Rationale

The widespread adoption of internet and mobile technologies has transformed the global economy along with the way people live and work. It has also significantly changed how governments manage and deliver public services, including in the field of labour inspection (LI).

Many countries, including ASEAN Member States, have adopted new approaches to gathering and managing LI data, tracking cases of non-compliance, receiving complaints and monitoring LI performance using databases, web-based platforms and mobile devices. The thinking goes that efficiency gains and knowledge produced from these new tools will lead to more intelligent inspection action and ultimately better workplace compliance.

While most everyone is persuaded about the benefits of information and communication of technology (ICT), the challenge remains for inspectorates to transform existing information systems and adapt to new business processes, cover the cost and ensure maintenance of these systems, all while addressing security concerns about the protection of data.

The different levels of economic development in ASEAN are reflected in the range of technological sophistication between national labour inspectorates. Interest is high among ASEAN inspectorates to share their experiences and learn from other countries in the region. The 5th ASEAN LIC will be such an opportunity in addition to discussing the technical considerations for setting up and effectively managing an ICT system for labour inspection.

Issues

The use of ICT in labour inspection offers the potential to address a number of longstanding issues faced by national labour inspection services, which could be discussed in the course of the LIC. These include:

1. Improving evidence-based inspection planning. Electronic databases facilitate the automated consolidation and analysis of vast amounts of inspection data. This can improve an LI system’s assessment of nationwide violations and compliance deficits by sector, region, general working conditions, occupational hazards, etc. Such information can help an inspectorate plan targeted inspection activities and, over time, identify trends and evaluate the impact of LI interventions in improving workplace compliance.
2. Streamlining complaints handling and case management. ICT can bring the services of labour inspection closer to the constituents it serves while improving responsiveness and work flow. Workers can potentially submit online complaints more easily and securely, with the assurance that their claim will reach the appropriate official. Similarly, follow-up to inspection visits can be improved with an automated notification system.
3. Strengthening the notification of accidents and diseases. Workplace accidents and diseases are almost universally underreported. Web-based and mobile platforms can facilitate and encourage the signalling of occupational accidents and diseases and thereby improve their reporting. Better reporting would in turn improve the accuracy of national statistics on occupational injuries and diseases as a further contribution to evidence-based inspection planning and OSH policy development. The same platform could also be designed to strengthen coordination with agencies responsible for workers compensation schemes thereby improving the processing of claims.
4. Facilitating coordination within and beyond the LI system. Coordination within an LI system depends on regular, quality communication between inspectors and managers at all levels. The adoption of a shared platform contributes to standardizing inspection information and tools as well as work planning. Linking LI information systems to other national databases (e.g. enterprise registries, statistical records, social security database) can also improve the coordination, accuracy and timeliness of information for policy and compliance responses.
5. Reporting on results and performance. At the institutional level, the collection of data further enables inspectorates to seamlessly track inspection action over time and generate reports with detailed LI statistics. At the individual level, such a system can also follow the work performance of inspectors allowing for more accurate performance target setting, review and identification of professional development needs.
6. Increasing transparency and accountability. By recording in real time information on inspection activities and their results, as well as providing an opportunity for employers and workers to provide service satisfaction information, the operations of the inspectorate can become more transparent and accountable to management as well as the general public.

Objectives

The objectives of this Labour Inspection Conference will be to:

• share national practices on developing and using ICT in daily labour inspection operations;
• improve understanding among ASEAN inspectorates on how ICT innovation can improve the impact of labour inspection services towards achieving workplace compliance;
• identify opportunities among ASEAN inspectorates for South-South cooperation and technology transfer;
• adopt a joint statement on the use of ICT by labour inspectorates in ASEAN.