Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Tunisia (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee notes the Government’s report received on 11 October 2005, and the Labour Inspectorate activity reports for 2003, 2004 and 2005.

1. Article 7 of the Convention. Conditions for the recruitment of labour inspectors. The Committee notes with interest Decree No. 2004-2149 of 6 September 2004, which amends and supplements Decree No. 99-2633 of 22 November 1999 issuing the specific conditions of service for labour inspection staff, and the Ministerial Order of 23 September 2004, by virtue of which a university level diploma for studies lasting at least four semesters is required to sit the external competitive examination for the recruitment of labour inspectors. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide figures regarding changes in the composition and distribution by level of studies of inspection staff since the entry into force of these texts.

2. Inspection relating to child labour. The Committee notes with interest the statistics prepared by the Labour Inspectorate on violations concerning the work of children and young persons. The Committee notes that, according to the corresponding labour inspectorate reports, the number of such violations fell from 310 in 2003 to 127 in 2004, and it would therefore be grateful if the Government would indicate the manner in which these statistics were compiled from one year to the next, and say whether the drop in the number of violations noted in 2004 is attributable to inspection activities of an educational or repressive nature, or to a reduction in inspection activities aimed at child labour.

3. Articles 17 and 18. Execution of notices served by inspectors and court action taken on inspectors’ reports of violations. The Committee notes with interest the indication, in response to its previous comments, that 80 per cent of the notices served to enterprises that have committed violations to labour laws gave rise to regularization. The Committee also notes that both the number of employers to whom notices were served and the number of inspectors’ reports of violations doubled between 2003 and 2004. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the administrative or legal measures taken in the case of the 20 per cent of notices that did not result in the regularization of the violations, and the reasons for the increase in the number of notices served and reports of violations issued.

4. Article 21(c). Number of workplaces liable to inspection and number of workers employed therein. The Government notes, once again, that the annual labour inspectorate reports for 2003, 2004 and 2005 fail to indicate, as required under Article 21(c), the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein, information which is vital to assess the coverage of labour inspection in relation to requirements in this area. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would ensure that this information is included in its future annual inspection reports, as promised in its report.