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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Azerbaijan (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee notes that the information contained in the Government’s report for the period from 1 June 2008 to May 2010 and the annual report for 2009 on the activities of the state labour inspection is identical to its previous reports. Consequently, the Committee is bound to repeat its previous comments which read as follows:

Articles 3, 5(a), 14 and 21(g) of the Convention. Role of the labour inspectors in the field of occupational safety and health and cooperation with other institutions. Notification of cases of occupational disease and statistics thereof. The Committee notes that, contrary to Article 14, labour inspectors are not notified of cases of occupational disease. According to the inspection report for 2007, data on cases of occupational disease are handled by the competent bodies within the Ministry of Health. Referring to its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection (paragraphs 118–127), the Committee wishes to remind the Government that it is vital that formal mechanisms be put in place to provide the labour inspection with the data it needs to identify high-risk activities and the most vulnerable categories of workers or to ensure that it has access to the data on occupational diseases collected by other institutions. Such information is indispensable to enable the labour inspectors to discharge their preventive function as effectively as possible and for the central inspection authority to compile the relevant statistics with a view to the development of an appropriate prevention policy. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take the necessary legal and practical measures to determine the cases and manner in which labour inspectors shall be notified of cases of occupational disease, in accordance with Article 14. It also requests the Government to make appropriate arrangements to promote collaboration with the Ministry of Health and to ensure that the central inspection authority is in a position to include such data in future annual reports on the work of the labour inspection services.

Article 15(c). Confidentiality of the source of any complaint. The Committee wishes to emphasize that the main purpose of this provision is to ensure that workers are protected from the risk of any reprisals by the employer should the labour inspectorate take action as a result of the complaint. Furthermore, confidentiality is essential in ensuring the necessary trust in relations between workers and labour inspectors. The Committee considers that the loyalty oath made by all civil servants, in accordance with article 15 of the Law on public service, to which the Government refers in its report, may not be sufficient to guarantee consistent observance of this specific obligation of confidentiality throughout the country and to ensure the protection of the workers concerned and, as a consequence, the effectiveness of the work of labour inspectors. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to take the necessary measures to establish a legal basis for the principle of confidentiality of the source of any complaint.

Regional cooperation. The Committee notes the signature of the Declaration on regional cooperation of labour inspectorates in south-east Europe, Azerbaijan and Ukraine, in which the signatories express their commitment to the development of regional cooperation with a view to ensuring safe and healthy workplaces and the protection of workers’ rights. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the activities undertaken by the labour inspection services in this framework.

In addition, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the following points raised on the basis of the information made available through the Azerbaijani electronic mass media.

Article 3(1)(a). Functions of the system of labour inspection with respect to protection of workers. The Committee notes the information that all types of labour activities are halted in the open air if the weather temperature passes 41°C. Labour inspectors conduct raids with the purpose of eliminating instances of labour activity in such weather conditions and such raids were conducted in summer 2010 which revealed no instances of employment in such weather. In such hot weather, employers are obliged to create all necessary conditions by, for example, organizing working in shifts to ensure that workers substitute each other and do not get sunstroke in industries with uninterrupted work. If it is not possible to halt the work in the weather passing 41°C employers are required to take additional measures, such as shorten the working time, allow for more frequent breaks, use special anti-sun helmets, provide the working personnel with soft drinks. Moreover, such measures shall be taken by the employer not only in cases when the weather temperature reaches 41°C but also in lower temperatures if the weather outside is intolerably hot. However, according to the same source, it is possible to see people working in such weather conditions in Baku City, who are not even provided with soft drinks. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the measures taken and activities held to ensure that workers are protected in conditions detrimental to their health and safety and statistics of such inspections and results achieved during the period covered by the next report on the application of the Convention. The Government is also requested to provide information on the legislation providing for such protection and the role of labour inspectors in its implementation.

Also according to the information available in the Azerbaijani electronic mass media, the Parliament adopted the Law “on compulsory insurance of disability resulting from occupational diseases and accidents at work” in 2010, which is also applicable to prisoners involved in labour activities, students and schoolchildren undertaking internship, military servants involved in work in enterprises, individuals engaged in private entrepreneurship, as well as military servants involved in work in emergency situations. The Law is also applicable with respect to foreigners.

The head of State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) expressed the opinion that implementation of the Law will not be difficult since the statistics of the most recent years demonstrate an improvement in this field. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the impact of the Law on the scope, activities and results of labour inspection in the workplaces covered under the Convention. The Government is also requested to provide a copy of the Law and any other relevant text.

Articles 20 and 21. Publication and content of an annual report on labour inspection. According to the information available in the Azerbaijani electronic mass media, the SLI ensured the conclusion of 7,048 labour contracts with individuals illegally involved in work and services in 2009, 6,769 (96 per cent) of which were in private sector organizations. During 2009, 55 cases of dismissal of workers in violation of the labour legislation were identified, and the workers were later reinstated in their positions; administrative decisions were also taken and fines imposed in the amount of 553,870 new manats (AZN) in respect of 162 officials and legal persons for administrative offences. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that the future annual reports on labour inspection are published and forwarded in a timely manner to the Office, and include more detailed information, such as the information requested in Article 21 of the Convention and recommended in Part IV of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), needed to assess the level of application of the Convention.

International cooperation. According to the information available in the Azerbaijani electronic mass media, the SLI started a joint project on “The potential of the SLI in implementing the relevant legislation and safety at work” with the Dutch international consultative group “TNO – the quality of life” in 2009. The project is for five years and, mainly, envisages the provision of consultative services to the SLI on the international practice of labour protection. The project has a recommendatory nature and does not require any financial resources. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on this project, its objectives, implementation schedule, results to be achieved and impact on labour inspection activities, as well as information on any other similar projects carried out by the SLI and any relevant text.

Labour inspection and child labour. The Committee notes that special attention in the SLI’s work in 2009 was drawn to the employment of persons younger than 18. In the reported period, 62 cases of violation of labour rights of workers younger than 18 were identified. It was established that such violations took place primarily in non-state enterprises in the field of trade, public catering and provision.

As regards the data of the first ten months of 2010, 20 cases of child labour exploitation were registered by the SLI. Most of these violations were revealed in the fields of trade, public catering, and a small number in the field of industry. The employers were fined, by virtue of Article 318 of the Code of Administrative Violations of the Azerbaijan Republic, in the amount of AZN1,000–2,000 (US$1,250–2,500). Moreover, it is indicated that instances of child labour exploitation can be reported through a “hotline” operating within the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population.

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide, in its next report, information on the labour inspection activities aimed at combating child labour, its results and impact on the protection of the labour rights of workers younger than 18 years of age.