Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Colombia (Ratification: 1976)

Referring to its observation, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the following points.

Safety of labour inspectors performing duties in agricultural undertakings. In its previous comments, the Committee had noted that the Government had not replied to its previous request concerning the measures taken or envisaged to ensure the physical protection of labour inspectors when working in certain regions considered to be dangerous. It had also observed that section 486 of the Labour Code, to which the Government referred, did not indicate whether labour inspectors could ask to be accompanied, when required to guarantee their safety, by police officers who possessed the necessary means to protect their physical integrity. The Committee had therefore asked once again the Government to provide information on any measures taken in this respect and their application in practice. Noting that it has failed to do so, it feels bound to request the Government to ensure that measures to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of labour inspectors when working in agricultural undertakings, should be implemented as soon as possible. It would be grateful if it would inform the ILO of any progress made in this respect and any difficulties encountered.

Article 15 of the Convention. Conditions of work of labour inspectors in agricultural undertakings. Pointing out that the Government has not provided information concerning the part of the territorial department’s budget allocated to labour inspection in the agricultural sector, the Committee hopes that it will not fail to do so in its next report; or that it will, at the very least, indicate any developments concerning the material and logistical working conditions of labour inspectors in agricultural undertakings.

Article 19. Notification of accidents and cases of occupational disease to labour inspectors. Noting that the Government has not provided the information it requested in its previous comments on this point, the Committee feels bound to reiterate this request which was worded as follows.

The Committee notes that in the event of the death of a worker, the employer and the joint occupational health committee or, as the case may be, the monitor, are to carry out, in the 15 days following the death, an inquiry into the causes of the accident or the illness that led to the death of the worker and to communicate the results to the relevant insurance company. Within a maximum of 15 days, this company will decide upon the measures that the employer must take in order to eliminate the cause of the accident or illness. This decision is communicated with the inquiry report to the competent Regional Labour Directorate or to the Special Office of the Ministry of Social Protection, so that further investigations and legal proceedings may be instituted, if necessary. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether this procedure is also applicable in the event of occupational accidents and diseases in agricultural undertakings and to provide full and detailed information on the role of labour inspectors in the context of this procedure.

Article 6, paragraph 2. Enforcement functions relating to conditions of life of agricultural workers and their families. The Committee requests the Government once again to provide specific information on the content of the issues dealt with on legal assistance days, which, in a previous report, the Government stated it had organized throughout the country, including in the most remote areas. It would be grateful if it could report on whether, as a result, there was any indication of a need to extend the functions of the labour inspection service, with a view to enforcing the application of legal provisions relating to conditions of life of agricultural workers and their families. In the affirmative, the Government is requested to keep the ILO informed of any developments in this respect.