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

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

The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending June 2007.

Articles 17 and 18 of the Convention. Legal proceedings and penalties. The Committee notes the Government’s information in reply to its previous comment concerning the lack of legal proceedings instituted in 2004 in relation to the numerous cases of violations submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor by the labour inspectorate. The data sent by the Government for 2006 show that, of the 324 cases referred to the Office of the Prosecutor, legal proceedings were instituted in three cases. With reference to its general observation of 2007, the Committee recalls that the effectiveness of the binding measures taken by the labour inspectorate depends to a large extent on the manner in which the judicial authorities deal with cases referred to them by labour inspectors, both institutions having the common objective of ensuring the enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers. It is therefore highly desirable, firstly, to take measures to raise the awareness of judges concerning the complementary roles of the courts and the labour inspectorate and, secondly, to enable labour inspectors to be informed of the action taken on the cases that they have referred, so that they can review where necessary their criteria for assessing situations in which, with a view to bringing an end to a violation, it may be more appropriate to use other means than prosecution in the courts or recommending that legal action be taken. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the reasons for the disparity between the number of cases referred to the Office of the Prosecutor and the number of cases which have actually given rise to legal proceedings and to indicate the violations which have given rise to prosecutions and also any penalties which have been imposed. Furthermore, it requests the Government to indicate whether measures to ensure effective cooperation between the labour inspection system and the judicial system have been taken or contemplated and, if so, to give examples of them.

Articles 20 and 21. Annual report on the work of the labour inspection services. The Committee notes the detailed statistics concerning the work of the labour inspection services for 2006 which appear in the Government’s report on the application of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether this information is published by the central authority in a report and, if so, to send a copy to the Office within a reasonable time after its publication and, if not, take the necessary measures to give full effect to the Convention on this point.