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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - United Republic of Tanzania.Tanganyika (Ratification: 1962)

Articles 10, 20 and 21 of the Convention. Labour inspection staff and annual report on their work. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, despite the fact that the labour inspectorate had inadequate human resources owing to resignations, retirements and financial constraints regarding the recruitment and retention of staff, 26 new labour officers were appointed in 2009 to make a total of 92. The Government also indicates that steps have been taken to keep a register of workplaces in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations, ministries and public agencies, and also non governmental organizations, but that it is nevertheless facing certain difficulties in determining the exact number of workers employed therein. The Government considers that technical assistance from the Office might be important in this sphere. The Committee notes the favourable reception from the Government with regard to its proposal for technical assistance in the context of preparation and publication of the labour inspectorate’s annual report. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the steps taken to obtain the technical assistance of the Office and also on the results thereof once it has been provided, including with regard to determining the exact number of workers employed in these workplaces.

Article 12(1)(a). Right of inspectors to enter workplaces freely. Timing of inspections. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the expression “at any reasonable time” means at any time of the day or night that the inspector deems suitable for undertaking an inspection in view of the nature of the work and the conditions in which it is done. The Government gives the example of casinos and bars where it is not convenient to undertake an inspection during the day, which suggests that inspections generally take place during working hours. The Committee recalls that, as indicated in paragraph 270 of the 2006 General Survey, the protection of workers and the technical requirements of inspection should be the primordial criteria for determining the appropriate timing of visits, for example, to check for violations such as abusive night work conditions in a workplace officially operating during the daytime, or to carry out technical inspections requiring machinery or production processes to be stopped. It should be for the inspector to decide whether a visit is reasonable – obviously, inspections should only be carried out at night or outside working hours where this is warranted. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the steps taken or contemplated to ensure that labour inspectors can enter freely at any hour of the day or night any workplace liable to inspection and that they have a clear entitlement to decide whether the timing of the visit is reasonable.

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