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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Tunisia (Ratification: 1957)

The Committee takes note of the Government’s report received at the ILO on 19 November 2009. It also notes the labour inspection reports for 2006 and 2007, received at the ILO on 4 January 2008 and 17 March 2010.

Articles 10, 21(b) and (c) of the Convention. Number of inspectors and geographical distribution. Statistics of workplaces liable to inspection and number of workers employed. The Committee notes with interest from the labour inspection reports for 2006 and 2007 the composition and distribution by sex of the labour inspectorate staff (Article 21(b)). However, the reports contain no information on the number of workplaces subject to inspection and the number of workers employed therein (Article 21(c)). According to Article 10, the number of labour inspectors shall be determined according to the number, nature, size and situation of the workplaces. It is therefore important that the Government should ensure that such data are collected so that it is in a position to distribute the inspection staff appropriately throughout the territory in accordance with priorities to be defined on the basis of criteria such as the risk level of the main activities, worker categories (young workers, women, level of qualification, etc.) and available resources. Besides, such information is essential for the central authority in scheduling routine inspection visits, assessing the workplace coverage rate and establishing resource requirements in annual budgets with a view to better coverage. The Government may wish to refer in this connection to paragraphs 325 and 326 of the 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, and to Paragraph 9(c) of Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81) regarding the level of detail to be given in the relevant information. The Committee asks the Government to provide figures showing the geographical distribution of labour inspectorate staff, so that it can assess the extent to which the abovementioned Articles of the Convention are observed, and to ensure that the annual labour inspection report contains, in the future, statistics of the workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein.

Articles 17 and 18. Information concerning action taken on unheeded warnings and on reports of violations. The Committee notes from the labour inspection reports that inspectors issued 3,386 warnings in 2007 and 3,318 in 2006, as well as 652 violation reports in 2007 and 402 in 2006. It notes, however, that no information has been sent on the action taken on these warnings and reports.

The Committee further notes that since the inspection report for 1998, received at the ILO in 2000, according to the Government, inspections of labour suppliers have been stepped up, the aim being to get employers to comply with the legislation in force. However, the Government provides no information on any follow up to such inspections. To assess how effective such action has been, a record is needed of all the offences committed by labour suppliers and the action taken by labour inspectors to remedy them or punish the offenders.

The Committee invites the Government to refer to Chapter VIII of its General Survey of 2006 in which it points out that the provision of advice and information, the issuing of orders and the initiation of legal procedures are complementary approaches to achieving the Convention’s objective. The credibility and effectiveness of a labour inspection system depend to a large extent on the action taken on contraventions reported. It is accordingly essential that penalties imposed by labour inspectors for violations should be visible enough to be dissuasive. The Committee therefore asks the Government to provide information on the action taken on unheeded warnings and on violations notified to courts of law, and to ensure that in future relevant statistics are supplied in the annual report of the central labour inspection authority.

Articles 3(1)(b), 14, 21(f) and (g). Statistics of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. The Committee notes from the labour inspection report for 2007 that employers too often neglect to notify industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease and that this prevents the inspectorate from compiling complete and relevant data. In this connection, the report only refers to the statistics contained in the annual report of the Sickness Insurance Fund (CNAM), without providing the report in question. The Committee reminds the Government that according to Article 14 of the Convention, the labour inspectorate must be notified of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. The inspectorate needs data of this kind, in particular so that it can fully assume its preventive role and so that in the annual inspection report it can include statistics of industrial accidents and of the case of occupational disease, as required by Article 21(f) and (g). In this connection, the Committee invites the Government to refer to paragraphs 118 to 132 of the abovementioned General Survey in which it points out the importance and scope of the labour inspectorate’s preventive role. To enable the central authority to include in its annual report information regarding industrial accidents and instances of occupational disease, the competent authority is required by Article 5(a) of the Convention to promote cooperation between the two institutions to this end. Furthermore, such information is essential to the development of a relevant prevention policy.

In order to combat negligence of employers in notifying industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease, it would likewise be appropriate to ensure that laws and regulations are sufficiently clear as to the cases and circumstances in which such incidents are to be notified to the competent authorities, and as to the procedure for notification and the penalties that apply in the event of negligence. Informing and sensitizing employers and workers about this matter is an essential means of encouraging compliance with the relevant legal provisions. Labour inspectors can carry out such measures as part of the duties they perform in pursuance of Article 3(1)(b) and of Paragraphs 6 and 7 of Recommendation No. 81. The Committee accordingly asks the Government to take steps to ensure that the labour inspectorate is informed of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease in the instances and circumstances laid down in the national legislation. If failure to notify is a result of gaps in the legislation, the Government is asked to take steps to complete the legislation accordingly so as to facilitate enforcement and supervision by the labour inspectorate. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would proceed at once to encourage cooperation between the labour inspection services and the CNAM so that, in future, available relevant statistics may be included in the annual labour inspection report, in accordance with Article 21(f) and (g), if possible in the manner indicated in Paragraph 9(f) and (g) of Recommendation No. 81.

Article 20. Publication and communication to the ILO of the annual inspection report. The Committee appreciates the Government’s efforts to compile annual labour inspection reports. It notes, however, that there is no requirement for such reports to be published and that they are in any event not communicated to the Office within the deadline prescribed by Article 20 (the inspection report for 2007 was not received until March 2010). The Committee reminds the Government that according to Article 20, the annual report must be published at the latest within 12 months of the end of the period they cover. Consequently, the Committee asks the Government to ensure that full effect is given to the abovementioned Articles of the Convention and that, in future, the annual report of the central inspection authority on the work of the inspection services under its control is published and that a copy of it is sent to the International Labour Office within the period prescribed. It would be grateful if, in the meantime, the Government would ensure that the reports for 2007, 2008 and 2009 are published and sent to the Office promptly.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.