Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1949)

Articles 3(2) and 16 of the Convention. Additional functions entrusted to labour inspectors. The Committee notes that the number of inspections carried out in 2009 was according to the Government more than double the inspections carried out the previous year and the number of violations found was 26 per cent higher, as a result of the increase in the number of inspections. The Government attributes this increase to significant improvements in the organization, preparation, execution and reporting of the inspections as well as the reduction of the duration of a single inspection. The Government also reports that the labour inspectorate has at its disposal facilities in 30 locations and 143 motor vehicles of which 38 are off-road vehicles. Each labour inspector has an average workload of 588 enterprises and 7,250 “insured persons” and is provided with a notebook, mobile internet and mobile phone with limited calls covered by the budget of the General Labour Inspectorate Executive Agency (GLIEA).

The Committee notes with interest from the Annual Report of the GLIEA that in 2009, emphasis was placed on ensuring wage payment in the context of the economic crisis and that consequently, delayed payments of wages and other remuneration were settled in the order of 39 million Bulgarian levs (BGN).

The Committee also notes however from the Government’s report that the control on the compliance with the provisions of the Employment Promotion Act was also aimed at the lawful employment of foreigners. According to the 2009 activity report of the GLIEA, this control appears to take place on certain occasions with the involvement of representatives of the Ministry of the Interior following alerts that foreign citizens perform work without a permit. The Committee also notes that article 7(2) and (3) of the Labour Inspection Act sets out certain conditions under which joint investigations can be carried out with other agencies.

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide details on the nature and scope of the activities carried out by the labour inspectorate in the area of controlling undeclared work and in particular the employment of irregular foreign workers, including information on the detected violations and the legal provisions concerned as well as the legal proceedings initiated, remedies applied and sanctions imposed. It requests the Government to specify the impact of the activities of the labour inspectorate focused on undeclared work in relation to the enforcement of provisions on conditions of work and the protection of workers, including undeclared workers.

In particular, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the manner in which the labour inspectorate ensures the enforcement of the employers’ obligations with regard to the rights of foreign workers in an irregular situation, such as the payment of wages and social security benefits for the period of their effective employment relationship, especially in cases where such workers are liable to expulsion from the country; and asks the Government to provide information on the number of cases where workers found to be in an irregular situation have been granted their due rights.

The Committee also requests the Government to describe the method and nature of the joint investigations carried out by the labour inspectorate with other agencies including the Ministry of the Interior.