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

Convenio sobre la inspección del trabajo, 1947 (núm. 81) - Tayikistán (Ratificación : 2009)

Articles 3, 4, 5(b), 6, 17 and 18 of the Convention. Operation of the labour inspection system under the supervision and control of a central authority. Following its previous comments on the coordination between the State Inspection Service for Labour Migration and Employment (SILME) and the trade union inspectorates, the Committee notes that the Government, in its report, once again refers to cooperation between the two inspectorates through the Council for the Coordination of the Activities of Inspection Bodies, and to regular exchange of information. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Council meets annually to coordinate the activities of state and non-state inspectors. The Committee notes that, in the context of the ILO PARDEV Project “Improving labour inspection system in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan through South–South and triangular cooperation knowledge-sharing and peer-learning”, a tripartite roundtable was held on 17 October 2023 in Dushanbe, to discuss the next steps to improve the national labour inspection system. Finally, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that the role of the Prosecutor General’s Office is to oversee the accurate and uniform application of legislation, including labour law, in line with article 93 of the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan. The Committee recalls once again that labour inspection is a public function and that, in accordance with Article 6, the inspection staff shall be composed of public officials. Accordingly, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to strengthen the capacities of the SILME, as the central authority for labour inspection under Article 4 of the Convention. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the capacities of the Council for the Coordination of the Activities of Inspection Bodies. In addition, the Committee requests the Government, once again, to provide concrete examples of the activities conducted by the Council and the manner in which it coordinates the activities of the two inspectorates in practice.

Articles 6, 10 and 11. Status and conditions of service of labour inspectors. Number of labour inspectors and material means at their disposal. Following its previous comments on the material means at the disposal of the trade union inspectorate, the Committee takes due note that, according to the Government, the number of trade union inspectors has increased to 42, compared to the 24 it noted in 2021. Regarding the SILME, the Government previously indicated that there were 60 labour inspectors, but states that, currently, the SILME employs 60 civil servants, of which 48 are authorized to perform state supervision. In addition, regarding the application of section 37(1) of Law No. 1269 on Inspections of Economic Entities, which provides that the performance of an inspection body official should be assessed based on criteria including feedback from the inspected economic entities, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that this provision does not impede the independence of labour inspectors. Nevertheless, the Government indicates that assessments of labour inspectors pursuant to section 37(1) are conducted at the request of the economic entities inspected, with a view to ensuring that labour inspectors’ methods continue to be up to date, that the checks performed were effective, and to provide feedback from the employer. The Committee accordinglyrequests the Government to provide further information on the manner in which the results of assessments conducted under section 37(1) of Law No. 1269 are used, including whether they are taken into account by the SILME in assessing the performance of labour inspectors. Regarding the number of labour inspectors at the SILME, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the reason for the decrease in the number of labour inspectors and to continue 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 SILME. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the material means at the disposal of trade union inspectorates, including information on tools and transport facilities available for inspections.

Articles 12 and 16. 1. Moratorium on inspections. Following its previous comments on this issue, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the moratorium on inspections has been suspended since 30 December 2022 and that there is no such moratorium currently in force in Tajikistan. The Committee also notes the statistics provided by the Government with respect to the number of inspection visits conducted by the labour inspectorate in 2023. The Committee observes, however, that labour inspection still falls within the scope of the Law on Moratorium on Inspections of Business Entities No. 700 of 27 April 2022, which makes labour inspection vulnerable to further restrictions of this nature in the future. With reference to the Committee’s general observation of 2019 on the labour inspection Conventions and recalling that any moratorium placed on labour inspection is a serious violation of the Convention, the Committee once again urges the Government to take all the necessary measures to ensure the full application of Articles 12 and 16, and expects that no moratorium of this nature will be placed on labour inspection in the future. It requests the Government to continue to provide statistics on the number of inspection visits undertaken by the SILME, disaggregated by type of inspections (scheduled, unscheduled, additional, or follow-up) and by sectors, as well as on their outcomes.

2. Other restrictions on the powers of labour inspectors. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the legal restrictions imposed under Law No. 1269 on the powers of labour inspectors were still in force, including regarding: (i) the frequency of inspections (section 22); (ii) the duration of inspections (section 26); (iii) the ability of labour inspectors to undertake inspection visits without previous notice (sections 16, 19, 21 and 24); and (iv) the scope of inspections (section 25). In this regard, the Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication that two bills to amend the Labour Code and Law No. 1269, respectively, have been drafted at the initiative of the Ministry of Labour, Migration and Employment, and are currently under consideration by the relevant ministries and authorities. The Committee also notes with deepconcern the Government’s indication that, pending adoption of those bills, labour inspectors continue to carry out inspections by giving advance warnings to employers. The Government indicates that, in 2023, the SILME carried out 2,818 enterprise inspections, out of which 2,313 were planned, 500 were unplanned and five were repeat inspections. The Committee observes in this respect that the Government does not provide statistics on any inspection visits conducted without previous notice. With reference to its general observation of 2019 on the labour inspection Conventions, the Committee once again urges the Government to take all necessary measures to bring its national legislation and practice into full conformity with Articles 12 and 16 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on all developments in respect of the proposed amendments to the legislation and to provide a copy of those laws, once adopted. The Committee once again requests the Government to communicate a copy of the due diligence checklist established by the SILME for inspections.

Articles 17 and 18. Powers of labour inspectors to ensure the effective application of legal provisions concerning conditions of work and the protection of workers. The Committee previously noted the restriction imposed by section 22(7) of Law No. 1269, which provides that sanctions on an economic entity in the first two years of its activity may only be applied in certain exceptional cases. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Bill amending the Law No. 1269, which has yet to be adopted, proposes to lift those restrictions. The Government also indicates that in 2023, state labour inspectors found 13,183 violations and imposed fines amounting to 1,187,768 somoni (approximately US$111,369) on 838 employers and other company officials, for administrative offences relating to labour, migration and employment. The Government further indicates that law enforcement authorities initiated criminal proceedings against 38 employers and other liable company officials. Regarding the trade union inspectorate, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that trade union inspectors have the right to initiate court proceedings immediately and without previous notice. The Government further indicates that, in 2023, trade union inspectors conducted 1,352 inspections, including 41 joint inspections with state monitoring bodies, through which they detected 3,926 violations on labour protection, with 3,602 corrected within the deadline imposed by the inspector. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that, in accordance with Articles 17 and 18, persons who violate or neglect to observe legal provisions enforceable by labour inspectors shall be liable to prompt legal proceedings without previous warning, and that adequate penalties are imposed. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the developments relating to the amendment of section 22(7) of Law No. 1269. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistics on the number of proceedings initiated by trade union inspectors when violations are found.

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