Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1999)

The Committee notes the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the Employers’ Confederation of the Dominican Republic (COPARDOM), received by the ILO on 28 August 2014, referring to the functions of the Ministry of Labour.

Article 3 of the Convention. Activities in the field of national labour policy regarded as being matters regulated by recourse to direct negotiations between employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided a copy of the agreements and accords reported to have been concluded through direct negotiations between employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide copies of such documents or information on the subjects that they cover.

Articles 5(1) and 6(1) and (2)(a) and (b). National employment policy and the role of national tripartite councils. With reference to its previous comment, the Committee notes that the National Employment Commission (CONAEMPLEO) is an advisory tripartite body established in 1983. It is responsible for advising the Ministry of Labour on public employment policies, and its objective is to propose and promote active employment policies which have an impact on the labour market, extend employment opportunities for the unemployed and improve labour and wage conditions for employed persons. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the role played by the National Wages Council and the National Labour Council in determining the national employment policy.

Article 9. Means available to the Ministry of Labour to ascertain whether regional or local agencies are operating in accordance with national laws and regulations and are adhering to the objectives assigned to them. The Government indicates that there are currently 40 local labour administration offices and that section 431 of the Labour Code provides that, to give better effect to its provisions, the Ministry of Labour may establish district jurisdictions. In each district, an inspector is appointed as the local labour representative. These representatives are responsible for, among other matters, enforcing laws and regulations in their respective constituencies, giving effect to the orders issued by the Ministry and undertaking the action required by laws and regulations. The Committee asks the Government to provide extracts of reports or other periodical information on labour administration activities submitted by regional or local bodies to the Ministry of Labour.

Article 10. Status and conditions of service of labour administration personnel and material resources available to them. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government has indicated that all employees in the public sector are governed by Act No. 41-08, but that not all of them are integrated into the administrative career structure. The Act guarantees stability of public employment. In accordance with section  23 of the Act, career public servants are those who have entered a public competition and passed the tests and assessments envisaged by the law and the corresponding regulations, have been appointed to discharge a permanent position, which has a specific classification and its own budgetary allocation. Career public officials only lose their status in the cases explicitly provided for, following a specific procedure and the adoption of a formal administrative decision. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the current composition of the labour administration system and its geographical distribution, with an indication of the number of persons employed in the system who are not covered by the administrative career structure. Furthermore, and observing that the Government has not provided information on the training provided during employment to personnel discharging labour administration functions, nor on the material and financial means available for their discharge, nor their geographical distribution, the Committee once again asks the Government to provide detailed information on this subject.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes with interest the pilot programme to strengthen the labour administration carried out in the Bávaro-Verón region, Punta Cana, between 2010 and 2013, and the execution of similar projects in the areas of Bayahibe, La Romana, San Pedro de Macoris, Juan Dolio, Puerto Plata, Santiago and La Vega, to which the Government refers in its report. The programme in Bávaro-Verón was carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Labour and with the technical and financial assistance of the ILO project to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the ILO White Paper. Its principal achievements include: (i) the establishment of the local office of the National Technical and Vocational Training Institute (INFOTEP) and the Labour Skills School; (ii) the conclusion of agreements between enterprises, mainly hotels, and INFOTEP for the continuous training of their workers; (iii) the introduction by the INFOTEP of modules in a secondary school providing training for young persons in the hotels and electricity sectors as an option for their entry into the local labour market; (iv) the opening of the Youth and Adult Training Institute, under the responsibility of INFOTEP; (v) the strengthening and improvement of vocational support services in the Ministry’s local offices; (vi) the promotion of the National Employment Service (SENAE); (vii) the holding of vocational guidance workshops and employment fairs; (viii) the conclusion of a collaboration agreement between INFOTEP, the hotels association and the Ministry of Public Health for the training of hotel sector workers in health and safety; (ix) the establishment of the Committee for the Eradication of Child Labour and the training of its representatives; (x) the conclusion and renegotiation of ten collective agreements on working conditions; and (xi) capacity building for employers’ and workers’ representatives in training workshops. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on developments in the implementation of the pilot programmes similar to the one in the Bávaro-Verón region, and on their impact on the organization, operation and discharge of the functions of the labour administration system.