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

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

Article 2 and 3, paragraphs 1 and 2, and Article 16 of the Convention. Coverage of the labour inspection system. Functions of the labour inspection system and visits to establishments. The Committee notes the adoption, on 28 January 2008, of Order No. 77/MTFP/DC/SGM/SA concerning the responsibilities, organization and functioning of the departmental labour and public service directorates. According to this Order, the departmental labour inspection services are responsible for supervising the application of labour legislation, and the departmental mediation and industrial relation services are competent in matters of conciliation. In its previous comments, the Committee had drawn the Government’s attention to the time devoted to resolving industrial disputes at the expense of carrying out its supervisory duties. From the information provided by the Government in 2008, it appears that the number of inspection visits has been declining constantly since 2004; it decreased from 245 for the first six months of 2004 to 181 for the year 2005, then dropped to 138 in 2007. The Committee requests the Government to indicate why the labour inspectors are carrying out fewer and fewer inspection visits. It would be grateful if the Government could also give, for each departmental labour directorate, the number of supervisors and inspectors assigned to the inspection services and the number of inspectors and supervisors assigned to mediation and industrial relations, specifying whether the same officials are carrying out inspection and conciliation duties at the same time. The Government is also asked to specify the measures taken or envisaged to enable labour inspectors and supervisors to carry out their inspection duties effectively, as defined in the Convention, by conducting inspection visits in the establishments under their control as often and as thoroughly as necessary.

Articles 5(a), 17, paragraphs 1 and 2, and 18. Effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the judicial bodies. Legal proceedings and penalties for violations of the labour legislation. The Committee notes that two labour workshops on relations between the labour administration and labour courts were organized in 2008, which were attended by judges and labour inspectors. Noting the Government’s determination to increase this type of contact between judges and labour inspectors, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of these workshops on the practices of labour inspectors, on the one hand, and on the handling of files submitted to the courts, on the other.

The Committee notes that section 271 of the Labour Code authorizes labour inspectors to initiate legal proceedings directly against persons responsible for violations of labour legislation and regulations. It would seem, however, that, from the information provided by the Government in 2008, violations to labour legislation noted by the labour inspectors – such as the absence of a declaration to the social security fund, the violation of provisions relating to working time or occupational safety and health obligations, or the lack of an employer’s register – only resulted in enforcement notices being sent to the employers. The Committee recalls that, although Article 17, paragraph 2, leaves it to the discretion of the labour inspectors to decide on their course of action if they note a violation, they must institute proceedings if the enforcement notices have no effect; indeed, it is the only way of ensuring respect for legal provisions concerning labour conditions and worker protection. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take measures to ensure that labour inspectors exercise their authority to prompt proceedings against employers who either ignore orders and advice or continue to neglect their obligations with respect to working conditions and labour protection. It hopes that such measures will be introduced quickly and that information on legal proceedings and the application of appropriate penalties will soon be provided to the ILO.

Article 7, paragraph 3. Training of labour inspectors. In its previous report received in 2006, the Government raised the possibility of introducing, in the context of a partnership with France, a training of instructors on occupational hazards; it added that a three-year training plan (2007–09) of officials from the Ministry of Labour and the Public Service, including staff from the labour inspection services, was being formulated. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the content of these projects for the training of labour inspectors, as well as on any other training programmes available to labour inspectors and supervisors when they take up their jobs or in the course of their employment.

Articles 19, 20, and 21. Periodical reports and annual report on the activities of the labour inspection services. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that the Government provided, in its report, information on the number of staff of the labour inspection services, the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed there, the number of inspection visits carried out and the types of violations recorded. While noting that the Government states its awareness of the inadequacy of the statistical data submitted and refers to the difficulty of introducing an information system on labour statistics, the Committee recalls that the annual report on the activities of the inspection services, containing the information listed in Article 21, is a vital tool for evaluating the efficiency of the inspection service and identifying the necessary ways of improving it, especially by making the appropriate budgetary provisions. With a view to publishing such a report, the Committee encourages the Government to ensure, in an initial period, that labour inspectors draw up periodical inspection reports as provided under Article 19, at the level of the departmental labour directorates. It hopes that, on the basis of these reports, the central authority will soon be able to publish an annual report. It also hopes that the Government will ensure, with ILO technical assistance which it intends requesting, that the central authority should follow as closely as possible the guidelines laid down in Part IV of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), to draw up the annual inspection report. The Government is requested to keep the Office informed of the measures taken for this purpose and the official steps taken to obtain ILO technical assistance.