Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Kyrgyzstan (Ratification: 2000)

Articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 and 16 of the Convention. Effective functioning of the labour inspection system following the creation of the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate. The Committee previously noted the Regulations on the State Inspectorate for Environmental and Technical Safety adopted by Decision No. 136 of 2012 enumerate the multiple functions of the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate following the merger of several specialized inspection bodies including the former State Labour Inspectorate. The Regulations set out a significant number of functions of the State Inspectorate for Environmental and Technical Safety related to, among others, monitoring environmental standards, land legislation and construction, transportation, storage and use of fertilizers, rights related to water use and ship registration.

The Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that under the Regulations on the State Inspectorate for Environmental and Technical Safety, the inspectorate has 13 subdivisions with different working areas, and it refers to the functions of the labour inspectorate as set out in the Labour Code. The Committee also notes the Government’s response, in reply to its previous request concerning the assignment of labour inspection functions to the supervision and control of a central authority, that the functions of control and monitoring of compliance with labour legislation are carried out by a department of occupational safety and health and labour relations, which has five staff members, including the head of the department. It further notes the Government’s response to the Committee’s request on the status of labour inspectors that labour inspectors are civil servants and that qualification requirements, such as work experience, education and skills, have been developed and approved. The Government also provides information on two instances of the training activities organized for labour inspectors in 2019. Lastly, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that since the merger of the different inspection services under the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate in 2012, a total of 7,232 labour inspection visits have been made (including 987 in 2017 and 1,086 in 2018) and 879 investigations carried out. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on how effect is given to the Convention in the reorganized system of inspection under the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate. It requests the Government to indicate whether the inspectors in the department of occupational safety and health and labour relations perform any functions other than the primary functions set out in Article 3(1) of the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide further specific information on the assignment of supervision and control functions to a central authority for labour inspection functions (Article 4). Noting the Government’s indication that there are five inspectors in the department of occupational safety and health and labour relations, it requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the number of labour inspectors is sufficient to secure the effective discharge of the duties of the inspectorate and it requests information on the budgetary allocation for labour inspection purposes. Lastly, it requests the Government to continue to provide statistics on the number of labour inspection visits carried out by the department of occupational safety and health and labour relations and the number of workplaces and workers covered by these visits in the different sectors (Article 16), as well as the follow-up action given in relation to issues of non-compliance detected, including statistics on the number of penalties imposed for violations of labour legislation (Articles 17 and 18).

Article 5(a) and (b). Cooperation between the inspection services and other government services and public or private institutions engaged in similar activities and collaboration between officials of the labour inspectorate and employers and workers or their organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indications, in response to its previous request, that in accordance with section 19 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, public monitoring of compliance with the law in the field of occupational safety and health is carried out by the trade unions through appropriate technical labour inspectorates, which are empowered, inter alia, to monitor employers' compliance with occupational safety and health legislation; participate in the investigation of industrial accidents and occupational diseases; submit to the authorized State body proposals for the suspension of work in cases of threat to the life and health of employees; and submit to employers mandatory requests for the elimination of identified violations of occupational safety and health requirements. Under section 14 of the Act on Trade Unions, trade unions may monitor employers' compliance with labour legislation and demand the elimination of identified violations. In addition, employers are obliged to examine communications from trade unions on the elimination of labour law violations and to inform the trade union body, within one month, of the results of their examination and of the measures taken. It also notes the Government’s indications that in order to monitor and control compliance with labour legislation, trade unions establish legal and technical labour inspectorates that enjoy the same rights as state labour inspectorates. It further notes the Government’s reference to section 410 of the Labour Code, which prohibits hindering legal activities of workers’ representatives. It notes, in addition, the Government’s indications that 35 technical labour inspectors, organized by industry and region, are currently working for the Federation of Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan. In this regard, the Committee notes that a long-term mutual cooperation agreement was signed in 2014 between the Federation of Trade Unions and the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate to carry out state supervision and control of compliance with labour legislation. The aim of the agreement is to establish the basis for cooperation between the parties in order to protect the labour rights of workers, prevent, identify and eliminate violations of labour legislation, increase the role of state supervision and control of compliance with labour legislation. Lastly, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the establishment of the Technical Labour Inspectorate Council to coordinate the activities of trade unions’ technical labour inspectorates, exchange work experiences and cooperate with employers' associations and state supervisory bodies. Noting that the Federation of Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan has significantly more staff performing inspections than the State Environmental and Technical Safety Inspectorate, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the collaboration between these two bodies and the impact of this collaboration on enforcement. It requests the Government to provide further information on the powers and rights of the technical inspectors, and to indicate whether the limitations in Law No. 72 of 2007 (as amended) on the conduct of inspections in enterprises apply to such inspectors. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of labour inspection carried out by the technical inspectors, as well as the outcome of such inspections, including any penalties imposed.

Article 14. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease to the labour inspectorate. The Committee notes the Government’s indications, in reply to its previous request on the manner in which the labour inspectorate is notified of industrial accidents and cases of occupational diseases, that under section 20 of the Regulations on the Recording and Investigation of Industrial Accidents, approved by Government Decision No. 64 of 2001, the employer must promptly notify serious or fatal industrial accidents to the state labour inspectorate of the province or the city of Bishkek and the regional association of trade unions, among other bodies. It also notes the Government’s indications that, in accordance with section 21 of the Regulations, the administration of health-care institutions, pathology departments and morgues must inform the relevant state labour inspectorate within 24 hours of persons received with serious or fatal injuries resulting from industrial accidents. It further notes that the Government indicates that notification of occupational diseases is carried out in accordance with sections 7 and 8 of the Procedure for the Recording and Investigation of Occupational Diseases, approved by Government Decision No. 225 of 2011. In this respect, the Committee notes that section 7 of this Government Decision provides that the health organisation is obliged to notify the State Centre for Territorial Health and Epidemiological Surveillance and the employer of the employee's occupational disease, but that the Decision does not require notification to the labour inspectorate. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that cases of occupational diseases are effectively notified to the labour inspectorate.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2021.]