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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Indonesia (Ratification: 2004)

Legislation on labour inspection and decentralization of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes that labour inspection is regulated both by Act No. 3 of 1951, which mainly defines the functions of the labour inspection system and contains provisions on the right of labour inspectors to enter workplaces and make investigations, their obligation of secrecy and penal provisions in case of obstruction in the performance of their duties, and Ministerial Regulation No. PER/03/MEN/1984 on integrated labour inspection, the text of which is not available to the ILO. Act No. 13 on manpower, adopted in 2003, also contains a few provisions on labour inspection (sections 176–182) and a recent regulation (Minister of Manpower Regulation No. PER/09/MEN/V/2005), made under section 179(2) of the above Act, establishes the procedure for the submission of reports on the conduct of labour inspection and the related obligations at each decentralized level.

The Committee notes that, further to the adoption in 2004 of Act No. 32 on local government, responsibilities in the field of labour and manpower, including labour inspection issues, have been transferred to local governments at the provincial and district/city levels. As a consequence, the labour inspection system has been decentralized and the central government remains responsible only for formulating policies on labour inspection. In order to be able to obtain a comprehensive view of the legal aspects of the decentralization process and its impact on the labour inspection system with regard to the principles established by the Convention, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply a copy of Act No. 32 of 2004. It also requests it to keep the Office informed of the adoption of the draft Government Regulation on the distribution of responsibilities between the central, provincial and district/city levels announced in its 2007 report.

Furthermore, the Committee understands from the Government’s report that as part of the process of adapting the legal provisions to the new administrative structure, the administration is in the process of drafting new regulations on labour inspection respecting the structure of labour inspection services, the status of labour inspectors, inspection procedures and the obligations of local governments to provide infrastructure to the labour inspection services. These regulations will also implement the Act on manpower of 2003, as envisaged in section 178(2), with a view to overcoming some of the difficulties arising out of the recent structural and organizational changes at the local level (provincial and district/city). The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of these legal developments and to provide any relevant texts once they have been adopted. It would also be grateful if the Government could provide a copy of Ministerial Regulation No. PER/03/MEN/1984 on integrated labour inspection, if it is still in force.

The Committee further notes the Government’s request to the ILO for technical assistance on these issues with a view to promoting and ensuring the application of the Convention. It hopes that such assistance can be supplied within the framework of the Decent Work Country Programme (2006–10), which provides for capacity building in the field of labour administration at the national and local levels, particularly in employment services and labour inspection. In the meantime, in this context of ongoing comprehensive administrative reform, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the following articles of the Convention.

Articles 6, 7 and 8 of the Convention. Staff of the labour inspection services: status, appointment, composition, conditions of service and qualifications. The Committee notes that under section 176 of the Act on manpower, “Government labour inspectors shall have the competence and independence to ensure the implementation of the labour laws and regulations”. According to the Government’s report, within the framework of the decentralization of labour inspection structures, labour inspectors became staff of the local government and positions of labour inspectors have been filled with officers who are not qualified labour inspectors, while labour inspectors have been appointed to other positions in the local administration. The Committee notes that the Government is drafting regulations on the appraisal of the performance of labour inspectors. It wishes to recall that, in order to ensure the efficiency, independence and credibility of the inspection services, labour inspectors shall be recruited in accordance with suitable procedures with sole regard to their qualifications and be adequately trained for the performance of their duties (Article 7). In addition, their employment shall be governed by conditions of service and a status which ensure their stability in employment and their independence of changes of government and of improper external influences (Article 6). The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the total number of labour inspectors (men and women) actually appointed at the provincial and the district/city levels. It hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures rapidly to ensure that labour inspectors are appointed in sufficient numbers with regard to the growing number of enterprises operating in the country and that such persons have the required qualifications and receive adequate training to perform their duties efficiently and independently. The Committee further requests the Government to indicate whether the legal provisions governing the appointment, rights and obligations of labour inspectors, as prescribed in section 180 of the Act on manpower, and those establishing their conditions of service (stability in employment, remuneration, career prospects, etc.) have been adopted and, if so, to supply the relevant texts.

Articles 10, 11 and 16. Budget of the labour inspection services and material conditions of work of labour inspectors. The Committee notes with concern that, due to the insufficiency of the budgetary resources, labour inspection units face many obstacles and their performance is inadequate. It further notes that, according to the Government, the allocation of adequate financial resources to labour inspection services depends on the importance accorded to their functioning by the local authorities and, as a result, varies from one local government to another. The Committee emphasizes that the human and material resources required should be shared out among the different services on the basis of identical criteria throughout the country, so as to provide the same level of protection for all workers covered by the Convention. In this respect, in the Committee’s view, it is important to ensure that labour inspection is organized and operates under the supervision and control of a central authority, as required by Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the manner in which financial and human resources are allocated to the decentralized labour inspection structures. It hopes that measures will be taken by the Government in the near future, where necessary through external financial assistance, to improve the material conditions of work of labour inspectors in terms of offices, equipment and transport facilities, as prescribed by the above provisions of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any measures taken or envisaged in this respect.

Articles 20 and 21. Annual report on the work of inspection services. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, local governments no longer report on their performance to the central government, which is affecting the functioning of the system and resulting in the absence of accurate data on labour inspection activities at the local level. It observes, however, that, under section 178 of the Act on manpower, “the working units for labour inspection … at the provincial governments and district/city governments are obliged to submit reports on the implementation of labour inspection to the Minister”. The procedure for preparing such reports at each decentralized level and submitting them to the next administrative level is established by Minister of Manpower Regulation No. PER/09/MEN/V/2005. While the Committee is aware of the organizational difficulties raised in the report supplied in 2008, it requests the Government to indicate how effect is given to these two legal texts, which implement the above provisions of the Convention.

The Committee hopes that the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure the collection and compilation of the required data by a central authority, in particular the collection and communication of statistics on establishments liable to inspection (number, size) and the number of workers concerned, as a first and indispensable step in determining the coverage of labour inspection services with a view to assessing their functioning and allocating appropriate human and material resources to them. It further hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to communicate an annual report on labour inspection activities throughout the country, which is as detailed as possible.

Labour inspection and child labour. With reference to its general observation of 1999, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the role of labour inspectors in the enforcement of the legal provisions on child labour and in the provision of advice to employers concerning the most effective ways of complying with these provisions, in accordance with Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2, of the Convention.