ensure, in accordance with Article 3(2) of the Convention, that additional duties that are not aimed at securing the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work are assigned to labour inspectors only in so far as they do not interfere with their primary duties. The Committee noted that inspections of clandestine work or illegal employment, which are increasingly closely linked to irregular migration, were carried out in many countries through a partnership between the labour inspectorate and other public administration bodies, each in pursuit of its own objectives. An examination of the situation relating to labour inspection in these countries showed that efforts to control the use of migrant workers in an irregular situation required the mobilization of considerable human and material resources, which inspectorates could only provide to the detriment of their primary duties. Furthermore, the Committee noted that, where the workers concerned are foreigners residing illegally in the country, they are doubly penalized in that, in addition to losing their job, they face the threat of expulsion, if not actual expulsion. The Committee considered that, in order to be compatible with the protective function of labour inspection, the verification of the legality of employment should have as its corollary the reinstatement of the statutory rights of all the workers concerned, and that the objective can only be met if the workers covered are convinced that the primary task of the inspectorate is to enforce the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and protection of workers. In paragraph 161 of the same General Survey, the Committee emphasized that the cooperation of the labour inspectorate with immigration authorities should be carried out cautiously, keeping in mind that the main objective of the labour inspection system is to protect the rights and interests of all workers and to improve their working conditions. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate, in view of the above, the manner in which it is ensured that the participation of labour inspectors in operations to supervise the legality of the employment of migrant workers in no way contravenes Article 3(2) of the Convention and does not interfere with the discharge of the inspection functions defined in paragraph 1.

Article 8 of the Convention. Gender balance within the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes that the Decent Work Country Programme provides for ILO support in identifying good practices relating to gender balance within the public sector in coordination with the Public Service Secretariat and the Ministry of Justice and Labour, and developing a national programme on gender equality in the public service. Noting that, according to the statistics provided, there are 35 men inspectors and 14 women inspectors within the labour inspectorate, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to encourage women to join this profession, particularly n high-level posts.