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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Benin (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government in its report on the quantitative and qualitative strengthening of labour inspection staff, the improvement of inspection offices and the progressive increase in the budgets allocated to inspection in recent years.

Evaluation and improvement of the coverage of the inspection services in practice. The Committee notes that despite the progress mentioned above, according to the Government, only 181 inspections of workplaces were carried out in 2005, or an average of three inspections by each of the 59 inspection officers. On the other hand, inspectors intervened as mediators to resolve around 2,500 industrial disputes, or an average of 42 mediations by each inspection officer. In the Committee’s opinion, the time devoted to resolving industrial disputes by labour inspectors obviously interferes with the effective discharge of their primary duty of supervision. A reorientation of inspection activities towards supervising conditions of work should lead to a reduction in industrial disputes. Given that no information is available on the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein (Article 21, paragraph (c) of the Convention), it is impossible to make any assessment of the effective coverage by labour inspectors and supervisors in relation to the extent of needs with regard to enforcing the legal provisions relating to conditions of work (Article 3, paragraph 1(a)). These basic data are essential in this regard, as are statistics of inspection visits, violations committed and penalties imposed, industrial accidents and occupational diseases (Article 21(d), (e), (f) and (g)). Reminding the Government of its previous comments under Articles 20 and 21 on the usefulness of an annual inspection report, and referring also to paragraphs 331 to 333 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, the Committee is therefore bound to encourage the Government once more to ensure that the central labour inspection authority publishes such a report, the content of which should be based, as far as possible, on the indications provided by Part IV of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), and to provide a copy to the ILO.