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

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Egypt (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee notes the Government’s report on the application of Convention No. 129 for the period ending June 2006.

1. Article 5 of the Convention. Competence of labour inspection services in agriculture. The Committee notes the Government’s reply to its previous request according to which, undertakings in which the employer and his family work are excluded from the application of the Convention. However, it would appear that this category of enterprises is preponderant in the agricultural sector. The Committee further notes that women and children working in simple agricultural activities are also excluded from the application of Chapters 2 and 3 of Title VI of the Labour Code on the organization of work, under the terms of sections 97 and 103 of the Labour Code. The Committee requests the Government to specify the fields of labour legislation covered by labour inspection in relation to women and children working in agriculture and to provide any relevant text. It would be grateful if it would also indicate the number and geographical distribution of agricultural undertakings, including agro-industrial plantations, covered by the labour inspectorate, and the number of workers occupied therein.

The Government is finally requested to indicate whether it is envisaged to extend the functions of the labour inspection system so as to ensure that self‑employed workers and family members working with them are covered by information activities and technical advice, particularly in relation to occupational safety and health, as well as social insurance.

2. Role of the labour inspectorate in combating child labour. The Committee notes with interest the establishment in all directorates of inspection units responsible for monitoring child labour and the implementation in the context of the IPEC programme of a project entitled “Institutional development and formulation of policies to reduce child labour”. The Committee notes that the objectives of this project include strengthening the capacity of labour inspectors to carry out effective inspections in this field, particularly in the agricultural sector in which child labour is principally concentrated. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide full information on developments in the role of the inspectorate in relation to child labour in agriculture and if it would provide information, copies of any laws, regulations, instructions or circulars providing a legal basis for the inspection activities of the units specializing in monitoring child labour in agriculture, as well as any relevant inspection form.

3. Article 15, paragraph 1(b). Transport facilities of inspectors in the agricultural sector. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the provision of a single equipped vehicle per governorate for labour inspectors is not adequate in view of the significant distances that they have to cover to inspect agricultural undertakings, and that the allowance for their travel expenses is derisory. The Committee cannot overemphasize the need to take measures to provide inspectors with the transport facilities that are indispensable for the discharge of their functions, particularly in the agricultural sector, which is characterized by the distance and dispersion of agricultural undertakings. It requests the Government to take such measures and to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect, and on any difficulty encountered in the application of the Convention in this regard.

4. Article 27. Annual inspection report. The Committee notes that the statistical tables on the results of labour inspection activities contain data specifically covering the agricultural sector. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that such data are fully compiled in future in accordance with Article 27 and published in the form of a separate report or as part of a more general report, so that they can be brought to the knowledge of the social partners and other bodies and institutions concerned with improving the inspection system in agriculture.