Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Eslovenia

Convenio sobre la inspección del trabajo, 1947 (núm. 81) (Ratificación : 1992)
Convenio sobre la inspección del trabajo (agricultura), 1969 (núm. 129) (Ratificación : 1992)

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

Article 3(1)(a) and (b) and (2) of Convention No. 81 and Article 6(1)(a) and (b) and (3) of Convention No. 129. Functions entrusted to labour inspectors. 1.Labour inspectorate’s competence in establishing employment relationships. In reply to the Committee’s previous request the Government indicates that the number of violations of the prohibition of work under civil law contracts while elements of an employment relationships exist, as identified by the labour inspectorate, was 95 in 2020, 42 in 2021 and 44 in 2022. The Committee notes that according to the labour inspection report for 2023 there were 109 violations identified during that year. The Government indicates that, in some cases, inspectors issued decisions prohibiting workers from carrying out work until the correction of the irregularity. According to the 2023 labour inspection report, the higher number of identified violations in 2023 compared to previous years is primarily due to the greater attention paid by the labour inspectorate to the use of civil contracts and the implementation of several targeted or intensified actions. According to the 2023 labour inspection report, it is complex to prove the existence of employment relationships since the standard of proof is high, while the continuous emergence of new flexible forms of work makes it difficult to carry out effective controls and keep up with normative regulation. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the activities of the labour inspectorate with respect to establishing employment relationships for those who perform work based on a civil law contract, despite the existence of elements of an employment relationship which effectively amount to an employment contract.In this respect, it requests the Government to indicate the number of instances where inspectors ordered that employers provide a written employment contract in cases where it was established that work is being performed under civil law contracts while elements of employment relationships exist, in accordance with section 19(2) of the Labour Inspection Act.The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to adapt inspection activities to the rise of new forms of work, including targeted inspections, training and capacity building.

2. Mediation and conciliation duties. In reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates that the labour inspectorate implemented the project “Eliminating Conflict at Work” from 2017 until the end of March 2023. According to the Government, the project facilitated labour inspections through preventive activities and mediation, decreasing the number of reports made to the labour inspectorate, thereby reducing inspectors’ workload. The Committee notes that the project employed six people, two for mediations, and four transferred from the labour inspectorate, including three inspectors, all without inspection powers. New inspectors were recruited in the labour inspectorate to replace those transferred. The Committee notes that, labour inspectors may still offer mediation for dispute resolution between workers and employers under the Employment Relationship Act. In this respect, the Committee recalls that, in accordance with Article 3(2) of Convention No. 81 and Article 6(3) of Convention No. 129, 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. Referring to its General Survey of 2006 on Labour Inspection, paragraph 72, the Committee recalls the importance of not overburdening inspectorates with tasks which by their nature may be understood as incompatible with their primary function of enforcing legal provisions. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the measures it is taking to ensure that additional duties assigned to labour inspectors are not such as to interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties, including through the promotion of the use of mediation services provided by mediation institutions. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on mediation activities undertaken by labour inspectors under the Employment Relationship Act, including the number of labour inspectors and the proportion of time and resources that they devote to mediation as compared with their primary functions.

3. Supervision of the Labour Market Regulation Act by inspectors monitoring working conditions and employment relationships. The Committee previously noted that inspections of the implementation of the Labour Market Regulation Act (LMRA) are carried out by inspectors monitoring working conditions and employment relationships under the employment inspection services within the labour inspectorate and requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the control duties by the labour inspectorate under the LMRA do not prejudice the exercise of its primary duty to secure the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers. The Government indicates that it cannot provide an estimate of the proportion of time devoted by the inspectors to supervising implementation of the LMRA, given that the labour inspectorate does not maintain records or statistics on the amount of time inspectors spend investigating specific topics. It indicates that the duration of an inspection procedure depends on various factors, and a single inspection may assess the compliance with legislation across multiple areas, not limited to a single regulation. Taking note of this information, the Committee requests that the Government indicate specifically how it ensures that the control duties by the labour inspectorate under the LMRA do not prejudice the exercise of its primary duty to secure the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers.

Articles 5(a), 17 and 18 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 12, 22, 23 and 24 of Convention No. 129. Effective cooperation between the labour inspectorate and the justice system and enforcement of administrative penalties. The Government refers once again to section 11a(4) of the Minor Offence Act, according to which state prosecutors should immediately inform the minor offence authority of their decisions that affect minor offence proceedings, if criminal proceedings were initiated, and of the final court decision. The Government reiterates that a joint meeting of the representatives of the Office of the State Prosecutor General and the management of the labour inspectorate was organized in 2019 to promote the cooperation between the labour inspectorate and state prosecutors. Noting the absence of updated information,the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the agreement between the labour inspectorate and the Office of the State Prosecutor General, including the number and nature of feedbacks received by the inspectorate upon the filing of criminal complaints and also during pretrial investigations. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the cases referred to the justice system by the labour inspectorate, including specifically the number of convictions in relation to the infringements reported, the nature of sanctions applied and the amount of fines imposed.

Articles 6 and 11 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 15 and 20(a) of Convention No. 129. Costs for inspection procedures imposed on liable persons. In its previous comments the Committee noted the Government’s indication that funds allocated to the labour inspectorate from the public budget are approximately equivalent to its claims under non-tax revenues, including fines, court fees, costs of proceedings and administrative charges. It noted that the large proportion of revenues from fines and fees may lead to uncertainty of the budgeting. The Government indicates that the Republic of Slovenia operates on a two-year State budget and that non-tax revenues, such as fines and fees, contribute to the national budget. It indicates that the Inspectorate's funding, derived from integral resources, covers civil servant salaries, material costs, training, statutory obligations, and personal protective equipment, ensuring smooth operation across 15 locations. According to the Government, the Inspectorate's investment resources are planned according to the needs of the fixed assets required to provide ergonomic workplaces and to carry out the core activity of inspection. The Committee once again requests the Government to further provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that sufficient budgetary resources are allocated for the labour inspectorate. It once again requests the Government to provide specific information on the budget of the labour inspectorate, including a specific identification as to the amount of revenues obtained for the labour inspectorate through charging inspection costs as a proportion of the overall budget for the inspectorate.

Article 14 of Convention No.81 and Article 19 of Convention No. 129. Notification of cases of occupational diseases. The Committee notes that the number of cases of occupational diseases reported to the labour inspectorate is particularly low (3 in 2020, none in 2021 and 2022 and 1 in 2023). Furthermore, according to the 2020–23 labour inspection reports although employers are required to report occupational diseases, the labour inspectorate has been pointing out a problem in this respect, since Slovenia does not have an adequate system solution for identifying, confirming and reporting occupational diseases. The Committee notes that the Rules on occupational diseases were adopted and published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Slovenia on 24 February 2023 and its provisions are applicable as of 1 May 2023. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to improve the detection and identification of cases of occupational disease, including their notification to the labour inspectorate. In this respect it requests the Government to provide information on the practical implementation of the new Rules on occupational diseases.

Article 16 of Convention No. 81 and Article 21 of Convention No. 129. Adequacy and frequency of labour inspection visits. The Committee notes that, according to the annual labour inspection reports, the number of inspections carried out decreased from 17,334 in 2020 to 10,101 in 2023 as the inspections became more in-depth and that, since as the inspectorate deals with more complex violations, the number of inspections should continue to decrease. The Committee notes the disaggregated information on the numbers of inspections by issues examined and types of inspections. In this respect, the Committee notes that the number of planned inspections recorded remains significantly lower than extraordinary inspections. In this respect, the Government emphasises the proactive character of both planned and extraordinary inspections and explains that the extent of regular inspections is underrepresented in the statistical reports due to a specific recording practice: although all the actions planned and carried out in a given period are proactive and they have the character of a regular inspection, in the labour inspectorate's statistical reports, these proactive inspections are often categorized as extraordinary inspections. According to the Government, this categorization leads to a lower reported number of regular inspections, even though many proactive inspections are being carried out. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number and types of inspections conducted, including in agriculture. Noting the Government’s indications with respect to the recording practice of the Labour Inspectorate, the Committee requests the Government to provide information onthe number of inspections that are carried out following the inspection plan and those that are the result of a complaint or an accident.