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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Indonesia (Ratification: 2004)

The Committee notes the Government’s report which was received at the ILO on 8 September 2010.

Legislation. The Committee notes the text of Ministerial Regulation No. PER/03/MEN/1984 on integrated labour inspection. It also notes Act No. 32 of 2004 on local government on the basis of which responsibilities in the field of labour and manpower, including labour inspection issues, have been transferred to local governments at the provincial and district/city levels. The Committee will examine these texts once a translation is available.

Articles 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 19, 20 and 21 of the Convention. Impact of decentralization on the effective functioning of the labour inspection system. Structure and coordination of the labour inspection system. According to the Government’s latest and previous reports, the decentralization of the labour inspection system introduced through Act No. 32 of 2004 on local government, has weakened the capacity of the central authority to supervise labour inspection activities and has resulted in the absence of accurate and timely data, unequal allocation of financial resources among local labour inspection services, and the replacement of labour inspectors in local offices by officers who were not sufficiently qualified.

The Committee notes with interest from the Government’s report that two instruments have been recently adopted in order to address these issues and promote harmonized, coordinated and integrated law enforcement in the field of manpower: Presidential Decree No. 21 of 2010 on Labour Inspection and Regulation No. 02/MEN/I/2011 of the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration concerning the promotion and coordination of labour inspection. These texts introduce an obligation to establish a labour inspection unit at central, provincial and district/city levels (Presidential Decree section 3) and provide that the system of labour inspection will be placed under the responsibility of a central authority (Presidential Decree section 18). They also stipulate that supervision shall be ensured through annual coordination meetings at national, provincial and district/city levels during which various issues, including the harmonization of policies, the identification of material needs and ways to increase the effectiveness of labour inspection, are to be “discussed and/or agreed” (Presidential Decree section 5 and Regulation No. 02/MEN/I/2011 sections 23, 26 and 27).

The Committee recalls that according to paragraph 138 of its General Survey of 2006, the labour inspectorate must function as a system under the supervision and control of a central authority so as to ensure that labour laws are applied in a coherent manner throughout a country’s territory and that the independence of the labour inspectorate from any undue external influence is guaranteed. The Committee has considered, as indicated in paragraph 140 of its General Survey of 2006, that in countries where the labour inspectorate has been decentralized, the regional or local authorities should be under an obligation to institute a system to allow the labour inspection to function effectively, including through adequate budgetary resources.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of sections 3, 5 and 18 of the Presidential Decree as well as sections 23, 26 and 27 of Regulation No. 02/MEN/I/2011 in terms of strengthening the capacity of the central authority to ensure a harmonized, coordinated and integrated law enforcement throughout the country and to indicate any further measures taken to ensure that the central authority may effectively supervise the functioning of the labour inspection system by, for instance, such means as circulars on inspection policies, model inspection and report forms as well as instructions on methods of inspection. It also requests the Government to keep the ILO informed of progress made in establishing the information network among labour inspectors envisaged in sections 30-37 of Presidential Decree No. 21 of 2010.

Furthermore, noting from section 3 of Regulation No. 02/MEN/I/2011 that the labour inspectorate at the district/city levels appears to be placed under the authority of the governor or the “appointed official”, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which it is ensured that the labour inspection system at the provincial and district/city levels is headed by an authority which is apt to guarantee the effective supervision of labour inspection activities from a technical and deontological point of view.

Given that according to sections 15 and 32 of Regulation No. 02/MEN/I/2011, the operational budget of the labour inspection shall come from the national, regional and district/city budgets as well as “other legal and non-binding sources”, the Committee requests the Government to specify the level at which the budget of the decentralized labour inspection units is determined in practice (national, provincial or district/city) as well as the nature and amount of the “other legal and non-binding sources” of financing. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would indicate the manner in which it is ensured that the budgetary resources are shared out among the decentralized labour inspection units on the basis of identical criteria throughout the country, as well as the impact in this regard of the implementation in practice of sections 4 and 16 of Presidential Decree No. 211 of 2010 according to which facilities and infrastructure shall be ensured for the local labour inspection units and a plan on the needs of the labour inspection shall be elaborated annually by the Minister of Labour.

Number and status of labour inspectors and material means placed at their disposal. The Committee notes that in its latest report, the Government indicates that: (i) serious efforts have been made to increase the number of labour inspectors and provide them with training and education programmes; (ii) a fund for improving the human and material resources of the labour inspectorate has been created with aid from the central Government in order to ensure the provision of technical assistance; (iii) the central Government has held training and education programmes for labour inspectors and has provided them with equipment on occupational safety and health. The Committee also notes with interest that sections 14, 15 and 17 of Presidential Decree No. 21 of 2010 indicate that labour inspectors shall have competence and independence, shall be appointed in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, and shall receive training both at the time of recruitment and subsequently.

With reference to Articles 6, 7 and 10 of the Convention, the Committee once again requests the Government to supply information on the total number of labour inspectors (men and women) and their geographical distribution at national, provincial and district/city levels. It once again requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged so as to ensure that labour inspectors are appointed in sufficient numbers at all levels (national, provincial, district/city) with regard to the growing number of enterprises operating in the country and that such persons have the required qualifications and receive adequate training to perform their duties efficiently and independently.

Noting moreover that according to sections 24–27 of the Presidential Decree the central authority undertakes to promote labour inspection at the provincial and district/city levels through various promotional activities like mentoring, education and training in relation to institution-building, human resources, facilities and infrastructure, including information systems, the Committee requests the Government to provide details on the activities carried out and their impact in promoting harmonized, coordinated and integrated law enforcement throughout the country.

The Committee further requests the Government to indicate the legal provisions governing the appointment, rights and obligations of labour inspectors, and their conditions of service (stability in employment, career prospects, etc.) and to specify the levels of remuneration of labour inspectors in relation to comparable categories of public officials (e.g. tax inspectors).

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to keep the Office informed of any measures taken or envisaged, where necessary through external financial assistance, to improve the material conditions of work of labour inspectors in terms of offices, equipment and transport facilities, as prescribed by Article 11 of the Convention.

Annual report on the work of inspection services. The Committee notes the annual report communicated by the Government and the indication that efforts are taken to implement Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention on the basis of sections 178(2) and 179(2) of Act No. 13 of 2003 and Ministerial Decree No. 9 of 2005 as well as Presidential Decree No. 21 of 2010 which provides in section 10 for the obligation of the district/city and provincial government to report to the central Government. The Committee emphasizes that a well-functioning reporting mechanism, delineated in Articles 19–21 of the Convention, is essential to allow for effective supervision and coordination by the central authority through periodical reports to be submitted by labour inspectors or local inspection offices to the central inspection authority and an annual general report published by the central inspection authority on the work of the inspection services under its control. The Committee recalls that according to its general observation of 2010, the annual report offers an indispensable basis for the evaluation of the results of the activities of the labour inspection services and subsequently, the determination of the means necessary to improve their effectiveness. The publication of the annual inspection report, particularly through modern technological means, can also facilitate the development of exchanges in the fields of the conditions of work and the protection of workers at the regional and international levels, including through technical and financial cooperation. In addition, the protection of migrant workers through international labour policies and agreements could be reinforced through the information made available in this way. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any progress made in terms of frequency and accuracy of reporting from the local to the central level pursuant to the adoption of Presidential Regulation No. 21 of 2010. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate any additional measures taken or envisaged so as to enable the central authority to publish the annual report on labour inspection activities, with as detailed information as possible on all items listed in Article 21.

Article 3. Functions of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that action to withdraw children from the worst forms of child labour is taken in line with the labour inspection standard procedure and through social dialogue, prevention and legal action against employers who hire underage children. With reference to its comments under the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply detailed information on the activities carried out by labour inspectors with a view to securing the enforcement of the legal provisions on child labour and ensuring the provision of advice to employers and workers concerning the most effective ways of complying with these provisions, in accordance with Article 3 (1) and (2), of the Convention.

Finally, with reference to its comments under the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to strengthen the effectiveness of the labour inspectorate in addressing cases of anti-union discrimination. In particular, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would communicate information on the number of complaints of anti-union discrimination filed with the labour inspectorate, and the steps taken to investigate these complaints and impose remedies where appropriate.