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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Dominica (Ratification: 1983)

Articles 3, 6, 7, 10, 15 and 16 of the Convention. Numbers, conditions of service and functions of labour inspection staff. Number of labour inspection visits. The Committee notes from the Government’s latest and previous reports that the Department of Labour consists of four officials responsible for labour and safety inspection, in addition to other functions, including mediation and conciliation of labour disputes. Furthermore, the Committee observes that, according to the annual reports on the administrative activities of the labour department, the number of both labour inspections and safety and health inspections decreased between 2004 and 2010 (from 103 to 90 and from 23 to 12 respectively), whereas both individual complaints reported and cases referred to the tribunals increased.

The Committee also notes the report on a review of the functions and organizational structure of the Department of Labour of Dominica carried out in 2006 (the 2006 report), which was communicated by the Government. The 2006 report proposes that the Department of Labour be organized around three technical units (policy and labour relations, employment and labour market, and labour and safety inspectorate) and that staff be assigned to undertake the relevant duties. The Committee also notes that, according to the 2006 report, “the technical officers, in addition to undertaking duties inherent in their position as labour administrators should also be assigned to undertake technical work in the assigned unit, research on labour matters, and conciliation in collective labour disputes (the latter being assigned to the more experienced officers, as appropriate). These tasks would be in addition to their regular work of administering the labour laws, investigating and settling individual labour complaints, completing weekly-targeted number of labour inspections, ongoing advisory work and the monitoring of the general labour situation in the country.”

The Committee recalls that, according to Article 3(2) of the Convention, any duties entrusted to labour inspectors which are additional to their primary duties, consisting in the control of application of labour laws and the provision of information and advice to employers and workers, should not be as such to interfere with the effective discharge of these primary duties or to prejudice in any way the authority and impartiality which are necessary to inspectors in their relations with employers and workers. It recalls in this regard that, according to Paragraph 8 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), labour inspectors should not be entrusted with the conciliation of labour disputes. The Committee also recalls that according to Article 10 of the Convention, the number of labour inspectors should be sufficient to secure the effective discharge of their duties in the light of the number of the workplaces liable to inspection, the number of workers employed therein, the number and complexity of the legal provisions to be enforced as well as the material means placed at the disposal of the inspectors and the practical conditions under which visits of inspection must be carried out in order to be effective. Moreover, according to Article 16, workplaces should be inspected as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legal provisions. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order to ensure that the functions of labour inspection and of mediation/conciliation of industrial disputes are dissociated so that labour inspectors can focus on their primary duties of inspection under the Convention. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged pursuant to the 2006 report in order to ensure that sufficient technical staff is assigned to the unit of the Labour Department in charge of labour inspection so that workplaces can be inspected as often and as thoroughly as necessary.

Noting also that according to the 2006 report, all technical staff assigned to the specialized technical units should be subject to periodic rotation assignment for staff development purposes, the Committee requests the Government to specify the criteria and process for the recruitment of labour inspectors and the training provided to them in line with Article 7 as well as their conditions of service and the manner in which it is ensured that labour inspectors are independent of any changes of government and of any undue external influence as provided for in Article 6.

Article 15. Duty of confidentiality. With regard to the Committee’s previous comments on this issue, the Committee notes that according to the Government, there has not been any legislative measure to give effect to Article 15 of the Convention, but the issue is to be addressed in the near future by the Industrial Relations Advisory Committee as well as in the framework of the Decent Work Country Programme which includes the amendment of labour legislation as one of its pillars. The Committee recalls once again from Article 15: (i) the prohibition on labour inspectors to have any direct or indirect interest in enterprises liable to inspection; (ii) the obligation of professional secrecy; and (iii) the obligation of confidentiality with respect to the source of any complaint and the connection that may exist between an inspection visit and a complaint. The Committee refers the Government to paragraphs 227–237 of the 2006 General Survey on Labour Inspection in this regard. It once again requests the Government to take steps to ensure that the legislation is supplemented so as to give full effect to Article 15 of the Convention and to keep the Office informed of all progress in this respect and to send copies of any relevant draft or final texts.

Articles 5(a), 17, 18, 20 and 21. Publication and content of an annual report. Cooperation with the justice system and enforcement of adequate penalties. The Committee notes that the reports sent by the Government contain information related to the whole Labour Department and not to the Labour Inspectorate specifically, and that they do not provide the level of detail required under Article 21 so as to enable the Committee to evaluate the functioning of the labour inspection system in practice. Referring to its general observation of 2010 on Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention, the Committee recalls that detailed and well prepared annual labour inspection reports are of fundamental importance to assess the rate of coverage by labour inspection services in relation to their scope and to determine the resources that have to be allocated to this public function. The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to the obligations under Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention and requests it to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order to ensure that an annual report on the work of the labour inspection services is elaborated and published and that it contains information on all the items listed in Article 21 of the Convention, notably, statistics of inspection visits, violations and penalties imposed as well as industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. The Committee draws the Government’s attention in this regard to the guidance provided in Paragraph 9 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81) as to the type of information that should be included in the annual labour inspection reports.

As long as an annual labour inspection report is not available, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information and data on the violations detected during inspection visits with reference to the legal provisions concerned, as well as the notices served and cases brought to the justice system and the outcome of the judicial proceedings (i.e. convictions pronounced, penalties imposed, etc.).

The Committee also asks once again the Government to provide a list of the provisions establishing penalties for violations of the provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers and the contraventions to which they apply and to send a copy of any document describing specific cases of convictions of employers involving the imposition of a fine and/or imprisonment.

Moreover, noting that the Labour Department is in charge of arrangements for adjudication by the labour tribunals, the Committee refers to its general observation of 2007 and requests the Government to provide information on the arrangements in place so as to promote effective cooperation between the labour inspection services and the justice system.