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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Barbados (Ratification: 1967)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

The Committee notes the Government’s report received in January 2005, which responds in part to its previous comments, and the attached observations of the Barbados Employers’ Confederation (BEC) and the Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados (CTUSAB). The Committee invites the Government to continue providing detailed information on the application of the Convention, particularly with regard to the following aspects.

1. Staffing and resources of the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes that, in the view of the CTUSAB, the number of labour inspectors should be increased and they should be provided with adequate training and additional resources to allow them to do their work effectively. The BEC considers that there is a lack of inspectors to deal with the growing number of complaints. The Government emphasizes that the constantly increasing work load has not been accompanied by the increase in staffing required to handle it. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that the number of labour inspectors is sufficient to secure the effective discharge of their duties, particularly in view of the forthcoming adoption of new legislation on occupational safety and health, which should reinforce their functions in this field (Article 10 of the Convention). It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures adopted to furnish labour inspectors with the necessary transport facilities and to reimburse their travelling expenses (Article 11).

2. Adequate penalties. The Committee notes the assurances given by the Government that the question of the provisions respecting penalties will be addressed in the context of the current reform of the labour legislation so as to ensure that the penalties established for violations of the labour legislation are sufficiently dissuasive, in accordance with Article 18 of the Convention. It requests the Government to indicate the progress made in the legislative reform in this connection.

3. Publication of an annual report. The Committee notes that no annual report on the labour inspection services has been supplied to the ILO since the communication in 2001 of the annual reports of the Department of Labour for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that an annual report on the inspection services is published and transmitted to the Office within the time limits set out in Article 20 of the Convention and that it contains all the required information, including statistics of occupational diseases, in accordance with Article 21(g) of the Convention.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.