Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Croatia (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Referring to its observation, the Committee would like to raise the following additional points.

Articles 3(1)(b) and 17(2) of the Convention. Technical information and advice to employers and workers in the area of occupational safety and health (OSH). The Committee notes that section 32(2) of the 2008 State Inspectorate Act (SIA) provides that “Upon inspection, if deemed useful or necessary, the inspector may inform and advise the scrutinized legal or natural person on the most efficient way to apply the law and other regulations.” It further notes that sections 42(3) and 47(3) of the SIA state that, administrative penalties shall not be issued if the established irregularities have been removed during the inspection supervision and charges shall not be filed or misdemeanour proceedings be instituted by labour inspectors if the established irregularities have been removed in the course of the inspection supervision or within eight days of the date of the completion of the inspection supervision and if the offences committed are not prescribing fines exceeding a certain amount. While the Committee notes that the current OSH Act (75/09), which it understands is currently under review, contains no relevant provisions in this regard, it understands that the SIA is applicable to labour inspectors both in the area of labour relations and in the area of OSH. With reference to the guidance provided in Paragraphs 6 and 7 of the Labour Inspection Recommendation, 1947 (No. 81), on the various forms that preventive activities can take in practice, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on such measures, particularly in the area of OSH, carried out by the labour inspectorate during the period covered by its next report, including the provision of technical information and advice during inspection visits, the organization of conferences, mass media campaigns and trainings, etc.

Articles 5(a), 14 and 21(g). Effective cooperation between the inspection services and other government services and public institutions. Notification of cases of occupational diseases and statistics thereof. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the obligation of employers in the OSH Act, to inform the State Inspectorate of fatal and serious accidents, and the obligation, in the Compulsory Health Insurance Act, of the Croatian Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Insurance (CIOSHI) to inform the State Inspectorate about industrial accidents and occupational diseases. The Committee notes, in this context, that sections 56(3) and (4) of the SIA provide some information on internal procedures within the structures of the labour inspectorate, but that the Government has not provided any further information on the mechanisms (such as applicable procedures or regulations, deadlines, means of notification, etc.) through which the notification of the labour inspectorate takes place in practice.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that the annual report on the work of the labour inspection services for 2011, available on the website of the State Inspectorate, contains statistics on industrial accidents, but does not seem to contain any statistics of cases of occupational diseases. The Committee notes that the Government again refers to the need for improved cooperation, including in the area of industrial accidents and occupational diseases, and the information that labour inspectors have participated in a workshop on the exchange of data in the field of OSH through data bases and electronic means. Referring to the recommendations made in the ILO code of practice on the recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases, the Committee once again asks the Government to describe the external and internal mechanisms in practice through which the labour inspectorate is notified of industrial accidents and cases of occupational diseases.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether legislative measures have been taken or are envisaged, so as to also establish the obligation of employers to notify cases of occupational diseases to the State Inspectorate.

It requests the Government to make appropriate arrangements to promote collaboration with the CIOSHI with a view to ensuring that the State Inspectorate is in a position to incorporate relevant data, including statistics on cases of occupational diseases, in future annual reports on the work of the labour inspection services.

Article 6. Conditions of service of labour inspectors. The Committee notes that section 10(4) of the SIA provides that inspection activities “involve special working conditions” and understands that they are governed by the Regulations on activities and special working conditions of the civil service (Official Gazette 74/02, 58/08 and 119/11). Furthermore, the Committee notes that, contrary to the indications made by the Government, a copy of the Regulations on the classification of posts and salaries of government employees (Official Gazette 77/07, 13/08 and 81/08, provided for in section 139(1) of the Civil Servants Act, has again not been communicated to the Office. The Committee therefore once again asks the Government to provide a copy of these Regulations, as well as a copy of the Regulations on the activities and special working conditions of the civil service.

Articles 5(a), 20 and 21. Annual report on the work of the labour inspection services. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the electronic register (e-Register), an application which is installed on the user’s computer via internet and accessible to all inspectors throughout the labour inspection services, and which contains data on the performed inspection supervisions and measures undertaken or carried out by the inspectors of the State Inspectorate in electronic form, has been further developed and updated. Since 1 January 2011, not only labour inspectors in the area of labour relations, but also labour inspectors in the area of OSH, electrical, mines and pressure equipment inspectors are required to systematically enter data into the system following inspection visits. The Committee further notes that the e-Register is aimed at enabling the labour inspectorate (both in the area of labour relations and OSH) to share data with other bodies engaged in similar activities, and to analyse the number and subjects of inspection and the measures taken. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the progress made in relation to the development of the e-Register and to provide information on its impact on the publication, in the annual report on the work of the labour inspection services, of information on all the required subjects under Articles 21(a)–(g) of the Convention.

It would also be grateful if the Government would keep the ILO informed of the progress achieved in the sharing of data with other Government bodies and institutions in possession of relevant data with a view to establishing and updating the e-register on a regular basis, and improving the efficient operation of the labour inspection system.