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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Russian Federation (Ratification: 1998)

Organization of the Federal Labour and Employment Service (Rostrud) and the relevant legislation. The Committee notes the Government’s explanations concerning the organizational structure of the Federal Labour and Employment Service (Rostrud), that is, its federal, regional and municipal structures and managerial positions. It notes the Government’s indications that almost all of the legislative instruments required for the effective functioning of the labour inspection have now been adopted and that they are currently under examination to assess whether they give full effect to the Articles of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes the copies in Russian of the various laws and regulations governing the work of the Rostrud, which were attached to the Government’s report. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the outcome of the assessment of the conformity of national laws and regulations with the Convention and to indicate the specific provisions of the relevant national legislation that give effect to the Articles of the Convention, if possible in one of the working languages of the ILO.

Articles 2(1), 3(1), 16, 17 and 23 of the Convention. Labour inspection activities relating to the protection of workers. In its previous observation, the Committee noted the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Case No. 2758 (365th Report, November 2012) relating to the investigation of anti-union persecution in the Russian Federation by the competent authorities, including the labour inspectorate. The Committee further recalls its previous observations under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), in which it noted that, according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), thousands of persons are trafficked from the Russian Federation to other countries and internal trafficking within the Russian Federation also reportedly takes place. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in relation to the activities of the Rostrud in the area of child labour, as well as its indications that no cases of discrimination or infringements of freedom of association have been detected. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the measures taken during the period covered by the next report, for the enforcement of the legal provisions pertaining to fundamental rights at work, including equality and non discrimination, freedom of association and the eradication of forced labour, as well as the results achieved.

Articles 3(1), 10, 11 and 16. Number and functions of labour inspectors, material resources at their disposal and impact of the labour inspection system. The Committee recalls that it previously noted the positive impact of the work of the Rostrud on the overall situation of compliance with labour law. The Committee also noted, however, that the number of labour inspectors (which was 2,852 as at 31 December 2010) appears to have decreased by 14 per cent since 2003, and by 31 per cent since 1995.

The Committee notes the Government’s reference to a decrease in the number of staff of the Rostrud by 9 per cent between 2011 and 2012, in application of Presidential Decree No. 165 of December 2012 on “optimizing the numbers of federal civil servants and employees in federal state bodies”. The Government indicates that the limited number of staff continues to affect significantly the results and quality of the work of the Rostrud, with the average number of workplaces per inspector being 3,000 (as at the end of 2012). According to the Government, the lack of labour inspectors does not allow regular inspection to be conducted (not even at a rate of one inspection per enterprise every ten years), nor unplanned inspections to be carried out.

In light of the Committee’s previous observations on the insufficiency of the transport facilities available for the effective discharge of the functions of labour inspection and the long distances labour inspectors have to travel to cover workplaces in the country, including in remote regions, the Committee notes with interest that 211 new vehicles have been purchased, thereby increasing the number available from 324 in 2010 to 535 in 2012. It further notes the Government’s indications that the expenses of inspectors while on duty are reimbursed in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 813 of 18 July 2005 on “The procedure and conditions for duty travel by federal civil servants”. Labour inspectors receive an advance payment covering most of their travel expenses, and the remaining expenses are reimbursed after submission of a report on the expenses incurred. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on any steps taken or envisaged to meet the needs of the labour inspection system in terms of human resources in light of the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein, and to provide further information on the categories, geographical distribution and fields of specialization of labour inspectors in service. The Committee welcomes the improvement in the transport facilities available to labour inspectors and requests the Government to indicate whether it envisages any further measures to improve the material resources at the disposal of labour inspectors.

Article 3(2). Additional functions entrusted to labour inspectors. The Committee notes that the Government lists in detail the multiple functions that are entrusted to labour inspectors (including controlling the restrictions laid down annually by the Government on the use of foreign labour, the legal status of foreign workers, etc.), but that it does not provide any explanation of the functions entrusted to labour inspectors in the areas of employment promotion, protection from unemployment and “internal migration”, as well as the settlement of collective labour disputes. The Committee refers to paragraph 69 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, in which it emphasizes that the primary duties of inspectors are complex and require time and resources. In this respect, Article 3(2) provides that any further duties entrusted to labour inspectors should not be such as to interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties (that is, to secure the enforcement of legislation on conditions of work and the protection of workers and to provide advice to employers and workers). The Committee once again asks the Government to provide clarifications on the functions carried out by labour inspectors relating to “internal migration”, protection from unemployment and the settlement of collective labour disputes. Where appropriate, the Committee requests the Government to indicate any steps taken or envisaged to ensure that these functions do not interfere with the effective discharge of the primary duties of labour inspectors.

Articles 5(a), 17 and 18. Cooperation with the judicial system and enforcement of penalties for violation of the legal provisions enforceable by labour inspectors. The Committee notes the Government’s detailed explanations concerning the procedures to be followed by labour inspectors in cases of non-compliance with the law, including the requirement to submit cases to the investigatory authorities and the relevant procedure to be followed if a case is considered a violation to certain provisions of the national Criminal Code. It notes the Government’s indications – with regard to its previous observation on the discrepancy between the cases reported, the criminal investigations initiated and the number of convictions – that the underlying causes of this discrepancy have to be assessed and appropriate steps taken, such as improving the capacities of labour inspectors or introducing amendments to the law.

The Committee further notes that, despite its repeated requests in this regard, the Government has still not indicated the legal provisions adopted for the implementation of sections 362 (responsibility for infringements of labour legislation), 363 (responsibility for obstructing the activities of state labour inspectors) and 419 (types of responsibility for infringement of the labour legislation) of the Labour Code. Referring once again to its general observation of 2007, the Committee asks the Government to report on the outcome of the above assessment concerning the discrepancy between the cases reported, the criminal investigations initiated and the number of convictions, and to indicate any measures taken or envisaged to reinforce cooperation between the labour inspection services and the justice system, for instance through the creation of a system for the recording of judicial decisions that is accessible to the labour inspectorate, joint training sessions with representatives of the judiciary, etc.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the legal provisions adopted for the implementation of sections 362, 363 and 419 of the Labour Code, to specify the sanctions applicable for violations of labour law provisions and to provide the Office with a copy of the relevant legislative texts, if possible in one of the working languages of the ILO.

Article 12(1)(c)(i). Powers of investigation. The Committee previously noted that according to section 357 of the Labour Code, labour inspectors have the right to interrogate, alone or in the presence of witnesses, the employer or his/her representative on any matter related to the labour inspector’s visit and that, under section 229 of the Labour Code, staff may be interrogated only in cases of the investigation of accidents at the workplace. Following the repeated comments of the Committee, which indicated that Article 12(1)(c)(i) does not confine the labour inspectors’ right to interrogate staff to cases of accidents, the Committee notes the Government’s indications, according to which it is considering reviewing the above provisions with a view to extending the power of labour inspectors to interrogate the employer and staff on any matters concerning the application of labour legislation. The Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to take the necessary measures in the near future to bring the legislation into compliance with Article 12 of the Convention and that it will keep the ILO informed of progress achieved to this end.

Article 14. Notification of cases of occupational diseases to the labour inspectorate. The Committee previously noted that the annual labour inspection reports of the Rostrud did not seem to contain any statistics on cases of occupational diseases and that the Labour Code does not seem to contain any provision requiring the notification of cases of occupational disease to the labour inspection services. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that information on cases of occupational diseases is not notified to the Rostrud, but to the Federal Service responsible for the protection of consumer and welfare rights, which does not appear to inform the Rostrud systematically, but only upon request. The Committee would once again like to draw the Government’s attention to paragraph 118 of the 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, in which it emphasized the importance of establishing a systematic information mechanism to enable the labour inspectorate to have access to the data necessary to determine which activities present a risk and the categories of workers most at risk, and to investigate the causes of industrial accidents and cases of occupational diseases in enterprises under its control. The Committee once again requests the Government to take steps to ensure that the national legislation establishes the conditions and the manner in which cases of occupational disease should be notified to the labour inspectorate. In this regard, it recalls that the ILO code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease offers guidance on the collection, recording and notification of reliable data and the effective use of such data for preventive action.

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