Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Bahrain (Ratification: 1981)

The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending in September 2008 and the annual reports published by the labour inspection authority and the occupational safety and health authority on their respective inspection activities in 2006 and 2007. The Government has provided, as indicated in its previous report, at the request of the Committee, information and documentation allowing an assessment of the operation of the labour inspection system in practice, the progress made and the prospects for progress in the application of the following provisions of the Convention.

Article 3, paragraphs 1 and 2, and Article 20 of the Convention. Transfer of competence for the enforcement of the legislation on the employment of foreigners and content of the annual report on labour inspection activities. According to the preamble to the annual report of the labour inspection section for 2007, competence for the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to the employment of foreign workers will soon be transferred from the Ministry of Labour to the body responsible for regulating the labour market. The Committee can only firmly encourage such an initiative, which should have the effect of refocusing inspection activities on working conditions and the protection of both national and foreign workers while engaged in their work. In its 2004 direct request, the Committee noted with regret the incomplete nature of the statistical tables contained in the annual inspection report of the Division for Safety in the Workplace for 2003 and the lack of information on inspection activities relating to general conditions of work, such as hours of work, holiday, wages and the employment of women, young persons and children. It once again notes that the annual report of the labour inspectorate for 2006 mainly contains information and statistics relating to the activities carried out in the context of labour market supervision. The report also indicates that joint campaigns have been conducted with the immigration and passport police to search for illegal foreign workers and that it is regrettable that such campaigns, which result in the arrest of these persons, are not conducted as frequently as is necessary to combat the growing phenomenon of illegal immigration. According to the report, the limited prison capacity and the high cost of accommodating and repatriating workers are the main obstacles to conducting such campaigns more frequently. It therefore seems clear that labour inspectors participate in operations which are not only outside the remit of the labour inspectorate under the Convention, but also obviously contrary to the objective of the Convention of enforcing the application of legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work. The Committee requests the Government to keep the ILO informed of the progress made in transferring competence for the monitoring of the work permits of foreigners to the authority responsible for regulating the labour market so that labour inspectors are no longer involved in monitoring activities performed in workplaces aimed at arresting, imprisoning and then repatriating illegal workers. It requests the Government to provide copies of any relevant text or document.

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would ensure that future annual reports of the labour inspection authority provide information on inspection activities mainly aimed at enforcing the application of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work (wages, hours of work, holiday, weekly rest, night work by women, the employment of children and the disabled, etc.) and the protection of workers while engaged in their work (non-discrimination, social security, representation of workers, etc.), without consideration of the legal situation of workers employed in the workplaces inspected.

Reminding the Government of the guidance provided in Paragraph 9 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), concerning the level of detail useful in respect of the information required by Article 21, the Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the application of the Convention on any measures implemented to improve the content of the reports relating to inspection activities, as well as on any difficulties encountered.

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. Further to its previous comments on this matter, the Committee notes with interest that henceforth, under Order No. 1 of 2006, industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease shall be notified by the employer not only to the Social Insurance Fund and the competent police station, in accordance with Act No. 24–76 on social insurance, but also to the Ministry of Labour. It notes that the preamble to the Order refers to the present Convention. It trusts that, in accordance with Article 14 of the Convention, the labour inspectorate will receive relevant information which will be dealt with by the central inspection authority with a view to developing a policy on prevention focusing on high-risk occupations (construction, the chemical industry, the energy sector, work involving the operation of heavy machinery, activities involving overexposure to the sun, etc.). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide details on the notification procedure for industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease and on the action taken in response to such notifications in practice. It requests it to provide a copy of any relevant legal texts or documents.

Article 20. Impact of the publication of annual reports of the labour inspectorate and the occupational safety and health authority. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the reactions (criticism, praise, proposals for the improvement of the inspection system, etc.) to the information published in the above annual reports by employers, workers or their representative organizations, as well as other public authorities concerned. The Government is also requested to indicate the impact of these reactions on the operation and the means of action of the labour inspection system (allocation of resources, focus of activities, inter-institutional cooperation, etc.).