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

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Lebanon (Ratification: 1962)

The Committee notes with deep concern that the Government’s report has not been received. It is therefore bound to repeat its previous comments. The Committee informs the Government that, if it has not supplied replies to the points raised by 1 September 2021, then it may proceed with the examination of the application of the Convention on the basis of the information at its disposal at its next session.

Repetition

Labour law reform. The Committee notes the information provided by the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and the Regional Office for Arab States that a tripartite meeting took place in 2019 with the support of the ILO and that a new labour law reform is under way. The Committee requests the Government to take into account the matters raised below and in a request addressed directly to the Government in the context of this new reform process, in order to ensure the full conformity of a new Labour Code with the Convention, and to provide information on any progress made in this regard.

Article 3(1) and (2) of the Convention. Primary functions and additional duties of labour inspectors. 1. Supervision of union matters. The Committee previously noted that, pursuant to section 2(c) of Decree No. 3273 of 26 June 2000, the labour inspectorate has the power to monitor vocational organizations and confederations at all levels in order to check whether the latter, in their operations, are exceeding the limits prescribed by law and by their rules of procedure and statutes. It recalls that for many years it had requested the Government to take steps to limit labour inspectors’ intervention in internal trade union affairs. The Committee notes the Government’s reply in its report that the role of labour inspectors is limited to accessing union records and to cases where a union submits its final account or a union council member files a complaint. The Government indicates that there are currently no complaints in this respect with the Department of Labour Relations and Trade Unions. The Committee further notes the statistics provided by the Government indicating that, in 2015, the labour inspectorate supervised 207 trade union elections and received 13 applications for authorization to establish unions.

In this respect, the Committee recalls that, according to Article 3(1) of the Convention, the primary functions of the labour inspection system shall be to monitor and secure the conditions of work and the protection of workers while engaged in their work, and that in accordance with Article 3(2), 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 or to prejudice in any way the authority and impartiality which are necessary to inspectors in their relations with employers and workers. Further, the Committee expressed reservations in its 2006 General Survey, Labour inspection, paragraph 80, regarding excessive use of close supervision by labour inspectors of the activities of trade unions and employers’ organizations, to the extent that it takes the form of acts of interference in these organizations’ legitimate activities. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps, in the context of the ongoing labour law reform, to ensure that the functions assigned to labour inspectors do not interfere with their main objective, which is to provide for the protection of workers in accordance with Article 3(1) of Convention No. 81. In this respect, it urges the Government to ensure that any supervision of trade union activities is carried out only in relation to the protection of the rights of trade unions and their members, and does not take the form of acts of interference in their legitimate activities and internal affairs.

2. Work permits for migrant workers. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government indicating that, in 2015, a significant amount of the labour inspectorate’s activities focused on the issuance (60,814) and renewal (148,860) of work permits, as well as inspections related to work permits (253). The Committee requests the Government to take specific measures to ensure that the functions assigned to labour inspectors to issue and monitor work permits do not interfere with the main objective of labour inspectors to secure the enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers, as required under Article 3(1) of the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the time and resources spent on labour inspection activities in these work areas, compared to activities aiming at securing the enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers.

Article 12(1) and (2). Right of inspectors to enter freely any workplace liable to inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to amend the Memorandum No. 68/2 of 2009 which requires prior authorization in writing for all unscheduled inspection visits. It notes that, according to section 6 of Decree No. 3273 of 2000 on Labour Inspection, labour inspectors shall have the authority to enter freely and without prior notice all enterprises under their supervision during hours of work at the enterprise and all parts thereof; and in conducting an inspection visit they shall apprise the employer of their presence on the premises, unless they consider such information detrimental to the execution of their functions. However, the Committee also notes the Government’s indication that written authorization is provided in order for an inspection to be carried out, and that inspections are carried out as part of an inspector’s annual or monthly programme. In this regard, the Committee recalls that Article 12 of the Convention provides that labour inspectors provided with proper credentials shall be empowered to enter freely and without previous notice at any hour of the day or night any workplace liable to inspection. It recalls that the requirement to obtain prior permission to undertake an inspection in all cases constitutes a restriction on the free initiative of inspectors to undertake an inspection, including where they have reason to believe that an undertaking is in violation of the legal provisions. The Committee once again requests the Government to take measures to amend Memorandum No. 68/2 of 2009 to ensure that labour inspectors provided with proper credentials are empowered to enter freely any workplace liable to inspection, in accordance with Article 12(1) of the Convention, and to provide copies of any texts or documents showing progress in this regard.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee expects that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.