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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Cuba (Ratification: 1954)

Article 6 of the Convention. The Committee notes with interest the information contained in the annual inspection report according to which, during 2010, priority was given to training and educational activities for labour inspection personnel through masters’ degrees, diplomas, postgraduate courses, communication, information technology and languages. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the number of labour inspection staff who benefited from such training, the areas and educational institutions concerned, and the impact of these training activities on the operation of the labour inspection system.

Articles 12 and 15(c) of the Convention. Restrictions on the principle of the freedom of access of labour inspectors to workplaces liable to inspection and the principle of confidentiality. The Committee recalls that its previous comments related to sections 11 and 12 of the Regulations of 2007 on the system of national labour inspection, which establish the requirement for inspectors, at the beginning of each inspection visit, to present to the employer a copy of a written inspection order by the National Inspection Office, indicating the subjects and purpose of the inspection. In its report, the Government indicates that confidentiality with regard to complaints and their source is maintained in those provisions and that notification is not given prior to surprise inspections, for which reason it considers that the legislation is not contrary to the Convention, and that the inspection order does not constitute prior notice, but only notification of the presence of the inspector at the time that the inspection begins. The Committee reiterates that the obligation of labour inspectors to present to the employer, when they enter the establishment, not only the corresponding credentials, as provided for in Article 12(1), but also an order to conduct the inspection, is in total contradiction with Articles 12(1) and (2) and 15(c) of the Convention, and makes it impossible to guarantee the confidentiality of complaints and their sources (Articles 12 and 15(c)). Moreover, the Committee draws the Government’s attention once again to Article 12(2), according to which labour inspectors should be authorized to abstain from notifying the employer of their presence during an inspection visit if they consider that such notification may be prejudicial to the performance of their duties. The Committee therefore urges the Government to ensure the adoption without further delay of the necessary measures to bring the national legislation into conformity with Articles 12(1) and (2) and 15(c) of the Convention in this respect. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide a copy of any relevant legal text as soon as it is adopted.

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