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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Angola (Ratification: 1976)

The Committee notes the observations of National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA) received 30 August 2019, which state that the labour inspectorate is quite weak, due to the low number of inspectors compared to the number of enterprises, as well as low salaries for inspectors and insufficient means of transportation for the conduct of inspections. With reference to its comments on Articles 6 and 11(1)(a) and (b) below, the Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

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

Reform of the labour inspection system. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Presidential Decree No. 79/15 of 13 April 2015, enacting the Organic Statute of Labour Inspection (OSLI), which repeals the Presidential Decree No. 9/95 Regulations of the Inspectorate- General of Labour, and gives effect to the following Articles of the Convention: 1, 2(1), 3(1), 4, 5(a), 7(1) and (2), 12, 13, 15(b) and (c), 17, and 22.

Article 3(2) of the Convention. Additional functions assigned to labour inspectors. Mediation. The Committee previously noted that section 275 of the General Labour Act entrusted labour inspectors with the function of mediating disputes between employers and workers. The Committee notes from the statement in the annual report on labour inspection of 2016, that the number of mediation requests has increased significantly and that 4,454 requests were received. The Committee requests the Government to provide the information on the time and resources of the inspection services spent on mediation, in relation to their primary duties as defined in Article 3(1) of the Convention.

Inspection of foreign workers. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that the annual labour inspection reports 2014 to 2016 contain information on the number of foreign workers, disaggregated between residents, non-residents and refugees. It also notes that the labour inspection report of 2016 states that one of the most significant issues that arises in the course of the inspectorate’s work is the procedure for hiring a non-resident workers. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the role of labour inspectors with regard to the monitoring of the immigration status of foreign workers.

Article 4. Supervision and control of the labour inspection system by a central authority. The Committee takes due note of the Government’s statement in its report, in response to its previous request concerning Article 4, that the General Labour Inspectorate reports to, without being directly dependant on, the Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security and that it receives guidance from that Ministry.

Article 6. Inspection staff composed of public officials. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report, in response to the Committee’ previous request, that in general labour inspectors have the same status as public servants. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the conditions of service of labour inspectors, particularly related to remuneration and career prospects.

Article 11(1)(a) and (b). Human and financial resources, means of action and transport facilities available to the inspection services. The Committee notes an absence of information in response to its previous request concerning the resources referred to in Article 11(a) of the Convention. The Committee also notes that, pursuant to section 40 of the OSLI, the labour inspectors are able, when in service and upon display of their identification card, to use public transportation free of charge in the geographic area indicated. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information regarding how the central inspection authority ensures that inspection offices, especially local offices, have the human resources, equipment and office furnishings necessary for inspection duties. The Committee also requests the Government to provide further information on the manner in which it ensures the provision of the necessary transport facilities for the performance of labour inspectors’ duties in cases where suitable public facilities do not exist. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken for the reimbursement of labour inspectors in the various provincial inspectorates of all travel and incidental expenses necessary for the discharge of their duties.

Article 14. Notification to the labour inspectorate of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. The Committees notes that pursuant to section 13(2) of the OSLI, the Department of Safety, Hygiene and Health at Work shall ensure the collection, treatment and analysis of occupational accident and disease data as well as the preparation of annual statistical reports. The Committee also takes due note of the detailed information contained in the annual labour inspection reports of 2015 and 2016 concerning occupational accidents registered with the labour inspectorate. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the labour inspectorate is notified of cases of occupational disease.

Article 18. Appropriate penalties. The Committee previously noted that section 308 of the General Labour Act of 2015 provides that violations of labour legislation are punishable by fines to be imposed in accordance with the law implementing this provision, and it requested information on the adoption of implementing legislation. In this respect, the Committee takes due note of the Presidential Decree No. 154/2016 on the Legal Regime of Fines for Contraventions of the General Labour Act, adopted on 15 June 2016, which establishes the applicable penalties for violations of the General Labour Act.

Articles 20 and 21. Publication and communication of an annual report on labour inspection. The Committee notes with interest the detailed annual reports on labour inspection communicated by the Government for 2015 and 2016, containing the following information: (i) the relevant laws and regulations to the work of inspection service; (ii) the number of labour inspectors (151 in 2015 and 144 in 2016); the number of inspections undertaken (7,147 in 2015 and 7,050 in 2016); (iii) the number of workers in the workplaces inspected (247,685 in 2015 and 191,072 in 2016); (iv) the statistics of the 25 most recurrent violations; (v) the number of penalties imposed (24,958 in 2015 and 21,124 in 2016); and (vi) the number of industrial accidents (982 in 2015 and 969 in 2016). Taking due note of this information, the Committee once again requests the Government to takes measures to ensure that the annual reports also contain information on cases of occupational disease, in accordance with Article 21(g) of the Convention.