Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1973)

Legislation. According to the information available to the Office, a new draft general labour act is being prepared. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide all available information on the progress made in adopting such a reform and, if applicable, a copy of the new act as soon as it is adopted.

Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention. Central authority responsible for the supervision and control of labour inspection. The Committee notes that section 87 of Supreme Decree No. 29894 of 7 February 2009 on the organizational structure of the Executive Branch reorganizes the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security and provides that the responsibilities of the Vice-Ministry of Labour and Social Security (which encompasses among others the General Directorate of Labour and Occupational Safety and Health) include enforcing labour and social standards in the context of decent work (paragraph (a)) and ensuring compliance with the standards, applicable legal provisions and international Conventions on labour matters (paragraph (m)). The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of any legal text that may be adopted in the future pursuant to the abovementioned decree that may affect the structure or functions of the labour inspectorate.

Articles 5(a) and 9. Institutional cooperation and collaboration between technical experts and specialists in the labour inspection services. The Committee notes that the General Directorate of Labour and Occupational Safety and Health has an industrial safety specialist and a specialist in labour matters. Noting that the Government has expressed the need to have the technical support of specialists in medicine, engineering, electricity and chemistry to accompany labour inspectors in carrying out their duties, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the possibility of considering the potential that could be harnessed in this regard from effective cooperation between the inspection services and other government services and public or private institutions engaged in similar activities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any measures adopted with a view to ensuring collaboration between such specialists and the labour inspection services.

Articles 6, 7 and 11(1)(b) and (2). Remuneration of labour inspectors, provision of resources to meet the training needs of labour inspectors, transport facilities and reimbursements to labour inspectors of any travel expenses incurred during the performance of their duties. According to the Government, labour inspectors receive periodic training on various issues, with the support of organizations such as the ILO, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Trade Union Institute for Development Cooperation. With a view to improving the training provided, the Government has concluded cooperation agreements with neighbouring countries such as Argentina and Brazil. The Government notes, however, that the constant rotation of staff and the budgetary restrictions faced by the ministry make it difficult to train labour inspectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the recruitment procedures and the legal status of labour inspectors. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the abovementioned cooperation agreements and the impact of those agreements on training and the effective performance of labour inspection functions. Reminding the Government that the question of improving the training levels of labour inspectors has been the subject of comments since 1993 and drawing its attention to paragraph 187 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection, which highlights the importance of building on the initial training of labour inspectors with continuous supplementary training for the effective discharge of their duties, the Committee requests the Government to specify which measures have been adopted or are envisaged in order to provide the labour inspection system with the resources needed to meet the training needs of labour inspectors.

The Committee also refers to its 2003 comments in which it noted that, according to the Government, the terms and conditions of service of labour inspectors had not improved significantly, with their monthly wage being equivalent to around US$135 and that the procedure for the reimbursement of the expenses incurred for the purpose of their missions was applied on a case-by-case basis, was slow, was subject to the approval of the general directorate of the administration and did not have any legal basis. The Committee notes that according to the Government, although a statute on labour inspection staff has not yet been developed, labour inspectors are governed by the standards enshrined in the Constitution in Act No. 2027 of 27 October 1999, as amended, adopting the Public Servants’ Statute and the Labour Inspection Regulations. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on: (i) the salary and benefits currently received by labour inspectors, in comparison with those received by officials who perform the same or similar duties in other institutions; and (ii) the means of transport and/or the facilities available to labour inspectors for their official travel.

Furthermore, the Committee takes note of the final provision of the Regulations on subsistence allowances and travel costs, appended to the Government’s report on the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), according to which the regulations will enter into force following their approval by ministerial decision. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the text of the relevant decision and a copy of the form used for the reimbursement of inspectors’ travel expenses.

Article 10. Labour inspection staff. The Committee takes note of the information that is contained in the table provided by the Government, according to which there are a total of 92 chief inspectors and labour inspectors, of which 17 are assigned to the Departmental Labour Office of La Paz and the remaining 75 are distributed among nine departmental labour offices and 16 regional labour offices, several of which have only one such official. The Committee requests the Government to: (i) indicate the criteria used for the geographical distribution of inspection staff in relation to the number and distribution of establishments subject to inspection and the number of workers employed in those establishments; (ii) specify the number of labour inspectors responsible for the application of standards relating to general conditions of work and inspectors responsible for occupational safety and health; and (iii) clarify which officials are responsible for carrying out inspections visits.

Article 16. Inspection visits. The Committee notes that, according to the figures provided by the Government, 2,258 inspections were carried out in 2009, of which 369 were technical labour inspections, and 3,176 inspections were carried out in 2010, of which 627 were technical labour inspections and 147 were follow-up technical labour inspections. The Committee requests the Government to send information on the outcomes of the inspection visits (violations detected, specifying the relevant provisions and the penalties imposed). The Committee also asks the Government to specify what percentage of visits are carried out in response to a complaint or a denunciation.

Article 12(1)(a), (b) and (c)(i) and (2). Notification of the presence of an inspector on the occasion of an inspection visit. The Committee notes that, in accordance with section 25(4) of the General Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act, the Ministry of Labour’s inspectorate has to carry out inspections with the participation of employer and worker representatives. It also notes that section 17 of the Labour Inspection Regulations empowers inspectors to refrain from notifying their presence in cases where they consider that such a notification may be prejudicial to their activities. The Committee requests the Government to specify whether, on the occasion of occupational safety and health visits, inspectors can effectively abstain from notifying their presence if they consider it appropriate.

Articles 13 and 14. Preventive functions of labour inspection. Monitoring of safety and health at work and notification to the labour inspectorate of occupational accidents and cases of occupational diseases. The Committee takes note with concern of the statistical information contained in the Labour Statistics Bulletins and in the extracts of those bulletins that were appended to the Government’s report, according to which the total number of occupational accidents increased from 6,690 in 2009 to 8,499 in 2010; for the first quarter of 2011, the figure was 2,143. The Committee notes that the highest rates of occupational accidents and occupational diseases occur in the departments of La Paz, Oruro, Santa Cruz and Potosí. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide statistical information on labour inspection activities relating to the health and safety of the workers (Article 13(2)(a) and (b)), including measures with immediate executory force ordered in the event of imminent danger to the health or safety of workers (Article 13(2)(b)), and on any other measure adopted with a view to preventing the occurrence of further occupational accidents or the emergence of new cases of occupational diseases.

The Committee also requests the Government to describe the procedure for notifying occupational accidents and cases of occupational diseases and to provide information on the implementing texts adopted pursuant to section 6(25) of the Occupational Safety, Health and Welfare Act, with regard to the obligation to notify.

Article 15. Obligations of labour inspectors. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether a code of ethics for labour inspection has been adopted pursuant to section 13 of the Public Servants’ Statute and, if so, to send a copy of that text to the ILO.

Manual of labour inspection procedures. The Committee hopes that the Government will provide information on the measures put in place for the preparation of this manual.