Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2024, publiée 113ème session CIT (2025)

Serbie

Convention (n° 81) sur l'inspection du travail, 1947 (Ratification: 2000)
Convention (n° 129) sur l'inspection du travail (agriculture), 1969 (Ratification: 2000)
Convention (n° 150) sur l'administration du travail, 1978 (Ratification: 2013)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on labour administration and inspection, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 81 (labour inspection), 129 (labour inspection in agriculture) and 150 (labour administration) together.

The Committee notes the observations of the Trade Union Confederation “Nezavisnost” on the application of Convention Nos 81 and 129, communicated with the Government’s report. The Committee also notes the observations of the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) on the application of Convention No. 150, communicated with the Government’s report.

A. Labour inspection

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. Action against undeclared employment and enforcement of the legislation relating to the protection of workers. In reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government indicates in its report that in 2020, 2021 and 2022 in order to maximize the effects on the suppression of undeclared work, the Labour Inspectorate carried out unscheduled inspections in certain activities and territories, during regular working hours, at night and on weekends, often on the principle of “rotation” of inspectors. Furthermore, the Committee takes note of the detailed information provided by the Government on the joint and coordinated inspections conducted by the Labour Inspectorate and other authorities involved in the Working Group for the Suppression of Informal Work, the number of workers in irregular work situations identified during these inspections, as well as the decisions issued based on the identified irregularities in the field of labour relations and safety and health at work for 2020, 2021, and 2022. The Committee also notes that the Government provides information on the number of workers found to be working illegally (5,951 in 2020, 5,261 in 2021, and 5,015 in 2022) and of those that, following the measures taken by the labour inspectorate, had their employment relationship regularized (4,072 in 2020, 3,180 in 2021 and 3,250 in 2022). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the labour inspection activities related to undeclared work, including the number of inspections undertaken, number of workers whose employment status has been regularized, violations identified, orders issued for the establishment of employment contracts and subsequent penalties imposed.

Articles 11, 16 and 19 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 15, 21 and 25 of Convention No. 129. Organization and effective functioning of the labour inspection services under the supervision and control of a central labour inspection authority. In its previous comments the Committee noted the establishment of a single information system for inspection, e-Inspector, which includes a Coordinating Commission. In reply to the Committee’s request on the possible impact of the Coordinating Commission and the e-Inspector system on the organization of the Labour Inspectorate’s activities in practice, the Government refers to section 10 of the Law on Inspection Oversight, according to which the Labour Inspectorate prepares a proposal for the annual plan of inspections for the following year and submits it to the Coordination Commission. According to the received opinion of the Coordination Commission, which includes guidance and instructions, the annual inspection plan is adopted by 31 December. The Government indicates however that, in practice, the Coordination Commission has no influence on the priorities of the labour inspection in the performance of inspections, the workplaces where inspections are performed, nor the number of performed inspections. The Government indicates that the Labour Inspectorate uses the single information system but the reports that can currently be generated from the e-Inspector do not meet the needs of the Labour Inspectorate. Regarding the Committee’s previous request to indicate any labour inspection functions that have been assigned to bodies of autonomous provinces and local self-government bodies, the Government indicated that no such tasks have been assigned to any of the bodies of autonomous provinces and local self-governments. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken or envisaged to improve the information system e-Inspector so that reports generated meet the needs of the Labour Inspectorate.

Article 5(b) of Convention No. 81 and Article 13 of Convention No. 129. Collaboration between the labour inspection services and employers and workers. In response to the Committee’s request for information on measures taken to promote collaboration between the Labour Inspectorate and employers and workers or their organizations, the Government indicates that the Labour Inspectorate organized and attended several meetings in 2020, 2022, 2022 with representative associations of employees and employers where, the most important issues in the field of labour relations and occupational safety and health were discussed in order to undertake specific activities aimed at suppressing illegal work and reducing the number of accidents at work. The Committee notes that representatives of trade union organizations of employees were also present at some inspections carried out in the construction industry and that, in coordination with the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Road Workers of Serbia, in the period April–June 2022, increased inspection supervision was implemented in the construction industry. Furthermore, the Government indicates that representatives of the Labour Inspectorate actively participated in workshops on occupational safety and health organized by the Trade Union Confederation “Nezavisnost” and CATUS. It also indicates that, on 26 May 2021, the Serbian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Labour Inspectorate signed a Memorandum of Cooperation in order to improve joint activities in the field of education of employees and employers on the topic of labour and legal relations, in order to improve safety and health at work. The Committee also notes that in its observations, the Trade Union Confederation “Nezavisnost” indicates that the cooperation between the labour inspectorate and the social partners should be improved, especially during inspections, given that cases where labour inspectors invite trade union representatives to be present during inspections are rare, even following expressed requests for attendance. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Article 14 of Convention No. 81 and Article 19 of Convention No. 129. Notification of occupational accidents and diseases to the labour inspectorate. For a number of years, the Committee has been noting the indications of the Government regarding various difficulties on the notification of occupational accidents and diseases to the Labour Inspectorate. The Government indicates that the new Law on Occupational Safety and Health (Official Gazette of the RS, No. 35/2023) provides for the obligation of the employer to report work-related injuries and occupational diseases to the labour inspectorate, including electronically, and indicates that the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs is obliged to make the contacts of labour inspectors who are on call available on its website. The Committee further notes that the obligation for the employer to report occupational accidents was also provided in the previous OSH Act. The Committee further observes that the Annual Labour Inspectorate Report 2022 continues to note the same difficulties in relation to the reporting of occupational accidents and diseases identified also in the previous Annual Labour Inspectorate Reports, including in relation to: (i) the non-compliance of employers with legal requirements to report occupational accidents and diseases; and (ii) different methodological approaches to the registration, processing and evaluation of the data on occupational injuries. In this respect, the Committee notes that, according to the Annual Labour Inspection Report 2022, no cases of occupational diseases were notified to the Labour Inspectorate in 2022. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the reason why no diseases were reported in 2022. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on any measures taken to mitigate the difficulties identified by the Government with a view to strengthening the system for notifying occupational accidents and diseases to the labour inspectorate. The Committee also requests the Government to provide further information on the impact of measures taken to mitigate those difficulties, including on the impact of the new system of reporting and notifying under the new Law on Occupational Safety and Health.

Articles 17 and 18 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 22, 23 and 24 of Convention No. 129. Effective enforcement and adequate penalties. In reply to the Committee’s previous request, the Government provides detailed information on the requests to initiate misdemeanour proceedings issued by the Labour Inspectorate, including misdemeanour motions filed following preventive measures prescribed by inspectors and to which employers did not act upon within the deadline, for 2020, 2021 and 2022. While noting this information, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the average time set for deadlines to undertake preventive measures, and the average time that, following deadlines not being met, misdemeanour motions are filed.

Articles 20 and 21 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 26 and 27 of Convention No. 129. Annual reports on the work of the labour inspection services. The Committee welcomes the Annual Labour Inspection Report 2022, transmitted to the ILO by the Government, and containing information on the subjects listed under Article 21 of Convention No. 81 and Article 27 of Convention No. 129, with the exceptions of statistics of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein (Article 21(c) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(c) of Convention No. 129) and statistics on occupational diseases (Article 21(g) of Convention No. 81 and Article 27(g) of Convention No. 129). The Committee requests the Government to continue to publish and communicate the annual reports of the labour inspectorate to the ILO, in accordance with Article 20 of Convention No. 81 and Article 26 of Convention No. 129 and to ensure that they contain information on all the subjects listed in Article 21 of Convention No. 81 and Article 27 of Convention No. 129, including information on the statistics of workplaces liable to inspection and the number of workers employed therein, and statistics of occupational diseases.

Issues specifically concerning labour inspection in agriculture

Article 9(3) of Convention No. 129. Training in agriculture. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government with respect to inspections and their outcomes conducted in 2020, 2021 and 2022 in agriculture. However, the Government does not provide information on training provided to labour inspectors that is specific to the agricultural sector. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on trainings provided to labour inspectors that are specific to the agricultural sector, including the frequency, the content, and the number of participants in such trainings.

B. Labour administration

Articles 1 and 4 of Convention No. 150. Effective operation of a system of labour administration. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report regarding the organization, functions and responsibilities of the labour administration system. The Committee notes that, in its observations, the CATUS indicates that labour administration authorities act with great delay on the requests of citizens, or do not act at all. In this context, it indicates that despite its requests to the Republic Fund for Health Insurance to receive a series of reports, the requested documents were not submitted. With regards to the organization of the labour administration system, it indicates that the Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction Unit was shut down, and adds that Serbia does not have a social protection strategy, nor a poverty reduction strategy. Regarding social security, the Committee refers to its comments under the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102). The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in respect of the observations of the CATUS.

Articles 5 and 6. Consultation, cooperation and negotiation within the system of labour administration, between the public authorities and the most representative organizations of employers and workers. The Committee notes that the Government provides detailed information on the consultation and cooperation within the system of labour administration with the social partners in the different tripartite instances. The Government indicates that representatives of social partners are members of working bodies formed for the purposes of creating and monitoring the implementation of the strategic framework of employment policy, the development of the National Standard Classification of Occupations, and the establishment of the Youth Guarantee in the Republic of Serbia. In its observations, the CATUS indicates that since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, cooperation and consultations on employment issues with all competent institutions were reduced to a formal minimum. It further indicates that legislation is often adopted through urgent parliamentary procedure, bypassing the Social and Economic Council, or without taking account of opinions expressed by the social partners, which undermines the effectiveness of consultations and cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations. In this respect, the Confederation refers to a series of examples of exclusion of representative trade unions and employers’ organizations from the process of adoption of labour laws. Furthermore, it indicates that records are kept of the number of meetings and the number of trade union representatives who participated in them, but that there is no follow-up to the conclusions of those meetings. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect. As regards tripartite consultations under Article 5 of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to refer to its comments on the Tripartite Consultation (International Labour Standards) Convention, 1976 (No. 144).

Article 7. Coverage of workers by the labour administration system who are not, in law, employed persons. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the labour administration system applies to all workers in the country, including self-employed workers and all other workers listed in the subparagraphs of this Article. The Government reiterates that a legislative framework has been established for more decisive fight against grey economy through the Law on Inspection Oversight which includes provisions governing unregistered entities and acting towards unregistered business entities, expanding thus the area of jurisdiction and powers of the labour inspection to unregistered business entities. The Committee refers to its comments under Convention No. 81 above where it notes information on intensified inspection activities aimed at suppressing illegal work and on joint inspections undertaken in the context of Working Group for Combating Informal Employment and their results. The Committee also refers to its comments under the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), where it noted the measures taken to facilitate the transition to formal employment as well as on measures taken or envisaged to integrate informal economy workers into the formal labour market. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government which replies to is previous requests.