Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Estonia (Ratification: 2005)

Article 3(1)(b) of the Convention. Preventive activities of the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes with interest the information contained in the Annual Labour Inspection Reports for 2009–11, available on the labour inspectorate’s website, on the numerous information and training activities carried out by the labour inspectorate. These include the holding of information days at 26 high schools throughout the country and comprehensive training activities for 623 work environment specialists and managers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2011, campaigns on different subjects, such as stress at work and working and rest time, and an electronic newsletter which is open to subscriptions with articles by the labour inspectorate published every two months. The Committee also notes with interest the comprehensive information in Estonian, Russian and English on the website of the labour inspectorate, including the texts of relevant laws in their current versions and a database of best practices on the work environment. It also observed that the majority of infringements detected during inspection visits in 2011 in the area of occupational safety and health (OSH) concerned the lack of safety instructions on work and work equipment or the lack of, or insufficient risk assessment by employers, and that an analysis of accidents at work shows that the majority of work accidents involve workers who have worked for less than a year which is assumed to be a result of insufficient instruction and training. In this context, the Committee particularly notes the launching of a prevention campaign on the reduction of work-related health risks (personal protective equipment) in 2011, as well as the publication of the following: “Personal protective equipment: A tedious obligation or happy future?”; “Slips and trips: How to prevent work accidents”; and “Training and instruction of workers at workplaces”. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the preventive measures carried out by the labour inspectorate. In particular, please provide information on measures taken to address areas where shortcomings have been detected previously or which have been identified as the cause of cases of occupational diseases or industrial accidents (awareness raising among employers about the importance of providing adequate safety instructions to workers, information and instructions about the conducting of adequate risk assessments, etc.).

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