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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Isle of Man

Articles 3, 10, 13, 14, 16, 20 and 21 of the Convention. Functioning of the labour inspection system and annual labour inspection report. The Committee takes note of the annual report of the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate communicated by the Government pursuant to the Committee’s previous comments.

The Committee notes that according to the annual report, the Health and Safety at Work Inspectorate is composed of a Head of Health and Safety, three Health and Safety Inspectors and an Administrative Officer, while plans are under way to create a trainee position. It also notes that the Inspectorate is entrusted with ensuring compliance with legislation aimed at protecting not only workers but also members of the public whose safety and health may be put at risk by work activities. In particular, the Committee notes from the annual report that the inspectorate carries out inspections not only in relation to conditions of work but also technical inspections concerning for instance, building safety, machine safety and passenger lift safety. Moreover, the Inspectorate has a number of licensing responsibilities including the annual safety reviews associated with licenses required for the operation of the island’s 17 petrol and gas storage depots, and carries out inspections of railways. Finally, the Inspectorate provides assistance on a regular basis to other agencies and individuals in the course of their duties, including the police, the Coroner of Inquests and the fire service.

Within this framework the Committee notes from the annual report, that, between March 2004 and March 2011, the number of proactive visits increased from 371 to 500, while, at the same time, the number of accidents causing three or more days of absence increased from 142 to 224, and the number of prohibition notices declined from 17 to seven.

In the light of the limited human resources available to the inspectorate and the wide range of activities entrusted to it, the Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the activities which have been focused on the primary functions of labour inspection, i.e. the enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work (occupational safety and health), the supply of technical information and advice to employers and workers concerning the most effective means of complying with these provisions, as well as measures with immediate executory force in the event of imminent danger to the health or safety of the workers, and to indicate the impact of these activities on the number of accidents at work (Articles 3(1), 13, 14, 16 and 21 (d)–(g) of the Convention); please also specify the proportion of these activities in relation to the other functions entrusted on the labour inspectorate (Article 3(2)).

Noting moreover that the Government refers to steps taken to improve data management systems in relation to accidents, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would describe the process of notification of industrial accidents as well as occupational diseases, and would specify the role of the inspectorate in this framework as well as any measures taken or envisaged to improve this process (Article 14).

Finally, the Committee would be grateful if the Government to would indicate the measures taken or envisaged to ensure the elaboration of an annual inspection report containing as detailed information as possible on all items listed in Articles 21 (a)–(g). The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the guidance provided in Part IV of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81) as to the type of information that should be reflected in the annual inspection reports.

Article 4. Organization of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes that according to the Government’s report, the Inspectorate was transferred from the Department of Local Government and the Environment to the Department of Infrastructure as part of a wider Government reorganisation. The political responsibility for health and safety at work rests with the Minister of Infrastructure. The Head of the Inspectorate operates at Director level, but for administrative purposes reports to the Chief Officer through the Director of Finance to minimise potential conflicts of interest. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would send a copy of the organizational chart of the Inspectorate and specify the reporting hierarchy.