Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Montenegro

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) (Ratification: 2006)
Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) (Ratification: 2006)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on labour inspection, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Convention Nos 81 (labour inspection) and 129 (labour inspection in agriculture) together.

Article 3(1) and (2) of Convention No. 81 and Article 6(1) and (3) of Convention No. 129. Additional functions entrusted to labour inspectors. The Committee previously noted the Government’s information regarding joint controls carried out by labour inspectors and inspectors for foreign nationals, and the notification by the labour inspectorate to the Ministry of Interior and police administration of cases of foreign nationals working illegally, to enable those bodies to take measures within their scope of responsibilities. The Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report that labour inspectors provide migrant workers with the protection of labour rights to the same extent as Montenegrin citizens. The Government also refers to the existence of “constant cooperation” between the labour inspection and the Division for Foreigners, Visas and Combating Illegal Migration of the Police, as well as exchange of information and joint controls. The Committee notes that section 209 of the new Foreign Nationals Law adopted in 2018 prescribes for inspection supervision to be performed by labour inspectors and other competent inspection services, within their competences. It further notes that, according to the 2018 Annual Report of the Inspection Directorate, 1,370 migrant workers were found to be working illegally in 2018, and after measures were taken by the labour inspectors, 224 of these workers were subsequently employed in accordance with the Labour Law and the Law on Foreign Nationals. The Annual Report states that a large number of migrant workers found to be working without adequate documentation had their stay in Montenegro cancelled, following joint controls. The Committee recalls that, pursuant to Article 3(1) and (2) of Convention No. 81 and Article 6(1) and (3) of Convention No. 129, the functions of the system of labour inspection shall be to secure the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work, and any further duties which may be entrusted to labour inspectors shall not be such as to interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties. In this respect, it stated in its General Survey on labour inspection, 2006, paragraph 78, that any function of verifying the legality of employment should have as its corollary the reinstatement of the statutory rights of all the workers if it is to be compatible with the objective of labour inspection, which is to protect the rights and interests of all workers and to improve their working conditions. The Committee requests the Government to take additional measures to ensure that the functions assigned to labour inspectors do not interfere with the main objective of labour inspectors, which is to provide for the protection of workers in accordance with Article 3(1) of Convention No. 81 and Article 6(1) of Convention No. 129. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information regarding the role and responsibilities of labour inspectors in the application of the Foreign Nationals Law 2018, including the time and resources of the labour inspectorate that are allocated to these responsibilities in practice. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on instances where inspectors took specific action to provide migrant workers with protection of labour rights equal to those enjoyed by Montenegrin citizens.

Articles 4, 7 and 11 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 7, 9 and 15 of Convention No. 129. Impact of the reorganization of the labour inspection system. The Committee previously noted the establishment of the Administration for Inspection Affairs in June 2012 as an independent administrative body, bringing together 24 inspection services across a wide range of fields, including labour inspection, but also tourism, veterinary medicine, health, forestry and hunting, housing, sanitation, water and the environment. The Committee previously requested information on the impact of the reorganization of the labour inspection system on the functioning of the labour inspectorate, including on resources allocated. In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that labour inspection operates as part of a department within the Inspection Directorate, which is an independent organ of the state administration, headed by a Director. The Government also indicates, however, that the coordinated inspection work of the Inspection Directorate is supervised by the Government through the Ministry of Economy. The Government further states that the funds from the budget of the Inspection Directorate are assigned to labour inspection for wages and other expenses. In addition, the Committee notes that the Law on Inspection (Nos 39/03, 76/09, 57/11, 18/14, 11/15 and 52/16) which regulates principles for inspection bodies in general, provides that the Law applies to all administrative areas, except where excluded by a separate law (section 2) and that some inspection matters may be regulated by separate regulations (section 12). In this respect, the Committee notes that the Law on Labour Inspection (Nos 79/08 and 40/11) also provides for specific powers and duties of labour inspectors. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the extent to which the Law on Inspection applies to the activities of the labour inspectorate, in particular where its provisions overlap and may conflict with those of the Law on Labour Inspection. In this respect, it requests the Government to clearly identify any provisions of the Law on Inspection from which labour inspection is excluded. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the labour inspection system is linked to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and to indicate if that Ministry plays a role in determining the priorities and needs of labour inspection. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide further detailed information on the allocation of adequate budgetary resources to enable the effective performance of labour inspection duties (Article 11 of Convention No. 81 and Article 15 of Convention No. 129) as well as information on the manner in which it is ensured that labour inspectors have the adequate qualifications and training for the effective performance of inspection duties (Article 7 of Convention No. 81 and Article 9 of Convention No. 129).

Articles 5(a) and 16 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 12(1) and 21 of Convention No. 129. Establishment of a register of industrial and commercial workplaces liable to labour inspection and planning of inspection visits. The Committee notes the Government’s response to its previous request for information on inter-institutional cooperation, stating that labour inspectors have been using an information system for their operations since 2015, in which all business entities from the Central Registry of Business Entities are registered and kept by the Tax Administration. According to the Government, cooperation between labour inspection and the Tax Administration is constant, although the inspectorate does not have immediate access to the information system of the Tax Administration. The Government further indicates that the labour inspectorate also obtains data from the Statistical Office of Montenegro, MONSTAT, covering employees in enterprises, institutions and organizations of all forms of ownership as well as migrants employed in the country. The Committee requests the Government to describe the arrangements in place through which labour inspectors are given access to pertinent data and statistics from the Tax Administration, MONSTAT, or any other institution with which it cooperates for the purpose of such data.

Articles 5(a), 17 and 18 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 12(a), 22, 23 and 24 of Convention No. 129. Cooperation with judicial authorities. With respect to inspections following serious, collective and fatal injuries at work, the Committee observes from the 2018 Annual Report of the Inspection Directorate that the labour inspector submits documentation to the prosecutor’s office or judicial authorities. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on the annual number of such submissions to prosecutors and to judges; the number of instances in which prosecutorial or judicial action was initiated; and the results of such actions.

Article 6 of Convention No. 81 and Article 8 of Convention No. 129. Conditions of service of labour inspectors. The Committee notes the Government’s statement, in reply to the Committee’s previous request, that pursuant to the expiry of their seven-year term of appointment, in accordance with the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees, labour inspectors may be reappointed. The Committee notes the adoption of the Law on Salaries of Public Sector Employees (Nos 16/16, 83/16, 21/17, 42/17, 12/18 and 42/18), and the Government’s indication that, in general, increases in salary of labour inspectors are minor under the Law, with the exception of the position of Chief Inspectors. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the circumstances under which labour inspectors are not reappointed following the expiration of their term. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information regarding any measures taken to improve the conditions of service of labour inspectors.

Article 10 of Convention No. 81 and Article 14 of Convention No. 129. Number of labour inspectors. With regard to its previous request on increasing the number of labour inspectors in order to secure the effective discharge of the duties of the inspectorate, the Committee notes with interest that, according to the 2018 Annual Report of the Inspection Directorate, the total number of labour inspectors has increased to 40 in 2018 (up from 33 in 2014), with 30 inspectors in the field of labour relations, including the Chief Inspector, and ten in the field of occupational safety and health (OSH). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the progress made in this regard.

Article 11 of Convention No. 81 and Article 15 of Convention No. 129. Material means of the labour inspection services. The Committee previously requested the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that labour inspectors are provided with the transport facilities necessary for the performance of their duties and to provide information on measures taken to ensure that labour inspectors are reimbursed for their relevant travel costs, including fuel. In this respect, the Committee welcomes the adoption of the Regulation on the Reimbursement of Public Sector Employees (No. 40/16), pursuant to which inspectors are entitled to a daily allowance and to reimbursements for accommodation expenses and travel expenses for trips within the country or abroad, to the extent that they can be considered official trips. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the labour inspectorate is provided with increased fuel amounts during special inspections and enhanced inspections during the tourist season.

Article 14 of Convention No. 81 and Article 19 of Convention No. 129. Notification of occupational accidents and diseases to the labour inspection services. In response to the Committee’s previous request for information on how the labour inspection is informed of cases of industrial accidents and occupational diseases, the Government refers to section 51 of the Law on Safety and Health at Work (Nos 34/14, 44/18), which requires the employer to notify to the labour inspectorate immediately, and at the latest within 24 hours, of any death, collective, serious and other work injury which causes the worker to be absent from work for more than three working days, as well as dangerous phenomena that could endanger the protection and health of workers. The Committee notes that the Government also refers to section 52 of the same Law, which states that various health institutions, including the Health Insurance Fund, are required to provide data on occupational injuries and occupational diseases on a monthly basis to the state authority in charge of labour. Noting that labour inspection is no longer under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the labour inspectorate is provided with the information from health institutions under section 52 of the Law on Safety and Health at Work.

Articles 20 and 21 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 26 and 27 of Convention No. 129. Annual inspection report. The Committee observes that the 2018 Annual Report of the Inspection Directorate does not contain statistics of the subjects listed under Article 21(c), (f) and (g) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(c), (f) and (g) of Convention No. 129, on the number of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein, on statistics of occupational accidents, and on statistics of occupational diseases. The Annual Report also does not contain statistics specific to agriculture on the violations and penalties imposed (Article 27(e) of Convention No. 129). The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that future annual reports of the Inspection Directorate contain the necessary information on the subjects listed under Article 21(c), (f) and (g) of Convention No. 81 and Articles 27(c), (e), (f) and (g) of Convention No. 129.

Issues specifically concerning labour inspection in agriculture

Articles 9 and 21 of Convention No. 129. Special training of labour inspectors in agriculture and inspection visits. With regard to its previous request on adequate training for labour inspectors to perform their duties in the agricultural sector, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the labour inspectorate did not have trainings related to agriculture. In this respect, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that there are 200 agricultural enterprises registered in Montenegro, according to the data of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. According to the 2018 Annual Report of the Inspection Directorate, 28 inspections (0.25 per cent) were conducted in 2018 in the sector for agriculture, forestry and fishing. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to provide adequate training for labour inspectors for the performance of their duties in the agricultural sector, and to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged. It further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that inspections take place in the agricultural sector as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the relevant legislation.