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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Saudi Arabia (Ratification: 1978)

The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending on 1 September 2007 containing information in reply to its previous comments. It also notes the documentation attached to the report.

Further to its previous comment concerning Circular No. 8174/6 of 27/4/1425 H (2005) on the application of the provisions of the law relating to wages, it notes that Ministerial Order No. 111/1, issued on 9/1/1428 H (i.e. 28 January 2007), likewise addresses this matter. It requires enterprises to pay in full any arrears in wages due to their workers and provides for various penalties in the event of omission on the part of the enterprise: temporary prohibition on recruiting staff, automatic transfer of workers to other employers or suspension of computer services. The Committee notes that much of the annual report of the Labour Inspectorate is devoted to the activities and overall results of the Inspectorate’s work relating to the application of these provisions, but that the figures pertaining to the employers and workers concerned are percentages and not numbers. The Committee would be grateful if in its report due in 2009, the Government would indicate the number of workers to whom arrears of wages have been paid pursuant to the abovementioned Circular and Order, and provide a description of the procedure for recovering arrears specifying the role played in practice by labour inspectors. Emphasizing that labour inspection is a public function seeking, though supervision of the application of legislation on conditions of work and the protection of workers, to ensure that workers recover their entitlements, the Committee also requests the Government to indicate how this objective is attained in respect of wages in the event of default or insolvency of the employer.

The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would provide clarification as to the meaning of the penalty that consists in depriving offending employers of computer services.

Article 10 of the Convention. Inadequate strength of the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes with concern from the Government’s report and from the annual report for 1428 H (2006) on the activities of the labour administration, that the inspection services suffer from an acute lack of inspectors (135), particularly inspectors specializing in occupational safety and health, of whom there are only two for the entire country. The annual report shows that there has been a significant increase both in the number of workplaces liable to inspection (of which there were 1,192,357 in the period covered) and in the number of workers employed in them. It recommends increasing the staff by hiring six inspectors for chemical safety, four occupational health doctors and seven safety engineers. The Committee notes that a request to this end was sent to the Director of Internal Affairs and Finance on 2/4/1427 H (2006). It notes with regret that no information has been provided on the activities carried out by the workplaces, but infers that the recommendation to increase the staff by recruiting inspectors specializing in occupational safety and health matters aims to ensure preventive control in sectors where occupational risks have been noted, such as the building, public works and hydrocarbons sectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its report due in 2009, on the response given to the abovementioned request, and to indicate geographical distribution, by category of serving inspection staff in relation to the distribution of workplaces by sector of activity and the number of workers they employ.

Articles 20 and 21. Content and publication of the annual inspection report. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to send the annual inspection report within the prescribed time limit and that, as well as information on the subjects already addressed in the report for 2007 it will contain, to the extent possible, information on the legal provisions that have given rise to the application of penalties, on the distribution of labour inspectors, workplaces and workers, on the distribution of accidents and cases of occupational disease according to sector of activity, cause and result (permanent or partial incapacity, death). It recalls in this connection that Paragraph 9 of Recommendation No. 81 gives guidance on the details of the information to be included in the annual report.