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

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - French Polynesia

The Committee refers to its comments under Convention No. 81 and asks the Government to take the requested measures and provide relevant information in so far as they also concern the present Convention. In addition, noting the Government’s reports received at the Office on 27 August 2008 and 8 November 2010, and also the annual inspection reports for 2007 and 2009, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the following points.

Articles 6, 18 and 19 of the Convention. Monitoring of safety conditions at work and technical information and advice for employers and workers in enterprises in agriculture and aquaculture. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the tables of statistics on occupational accidents still show a high number of accidents in enterprises in agriculture and aquaculture, particularly in activities connected with the production and maintenance of ornamental plantations (29 in 2009) and in fish farming and aquaculture (32). The Committee requests the Government to take steps to ensure that the necessary means for the elimination of the most frequent causes of occupational accidents are established and implemented as soon as possible, and that they include the supply of relevant technical information and advice to the employers and workers concerned.

Also noting that the only report of an infringement drawn up in 2007 was against a pearl farmer concerning the violation of provisions on undeclared work and that, however, no proceedings have been instituted against employers in breach of legal provisions relating to occupational safety in the enterprises affected by the high incidence of occupational accidents during the years covered by the statistics supplied, the Committee asks the Government to ensure that, with the entry into force of national Act No. 2010-5 of 3 May 2010, inspection staff can fully discharge their enforcement role, where required by circumstances, particularly where the safety and health of workers is concerned. The Committee requests the Government to send information on this matter in its next report.

Article 12. Cooperation between the inspection services in agriculture and Government services or public institutions engaged in similar activities. The committee notes with interest that joint activities regarding the use of chemicals in agriculture have been undertaken since 2007 between the labour inspectorate, the prevention service of the Social Security Fund and the services concerned with occupational medicine, that a brochure on this subject has been drawn up and disseminated and that joint information activities have been conducted with the Ministry of Agriculture. The Committee requests the Government to send information on the impact of these activities on the development of the rate of occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease in agriculture, particularly in high risk activities.

Article 13. Collaboration with employers and workers or their organizations. According to the Government, the weak status of trade unions in agriculture has prevented any collaboration with enterprises in the sector. The Committee recalls that the collaboration in question may validly be carried out with employers or workers in case of weakness of their organizations or representatives. The Committee invites the Government to refer to Paragraphs 10 and 11 of the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Recommendation, 1969 (No. 133), regarding the forms that such collaboration might take, and to keep the Office informed of all progress made in this field, or any difficulties encountered.

Articles 26 and 27. Content and publication of the annual inspection report. The Committee notes that the information concerning inspection activities in agriculture included in the annual labour inspection reports do not contain any information on the number of agricultural undertakings liable to inspection or on the number or causes of occupational diseases. The Committee requests the Government to ensure that these data appear in each annual report and that such annual report is published, in accordance with Article 26 of the Convention.