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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Ecuador (Ratification: 1975)

The Committee takes note of the brief reports sent by the Government, received on 8 September 2009 and 19 October 2010, and the information on occupational safety and health inspection activities. It also notes with interest the reports produced in the context of bilateral cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Immigration of Spain on the one hand, and on the other, the Ministry of Labour of Argentina in November 2008 on the operation of the labour inspection system in the country, which contain recommendations for improvement.

Article 3(1)(b) of the Convention. Educational activities conducted by the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes the various training courses on rights at work and on safety and health run for workers, employers, representatives of trade unions and chambers of commerce and technical specialists, which involved visits to plantations and workplaces, and the compilation of a handbook of all existing labour standards subject to supervision by the labour inspectorate. Furthermore, it notes with interest the “SIUDEL” website (www.derechosdeltrabajo.net) provided by the Government which contains a lot of information on labour law, illustrated to make it readily accessible to persons with limited reading ability or poor sight.

Evaluation of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes that the Government provides no information replying to the matters raised in the previous comments concerning the need to supplement the labour legislation in order to strengthen the labour inspection system, and the action taken on the recommendations of the ILO/FORSAT multilateral technical cooperation project, and the Pilot Inspection Plan for Guayaquil produced in the context of this project, which ended in April 2007. The Government merely indicates that action will be taken on the recommendations made in the context of the abovementioned bilateral technical cooperation and on the Committee of Experts’ observations, in the course of the process to reform the labour inspection system now under way.

The Committee observes that the recent diagnosis of the situation and the resulting recommendations largely reflect the findings of the report evaluating the ILO/FORSAT multilateral technical cooperation project of 2005 as concerns the situation of labour inspection in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca, namely: the absence of a national labour authority; insufficient human resources and material means; the absence of a body of rules governing the structure, organization, duties and functions of the labour inspection system, the status, powers and obligations of inspectors, and the absence of legal provisions defining offences against the legislation on working conditions and the protection of workers and setting penalties therefor; the absence of any planning and scheduling of inspection visits, and inadequate oversight of occupational safety and health obligations. Attention was also drawn to shortcomings such as the lack of a central labour inspection authority, the disparities between regional and provincial bodies, the absence of any regional safety and health bodies other than the Regional Directorate in Quito, a lack of cooperation between the inspectors of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) and labour inspectors, and overlap in the duties performed by the various categories of inspectors (inspector-controllers, IESS inspectors, inspectors responsible for supervising various projects, labour inspectors, child labour inspectors, only the last two of these categories having public servant status).

The Committee observes that the improvement – noted in its previous comments – in the system of labour registers resulting from the ILO/FORSAT multilateral technical cooperation project enabled the Government of Argentina to make a recommendation for the establishment of an integrated national system for labour statistics to include the various administrative registers, and for reactivation of the Special Committee on Labour Statistics.

To remedy the disadvantages of having several categories of labour inspectors of varying status and of creating a single category of general “integrales” inspectors, the Government states that pursuant to mandato constituyente No. 008, there is to be an integrated labour inspectorate and the administrative, operational and financial organization of the Ministry of Labour and Employment is to be strengthened.

Further to its observation of 2008, the Committee asks the Government once again to take measures to bring the legislation into line with the Convention as regards: determining the workplaces covered (Articles 2 and 23); the functions and organization of the system (Articles 3, 4, 5 and 9); the status and conditions of service of inspection staff (Article 6), its training (Article 7), eligibility of both sexes (Article 8), prerogatives and powers (Articles 12, 13 and 17), ethical (Article 15) and functional (Articles 16 and 19) obligations; the publication of an annual inspection report (Articles 20 and 21). The Government is also asked to supplement the legislation with provisions defining offences enforceable by labour inspectors and setting penalties therefor. Please also send information on any progress made and copies of any texts adopted for the abovementioned purposes.

The Government is again asked to provide the information that is now available thanks to the system for recording labour data such as the number, activities and geographical distribution of the industrial and commercial establishments that are under the supervision of the labour inspectorate; the number and categories of workers employed therein (men, women, young workers in particular) and any other information necessary for an evaluation by the competent authority of the labour inspectorate’s needs in human resources, material means and transport facilities, and to determining priorities for action in the light of Ecuador’s economic circumstances.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.