Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - New Caledonia

The Committee refers to its comments relating to the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), in so far as they are also concerned with the application of the present Convention.

Articles 6, 12, 14 and 21 of the Convention. Activities of the labour inspectorate in agriculture and additional duties assigned to inspectors. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to three information sessions on occupational risks in agriculture organized in 2012 by the Directorate of Labour and Employment in collaboration with the Family Benefit and Employment Injury Compensation Fund and Workers’ Provident Fund (CAFAT), the Chamber of Trades and Crafts, the Chamber of Agriculture and the Directorate of Veterinary Matters, Food and Rural Affairs. It further notes the Government’s indication that a specialist controller for agriculture was appointed in 2010 to perform inspections in agricultural undertakings. It notes that the controller’s duties focus on action against illegal work, especially with regard to pre-recruitment declaration, and on occupational risk prevention, particularly the inspection of plant protection products. It further notes the statement in the November 2009 document entitled “Instructions regarding the monitoring policy of the labour inspectorate”, supplied with the Government’s report on the application of the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), to the effect that from 2009 inspections in the area of clandestine work and the employment of foreign nationals having irregular status would be stepped up, that they would be largely conducted by the controller specifically assigned to this task and that collective actions could be organized periodically with the inspection units.

With reference to its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection (paragraphs 75–78), the Committee recalls that Convention No. 129, like Convention No. 81, does not contain any provision suggesting that any workers be excluded from the protection afforded by labour inspection on account of their irregular employment status. The primary duty of labour inspectors is to enforce the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers, and not to enforce immigration law. Verification of the legality of employment should have, as its corollary, the reinstatement of the statutory rights of all workers if it is to be compatible with the labour inspection objective of providing protection. Moreover, since the human and other resources available to labour inspectorates are not unlimited, assigning the task of policing illegal employment as a primary duty for labour inspectors would appear to result in a proportionate decrease in inspection of conditions of work.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or contemplated to ensure that labour inspection activities aimed at enforcing immigration law are not detrimental to the labour inspectorate’s primary duties of enforcing the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers.

In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the amount of time allocated to verifying the legality of employment in proportion to the primary inspection duties laid down in Article 6(1) of the Convention, on reported infringements, legal procedures and remedies, and penalties imposed for undeclared work. It also requests the Government to describe the role played by the labour inspectorate and the justice system in ensuring observance by employers of their obligations towards foreign nationals found to be illegally employed, such as the payment of wages and any other benefits due for work done in the context of their employment relationship, including where workers are under the threat of expulsion from the country or have already been expelled.

Articles 26 and 27. Annual report on the work of the labour inspectorate in agriculture. The Committee notes that the last labour inspection report received by the Office relates to the 2007–08 period. It notes the Government’s indication that the annual report of the labour inspectorate for 2010 (which has not been received by the Office) covers all sectors of activity, including agriculture, but does not refer specifically to the work of the labour inspectorate in agriculture. The Committee notes from the record of the meeting of the Labour Advisory Commission dated 26 August 2010, which was sent by the Government, that the tools used do not enable a breakdown of statistics by sector of activity. Moreover, as the Committee understands it, it is difficult to determine the number of workers employed in agriculture since there are few wage employees in the sector and they are mainly employed on part-time contracts.

However, it notes that there appear to be moves to establish an electronic register of enterprises by sector of activity as the basis for a database for all services. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee recalls that under Article 26 of the Convention the central inspection authority must publish an annual report on the work of the inspection services in agriculture, either as a separate report or as part of its general annual report. With reference also to its comments on Convention No. 81, the Committee requests the Government to supply information on progress made regarding the establishment of an electronic register of enterprises by sector of activity, including agriculture.

The Committee also requests the Government once again to take the necessary steps to publish the annual inspection report and send it to the Office, in accordance with Article 26 of the Convention, and to ensure that specific information on the work of the inspection services in agriculture is identifiable in this report, as required by Article 27(a)–(g) of the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government in any case to send as detailed information as possible in its next report on the number of agricultural undertakings liable to inspection and the number of persons working in them, the number of inspection visits and the results thereof (number of infringements reported, legal or regulatory provisions concerned, penalties imposed, etc.), and also on occupational accidents and diseases recorded and the causes thereof.