Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Colombia (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes the observations made by the Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC) received on 29 August 2015 and the observations made by the General Confederation of Labour (CGT) and the Single Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CUT), both received on 2 September 2015. It also notes the joint comments made by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the National Employers Association of Colombia (ANDI), received on 1 September 2015. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in relation to these observations.

The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2015 between the ILO and the Government to promote decent work in agriculture, through the formalization of labour relationships, the promotion of employment and the promotion of compliance with fundamental principles and rights at work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the steps taken to implement the objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding, and the role of the labour inspection services in agriculture in this regard.

Articles 1–27 of the Convention. Effective functioning of the labour inspection system in agriculture. In its previous comments, the Committee urged the Government to introduce the necessary measures to strengthen the labour inspection services in agriculture.

The Committee notes the Government’s reference in its report to a number of measures that have resulted in the strengthening of the labour inspection system as a whole, including in agriculture. Referring to its comments under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Committee notes the progress made in several areas concerning labour inspection, which also affect the application of this Convention. They include, in particular: the increase in the number of labour inspectors from 530 in August 2013 to 826 in September 2015 (Article 14); the efforts made to improve the financial resources of the labour inspectorate and the allocation of a special budget for transport facilities and travel expenses (Article 15); the measures to improve the effective enforcement of sufficiently dissuasive sanctions for labour law violations, including through the training of labour inspectors in this regard (Articles 22 and 24); and the publication and communication to the ILO of the 2013 annual report on the work of the labour inspection services which also contains information on the work of the labour inspection services in agriculture (Articles 26 and 27). The Committee further notes from the statistics provided in the 2013 annual labour inspection report that, of the 10,438 labour inspection visits undertaken in 2013, 523 labour inspection visits were undertaken in the agricultural sector (including livestock production and fishing). It also notes the number of formalization agreements concluded (six agreements benefiting 284 workers) since the initiation of the formalization policy of the Government, and the sanctions imposed for illegal forms of labour subcontracting in 2014.

The Committee notes that the Government has not replied to the previous observations of the CUT concerning the insufficient number of labour inspectors and labour inspections in rural areas to cover agricultural enterprises (Articles 14 and 21), the focus on conciliation of labour disputes in rural areas rather than the conduct of actual inspection visits, and the lack of administrative support staff (Article 6(3)); the lack of training concerning the specific risks involved in agricultural work to effectively protect the rights of workers (Article 9); and the lack of adequate premises and resources in the regions, including the lack of transport facilities to undertake inspections at remote farms (Article 15). The Committee recalls that, in accordance with Article 6(3), any further duties which may be entrusted to labour inspectors in agriculture shall not be such as to interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties or to prejudice in any way the authority and impartiality which are necessary for inspectors in their relation with employers and workers.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific steps taken to improve the effective functioning of the labour inspection system in agriculture (including the allocation of labour inspectors in regions outside capital areas, the recruitment of administrative staff, the training of labour inspectors in agriculture, etc.). It requests the Government to take measures to ensure that labour inspectors focus principally on the inspection of workplaces and on taking the necessary action. In this regard, the Committee also requests the Government to consider entrusting the function of conciliation to another body, and to provide information in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the activities of the labour inspection services in agriculture as of 2014 (including the number of inspection visits carried out, the number of violations detected and the penalties imposed in this sector including the legal provisions to which they relate, etc.) and to include this information in the annual report on the work of the labour inspection services in agriculture.

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