Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Latvia (Ratification: 1994)

With reference to its observation, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the effect given to the recommendations of the tripartite mission for the audit of the labour inspection system in 2005 and, in particular, information on the following points.

Article 6 of the Convention. Status of the staff of the labour inspectorate. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested information on the status of inspection “employees” among the staff of the labour inspectorate. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government according to which the “civil servants” in the labour inspectorate exercise functions of supervision and control and other tasks specified in the law. The Committee also notes the information provided on the terms of their employment (wages and leave). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would further clarify the status of labour inspection “employees” and, in particular, the manner in which they are ensured of stability of employment and independence of any external influences and to send copy of the legal provisions governing their conditions of service.

Article 7(3). Adequate training for labour inspectors. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments on the various training programmes at the disposal of labour inspectors initially or during the course of employment with an indication of their duration and the subjects covered. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue providing information on the initial and on-the-spot training sessions organized for labour inspectors in 2010.

Article 12(1)(a). Extent of the right of free access by labour inspectors to workplaces liable to labour inspection. The Committee notes with interest that, according to section 5(2)(1) of the State Labour Inspectorate Law, officials of the labour inspectorate have the right to visit and inspect persons and objects liable to control without prior notification or without receiving permission, also in the absence of the employer. However, this right is limited to the day period. The Committee recalls that, according to Article 12(1)(a) of the Convention, labour inspectors should enjoy such a right of free access to workplaces liable to inspection at any hour of the day or night. In paragraph 267 of its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection, the Committee stresses that the conditions for the exercise of the right of free entry to workplaces laid down by the Convention are intended to allow inspectors to carry out inspections, where necessary and possible, to enforce the application of legal provisions relating to conditions of work. The protection of workers and the technical requirements of inspection should be the primordial criteria for determining the appropriate timing of the visits, for example to check for violations, such as abusive night work conditions in a workplace officially operating during the daytime, or to carry out technical inspections requiring machinery or production processes to be stopped. The Committee is of the view that it should be for the inspector to decide whether a visit is reasonable as long as inspections are only carried out at night or outside working hours where this is warranted. The Committee therefore requests the Government to do its utmost to supplement the legislation by a provision, according to which labour inspectors are authorized to access freely also by night workplaces liable to inspection.

Article 15. Professional ethical principles. The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government on the content of the Ethics Code developed for labour inspectors in the context of the 2005 and 2006 amendments to the Law on the prevention of conflicts of interest in the operations of state officials. It notes that no information is provided with regard to the obligation of confidentiality by the labour inspectors as to the source of any complaint bringing to their notice a defect or breach of legal provisions as well as to the relation between the complaint and the visit, as provided in Article 15(c). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify any provisions which impose on labour inspectors an obligation of confidentiality as to complaints.

Articles 18 and 21(e). Penalties. In its previous comments the Committee requested the Government for clarifications concerning the minimum amounts of the fines applicable in the event of violations by individuals of either the occupational safety and health (OSH) regulations giving rise to a direct threat to the health or safety of workers, or of the obligation to conduct an investigation into a work accident resulting in serious injury or the death of a worker, which appeared to have decreased (the minimum fine falling from 500 Latvian lats (LVL) to LVL350 in both cases). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide clarifications in this respect and if it would continue to provide information on the administrative penalties actually imposed by labour inspectors.

Article 5(a) and Article 21(e). Effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the justice system. In its previous comments, the Committee referred to its 2007 general observation, which encourages effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the justice system, and requested the Government to indicate whether appropriate measures have been taken, as required by Article 5(a), to promote such cooperation, particularly with a view to raising the awareness of judges concerning the role of labour inspection in the protection of workers and ensuring that the labour inspectorate is informed of judicial decisions relating to its activities. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s reply that the labour inspectorate shall cooperate with the justice system in the field of employment rights and labour protection; if an accident has occurred at work, the subsequent actions of the labour inspectorate in the investigation shall depend on court judgements, for example to determine if the accident victim was employed by the relevant employer, and on opinions of forensic experts, for example, if the cause of death is not connected to the accident. Moreover, the Government indicates that Cabinet Regulation No. 432 of 21 June 2005, on procedures for operative exchange of information, prescribes the exchange of information among administrative entities including the labour inspectorate in performing their functions. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further information on the number of cases referred to the courts by the labour inspectorate and the outcome of the judicial examination.