Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Albania

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) (Ratification: 2004)
Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) (Ratification: 2007)

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 Conventions Nos 81 (labour inspection) and 129 (labour inspection in agriculture) together.

Articles 3(1)(a)–(b) and 14 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 6(1)(a)–(b) and 19 of Convention No. 129. Functions entrusted to labour inspectors. Notification of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government indicates in its report that new draft Policy on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) 2024–30 anticipates the transposition of European directives regarding the statistical reporting of workplace accidents and occupational diseases according to European Statistics on Accidents at Work (ESAW) and European occupational diseases statistics (EODS) methods, as well as psychosocial risks in the workplace. The Government also refers to the Risk Analysis System (RAS) which enables automated monthly inspection planning based on risk and indicates that as of January 2024, 85 per cent of the monthly inspections are planned based on risk. The Committee notes that, according to the 2023 labour inspection report: (i) in 2023, there were 168 occupational accidents of which 30 were fatal; (ii) the sectors with the highest incidence are manufacturing and construction; and (iii) 87 per cent of the reported accidents were notified by the employers (a 5 per cent increase in comparison to 2022), which, according to the report, shows the increased awareness of employers about the declaration of these events to the inspectorate. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures adopted in order to ensure the notification of occupational accidents and diseases to the labour inspectorate, including in relation to the OSH policy and the transposition of European directives, and to indicate the number of occupational accidents and diseases notified to the inspectorate. Moreover, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in order to strengthen the capacity of the labour inspectorate with respect to occupational safety and health OSH issues.

Article 3 of Convention No. 81 and Article 6 of Convention No. 129. Functions entrusted to labour inspectors. Undeclared work. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government indicates that risk-based inspections have improved the capacity of inspectors to identify informality. The Government indicates that 65 per cent of the informal employment has been identified through planned inspections while the remaining 35 per cent has been detected following unscheduled inspections. In addition, the Committee notes that, out of the 1,965 informal employees identified, urgent measures were taken to secure 1,949 workers (99.1 per cent). Cases where formalization was not possible during the process have been delegated to the Tax Administration Authorities for a case-by-case handling. While noting the continuous efforts to tackle undeclared work, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of workers who, as a consequence of inspections, were granted their due rights concerning the legal provisions relating to conditions of work, including the payment of overdue wages and social security contributions, as well as the conclusion of employment contracts. The Committee requests once again the Government to provide information on the consequences for the uninsured workers of the reporting to the Tax Administration Authorities.

Article 5(b) of Convention No. 81 and Article 13 of Convention No. 129. Collaboration with employers and workers or their organizations. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government refers to awareness raising initiatives undertaken by the labour inspectorate on workers and employers’ rights and obligations. The Government also indicates that every inspection visit supports social dialogue, where representatives of employees and employers accompany the inspector during inspections, and the inspector, at their invitation, participates in meetings of Safety and Health Councils. The Government adds that during the period 2021–24, the labour inspectorate also participated in meetings with representatives of trade unions, employers, and civil society. The Committee takes note of this information which addresses its previous request.

Article 7(3) of Convention No. 81 and Article 9(3) of Convention No. 129. Training. In reply to the Committee’s previous comment, the Government provides information on the training sessions attended by labour inspectors, including those organized by the Albanian School of Public Administration, the ILO and the European Union. The Committee also notes that a series of training activities on topics related to undeclared work, mediation and labour dispute resolution, labour statistics and risk assessment have been delivered in 2022–23 in the context of the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme. The Committee takes note of this information which addresses its previous request.

Articles 20 and 21 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 26 and 27 of Convention No. 129.Periodic reports and annual report on the work of labour inspection services. In reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government refers to the annual labour inspection report published online on the website of the inspectorate. The Committee notes that this report contains information on laws and regulations relevant to the work of the inspection service (Article 21(a) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(a) of Convention No. 129); staff of the labour inspection service (Article 21(b) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(b) of Convention No. 129); statistics of inspection visits (Article 21(d) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(d) of Convention No. 129); statistics of penalties imposed (Article 21(e) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(e) of Convention No. 129); and statistics of industrial accidents (Article 21(f) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(f) of Convention No. 129). The Committee requests the Government to continue to publish the annual labour inspection report and to ensure that it contains all information required under Article 21 of Convention No. 81 and Article 27 of Convention No. 129, in particular statistics of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein, statistics on violations and statistics on occupational diseases.