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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Kuwait (Ratification: 1964)

Articles 5(a) and 21(e) of the Convention. Effective cooperation between the inspection services and the judicial authorities. The Government in its report indicates that it is attempting to put in place a mechanism for recording and communicating any judicial decisions on contraventions reported to judges by the inspection service with a view to fining those responsible in accordance with the law, and hopes that the mechanisms in question will result in the inclusion of statistical data on judicial decisions in the annual labour inspection report. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any measures adopted or envisaged with a view to setting up a mechanism for recording judicial decisions on contraventions reported by labour inspectors, and to provide information on the nature of that mechanism and its impact in practice, illustrated as far as possible with numerical data.

Article 7. Training of inspection staff in relation to general conditions of work. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the mechanisms in place for training labour inspectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide more precise information on the training of labour inspectors for the period covered by the next report, noting in particular the subject areas, duration and type of training, and the exact number of participants. The Committee reminds the Government that the ILO’s technical assistance may be requested in that regard.

Articles 14, 20 and 21. Annual labour inspection report and statistics of industrial accidents and occupational diseases. Replying to the Committee’s comments on these points, the Government refers to the 2010 labour inspection report, a copy of which was, according to the Government, transmitted to the ILO. The Committee notes, however, that the report was not received by the ILO.

The Committee recalls its general observation of 2010, in which it emphasized the essential importance that it attaches to the publication and communication to the ILO within the prescribed time limits of an annual labour inspection report. When well prepared, the annual report offers an indispensable basis for the evaluation of the results in practice of the activities of the labour inspection services and, subsequently, the determination of the means necessary to improve their effectiveness. The Committee recalls in this regard that very valuable guidance is provided by the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), on the content and presentation of such information. The Committee again emphasizes the importance of including a description of the area of competence of national labour inspection staff (workplaces and workers covered) in order to allow an assessment of coverage in practice, where necessary through appropriate inter-institutional cooperation.

The Committee requests the Government to communicate a copy of the annual inspection report, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, and hopes that it will contain the information specified in Article 21 and needed in order to assess the operation of the labour inspection system.