Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Rwanda (Ratification: 1980)

Also referring to its observation, the Committee requests the Government to provide information in relation to the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. Extension of the labour inspection coverage in law. The Committee notes with interest that Act No. 13/2009 of 27 May 2009 on regulating labour in Rwanda applies also to informal sector workers as far as social security, trade union organization and health and safety at the workplace are concerned. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the practical application of the provisions of this Act, in particular, labour inspection activities concerning workers occupied in the informal economy.

Article 3(2). Additional functions entrusted to labour inspectors. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the draft text of a Ministerial Order (unnumbered and undated) relating to the modalities of the functioning of the labour inspectorate under section 159 of Act No. 13/2009, has already been issued by Cabinet. It observes that section 3 of the Order specifies that mediation functions are entrusted to labour inspectors only as regards individual conflicts and not collective disputes. The Committee notes that this provision is diverging from sections 141 and 143 of Act No. 13/2009 according to which labour inspectors are expected to engage in the settlement of both individual and collective labour disputes.

The Committee would like to stress that as indicated in paragraphs 72–74 of the General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection, conciliation is not among the duties of the labour inspectorate as defined in Article 3(1) of the Convention and that according to Paragraph 8 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), “the functions of labour inspectors should not include that of acting as conciliator or arbitrator in proceedings concerning labour disputes”. It recalls the importance of avoiding overburdening inspectorates with tasks which by their nature may be understood as incompatible with their primary function of enforcing legal provisions, as provided for in Article 3(2); this is particularly pertinent in the current context of the labour inspectorate characterized by decentralization and a general and chronic inadequacy of resources. Assigning conciliation of industrial disputes to labour inspection officers is counterproductive as this prevents them from fully carrying out their supervisory function of ensuring the application of legal provisions relating to conditions of work, which would be the best way to avoid or diminish the occurrence of labour disputes. The Committee requests the Government to specify whether the Ministerial Order which prevents labour inspectors from engaging in mediation of collective disputes has already been adopted and to communicate the final text. It also requests the Government to ensure that sections 141 and 143 of Act No. 13/2009 are amended so that labour inspectors are not entrusted with functions related to the settlement of individual and collective labour disputes.

Article 12(1)(a). Scope of the right of entry of inspectors into workplaces liable to inspection. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that according to section 158 of Act No. 13/2009 the labour inspector may enter during working hours, whether at night or during the day, any firm of his/her competence for inspection. The Committee underlines that according to Article 12 of the Convention, labour inspectors should be able to enter workplaces liable to inspection even outside working hours where this is warranted. The Committee requests the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that the legislation is brought in line with Article 12(1)(a) of the Convention so as to ensure that the powers of entry of labour inspectors are extended to any hour of the day or night regardless of the working hours of the workplaces liable to their control.

Articles 19, 20 and 21. Reports on the activities of the labour inspection services. The Committee takes note of the 2009 annual labour inspection report by the Directorate General of Labour and Employment communicated by the Government. It notes that the text in question contains the indication “draft”. It also notes that the information reflected in the report is difficult to evaluate due to the inconsistent nature of the data provided. For instance, the number of enterprises is reported to be 699 for 2007, 1,056 for 2008 and 763 for 2009 while the corresponding numbers of workers is 15,026 for 2007, 14,595 for 2008 and 32,707 for 2010. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide copies of the reports drawn up by the decentralized labour inspection services on their activities as required by Article 19. Given that the central labour inspection authority is composed of one person, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to give effect to Articles 20 and 21 under which the central authority should be responsible for the publication of an annual labour inspection report containing information on all the items listed in Article 21 and to keep the Office informed or indicate the difficulties encountered. The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to the valuable guidance provided in Paragraph 9 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), on the presentation of the information required in the annual report with a view to ensuring that it is an effective tool for the evaluation and development of the labour inspection system. It also invites the Government to refer to the comments that it made on this matter in its General Survey op. cit, paragraphs 320 et seq.