Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Viet Nam (Ratification: 1994)

1. Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Organization and development of the labour inspection system. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the establishment of a labour inspection system within the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) by Decree No. 29/2003/ND-CP of 31 March 2003. In its 2006 report, the Government indicated that Decision No. 01/2006/QD-BLDTBXH concerning inspection activities and appointing inspectors for the provinces had been adopted on 16 February 2006. The Committee also refers to the adoption by Decision No. 233/2006/QD-TTg of 18 October 2006 of a national programme until 2010 for the protection of workers and occupational safety and health, one of the aims of which is to strengthen the capacities of the labour inspection system, and also the adoption of Decree No. 31/2006 of 29 March 2006 on the organization and working of inspection in the areas of labour, invalids and social affairs. The Government is requested to provide a copy of Decree No. 31/2006 and supply information on the measures taken to implement the above programme and on their impact at the provincial and national levels.

2. Article 2. Workplaces liable to inspection. The national programme for the protection of workers indicates that the country has more than 160,000 enterprises, most of them small and medium-sized enterprises, and that this number and also that of family enterprises is constantly increasing. Emphasizing once again that it is essential that industrial and commercial workplaces liable to inspection are identified in order to determine the human and material resources which are necessary for an effective functioning of the system, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the census of enterprises is periodically updated and, if so, to indicate the geographical distribution of the types of workplaces covered by the inspection system, according to their size, the work performed and the number of workers employed therein.

3. Article 10. Inspection staff. According to the information supplied by the Government in 2007, the total number of inspection officers and inspectors in 2006 was 309 for the whole country. The Committee notes with interest that MOLISA decided at the end of 2006 to appoint 16 new inspection officers and inspectors at a central level and that the Government plans to increase the number of inspection staff in provinces which have a high-density labour force. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the distribution of inspection staff in relation to the number of workplaces and workers covered.

4. Article 6. Status and conditions of service of labour inspectors. The Committee notes that pursuant to section 191(2) of the Labour Code, as revised in 2002, MOLISA is responsible for defining criteria for the recruitment, appointment, transfer, dismissal and revocation of inspectors. Section 31 of Act No. 2/2004/QH11 on inspection, enacted by the Order of 24 June 2004, sets forth general criteria for the appointment of “administrative” inspectors and “specialist” inspectors (loyalty, ethics, honesty, possession of a university diploma, professional qualifications in the area of inspection, etc.), but does not contain any provisions on their conditions of service. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which stability of employment is ensured for labour inspectors (men and women), to supply further details of their conditions of service (including remuneration and career progression) and to send copies of the relevant legislation.

5. Article 7. Training of labour inspectors. The Committee notes the detailed information supplied by the Government on the training activities (courses and seminars), materials and documents which have been available to labour inspectors in the context of the cooperation project with the ILO on “Safe Work and Integrated Labour Inspection”. It also notes that activities to reinforce labour inspectors’ qualifications in occupational safety and health are planned in the context of the national programme for the protection of workers and a new technical cooperation project with the ILO. Noting the particular efforts made by the Government with regard to the training of labour inspectors in occupational safety and health, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue supplying information on the activities undertaken in this area and the impact thereof.

6. Article 12, paragraph 1, and Article 16. Right of free entry of inspectors to workplaces liable to inspection, and freedom to carry out inspections. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that Decree No. 61/1998/ND-CP of 15 August 1998 on the inspection and monitoring of enterprises and Implementing Directive No. 22/2001/CT-TTg of 11 September 2001 on the reorganization of inspections and of monitoring of enterprises laid down restrictions on inspections which are contrary to the Convention. In reply, the Government pointed out that these texts simply aimed to avoid the proliferation of visits within the same enterprise and that, in addition, their effect had been limited by the revision in 2002 of certain provisions of the Labour Code (sections 185, 186 and 191) and also by the Act of 2004 on inspection. While acknowledging that rationalization and planning of inspections is a necessity, the Committee recalls that labour inspectors must nevertheless be able to enter freely and without previous notice any workplace liable to inspection, as provided for by Article 12, paragraph 1(a), if they consider it necessary, in order to be able to carry out inspections as often and as thoroughly as possible, in accordance with Article 16. The Government is requested to supply further details on the practical application of section 187(1) of the Labour Code, under the terms of which inspectors have the right to conduct investigations in the workplace at any time and without previous notice, and to send copies of any relevant regulations, if applicable.

7. Article 5(b) and Part II, Paragraphs 4 and 5, of Recommendation No. 81. Collaboration between the labour inspectorate and employers and workers or their organizations. Distribution of roles and responsibilities. The Committee notes the adoption of Decision No. 02/2006/QD-BLDTBXH of 16 February 2006 on the use of a “self-inspection” form. This involves the employer (institution or individual) replying to a questionnaire and sending it, with his or her signature and that of the trade union, where the latter exists, to the Labour Inspectorate. The Committee notes that labour inspectors must help the employer to fill in the form and that they can ask the latter to take action in cases of violation of labour law. In its report sent in 2007, the Government states that questionnaires have already been sent to 9,647 enterprises and that nearly 4,000 questionnaires, out of the 4,455 returned, have been processed. While recognizing the usefulness of active involvement of the social partners in the system for monitoring the application of the legislation, the Committee nevertheless emphasizes that it is essential that labour inspectors continue to have sole responsibility in this field. To this end, inspectors have rights and powers which are defined by Article 12, paragraphs 1(c) and 2, and Articles 13, 17 and 18 of the Convention and they are bound by professional rules as defined by Article 15 to perform their duties with the necessary impartiality and authority. The credibility and effectiveness of any labour inspection system depend not only on inspectors’ capacity to advise employers and workers on the best way to apply labour legislation, but also on their having the possibility to take action against violations by means of orders having immediate executory force or to be implemented within a prescribed deadline, by means of warnings or prosecutions or even, where necessary, by the imposition of appropriate penalties. In this respect, the Committee notes that new subsection 5 of section 186 of the Labour Code provides that one of the duties of labour inspectors is to take action within the limits of their competence, or request the competent authorities to take action against violations of labour legislation. Section 192 also states that any contravention of the Labour Code will be penalized, according to its seriousness, by a warning, a fine, the closure of the enterprise or even prosecution; and section 195 leaves it for the Government to determine administrative penalties for violations of labour legislation. The Committee requests the Government to state the manner in which it is ensured that labour inspectors continue to enjoy the rights and privileges defined by the Convention and by the above sections of the Labour Code and to send copies of some of the completed questionnaires on “self-inspection”. It would be grateful if the Government would also supply detailed statistical information on the results of the practical implementation of the “self-inspection” system described in its report, in terms of violations reported, letters of formal notice, and penalties imposed and actually applied, together with any relevant documentation.

8. Articles 20 and 21. Annual report on the work of the inspection services. The Committee emphasizes that the annual general report on the work of the inspection services, the publication of which is prescribed by Article 20 and the content defined by Article 21, gives an overview of the working of the system, thereby enabling its strengths and weaknesses to be identified. It notes that the programme for the protection of workers contains information on the subjects which must be included in such a report, for example, statistics of industrial accidents and occupational diseases (Article 21(f) and (g)). The Committee strongly encourages the Government to ensure that the collection and processing of information required on the other subjects specified by Article 21 are organized by the central inspection authority on the basis of periodic reports on the work of the inspection offices placed under its control with a view to the publication of an annual report and the transmission thereof to the ILO.