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

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - North Macedonia (Ratification: 1991)

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

Article 9(3) of the Convention. Specific training for labour inspectors. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, inspectors working in occupational safety and health (OSH) related areas received training focusing on the minimal OSH requirements for workers exposed to risks related to chemical substances. The Committee also notes the information that the Government did not foresee any specific training for 2014. Recalling the importance of specific training for the performance of labour inspection duties in agriculture and related issues, such as the prevention of particular chemical hazards, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that labour inspectors are provided with specific training in this area, upon their entry into service and in the course of employment, to enable them to gain the technical knowledge required for the performance of their duties.

Article 12. Cooperation between the inspection services in agriculture and government services. The Government indicates that, although the State Labour Inspectorate did not establish cooperation with the National Agriculture Inspectorate, mutual inspection shall be carried out to protect workers in agriculture as part of the implementation of the “Rulebook on minimal requirements for occupational safety and health of workers exposed to risks related to chemical substances”, which will enter into force on 1 January 2014. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of mutual inspections carried out by the State Labour Inspectorate and the National Agriculture Inspectorate, if any.

Articles 26 and 27. Annual report on the work of the inspection services. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the importance of including the data defined in Article 27 in the annual report of the State Inspectorate Directorate. Referring to its comments under Convention No. 81, the Committee hopes that the annual report on the work of the labour inspection services in agriculture, containing the information required in Article 27(a)–(g), will be published and transmitted to the ILO in the very near future.