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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes the communication made by the Government delegation within the Committee on the Application of Standards at the 101st Session of the International Labour Conference in June 2012, and the Government’s report received at the Office on 12 September 2012. It also notes the observations from the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM) dated 30 August 2012.

Articles 3, 6, 10, 11, 14, 16, 20 and 21 of the Convention. Status, recruitment, training, powers, activities and material means of the labour inspectorate. Annual inspection report. The Committee notes with interest the information contained in the Government’s report to the effect that 40 labour inspectors and labour controllers were recruited in 2009 and received a two-year period of training at the National School of Administration (ENA) before being subsequently appointed to the ten regional inspectorates in the country. In addition, about ten training workshops have been organized by the ILO since 2008 in the context of the ADMITRA and PAMODEC projects, in addition to the training given at the Tunis and CRADAT centres; the labour inspectorate has been equipped with a methodological guide which has enabled an increased number of inspections in the field; and a “toolkit” for labour inspectors has been devised by the Dakar office and will be distributed to inspectors in the course of this year. The Government also refers to improvements in the equipment of the regional labour inspectorates through a World Bank project (the PRECASP project) but does not state whether this equipment has already been distributed to the regional services.

However, the Committee notes with regret that once again no annual report has been received which would enable the Committee to evaluate the application of the Convention in practice, despite the undertaking made by the Government representative in the Committee on the Application of Standards to send to the ILO all annual reports of the labour inspectorate in addition to an evaluation of the impact of the strengthening of human and material resources on the application of the laws and regulations in Mauritania. It also notes with regret that the Government merely reiterates, for the third time, its intention to put a stop, in conjunction with the Ministry of Finance, to the unequal treatment received by labour inspectors, who have been the only public servants who have not received an allowance granted by a decree of 2007 to all other branches of the administration.

Despite the adoption in 2007, after several years of preparation, of special regulations for the labour administration establishing the status of labour inspectors and controllers, the Committee notes that, according to the CGTM, labour inspectorates do not have the independence necessary for the performance of their duties, since they depend on a Directorate of Labour which can “use” labour inspectors, transfer them or lay them off. According to the CGTM, no cases have ever been seen in which labour inspectorates of their own initiative, as provided for by law, have dealt with a violation, infringement or reprimand concerning an employer as part of establishing better labour relations within enterprises. The CGTM refers to cases of occupational disease such as silicosis, which, it claims, is taking a serious toll in the National Industrial and Mining Company (SNIM), and cyanide and lead poisoning which are allegedly decimating the workforce of the Mining and Copper Company (MCM), and also refers to apparatus used at the autonomous port of Nouakchott, which allegedly causes frequent fatalities among dockers. Moreover, according to the CGTM, labour inspection staff do not have satisfactory conditions of work, and even less motivation, to enable them to perform their duties. Rather, they are simply seeking a means of subsistence and are not feared by any employer. The CGTM notes the dire lack of financial and material resources necessary for the labour inspectorate to do its work effectively, to the extent that labour inspectors are obliged to make use of the services of private individuals for the drafting and printing of their reports, including infringement reports. Lastly, the CGTM emphasizes that the level of qualifications of inspectors is low owing to the fact that recruitment is carried out under conditions which lack transparency and impartiality.

The Committee requests the Government to send any comments which it considers appropriate in response to the observations from the CGTM. It also requests the Government to supply further details of the progress of the World Bank project for improving the equipment of the regional directorates, and on the impact of the methodological guide to inspections drawn up with ILO support, sending copies, where applicable, of any relevant documents or reports.

The Committee requests the Government once again to take steps as soon as possible to ensure that allowances are paid to labour inspectors that take account of the specific nature of their duties, and to keep the Office informed of any further developments in this respect.

Noting the Government’s indication that a Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for Mauritania is due to be signed in the coming months, the Committee again requests the Government to make use of this programme to take all necessary steps to reinforce the labour inspectorate, with technical support from the ILO, with a view to establishing a labour inspection system that operates on the basis of the provisions of the Convention as regards scope (Articles 1 and 2); duties (Article 3); organization under the supervision of a central authority (Article 4); cooperation with other bodies and with employers and workers or their organizations (Article 5); status and conditions of service of labour inspectors (Article 6); requisite qualifications for recruitment and training (Article 7); criteria for determining the number of inspectors (Article 10); material and logistical resources needed for the performance of their duties (Article 11); inspectors’ prerogatives (Article 12); their powers (Articles 13 and 17); and their obligations (Articles 15, 16 and 19); and also in terms of the central authority’s obligation to publish and to communicate to the ILO an annual report on the work of the inspection services under its control (Article 21).

In order to establish a labour inspection system which meets the social and economic objectives pursued by the Convention, the Committee requests the Government also to ensure, as far as possible, the implementation of the measures described in the general observations made by the Committee in 2007 (on the need for effective cooperation between the labour inspectorate and judicial bodies), in 2009 (on the availability of statistics concerning industrial and commercial workplaces liable to labour inspection and the number of workers covered, as basic information for an evaluation of the application of the Convention in practice), and in 2010 (on the publication and content of an annual report on the operation of the labour inspection services).