Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Kuwait (Ratification: 1964)

The Committee notes the Government's report. It also notes the annual reports of the inspection services for 1996, 1997 and 1998.

Article 21(e) of the Convention. An examination of the voluminous statistics on labour inspection which were provided shows that the majority of the enterprises inspected in the field of occupational safety are in breach of the law, that employment accidents are very frequent and, in addition to the activities normally subject to the risk of employment accidents (construction work, building and transport), affect another category of activities designated by the terms "social services", "personal services" or "community services", in which 4,227 employment accidents occurred in 1996 and 2,991 in 1997, with an increase in the number of fatalities in 1997. The Committee also notes that the statistics concerning the cases brought to the courts show that no fines were imposed on those responsible for violations. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would provide information on the nature of the activities covered by the terms "social services", "personal services" and "community services" and if it would indicate the manner in which it is envisaged to achieve the maximum compliance by employers with the legal and technical requirements relating to occupational safety and health. It also requests the Government to indicate whether the figures relating to workers violating security rules (71,308 in 1996 and 117,177 in 1997) correspond to violations by individual workers or the total workforce of enterprises in which violations have been committed.

Article 21(g). With reference to its earlier comments, the Committee asks the Government to ensure that the annual report of the inspection services contains statistics of occupational diseases.