The importance of strong and effective labour administration and labour inspection systems in the context of economic and social development is recognised in the Constitution of the ILO, the Declaration of Philadelphia and the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization. The same principles have been further developed by numerous ILO Conventions, Recommendations and other instruments. ILO Online spoke with Giuseppe Casale, Director of the ILO’s Labour Administration and Inspection Programme (LAB/ADMIN).
The Global Jobs Pact adopted by the International Labour Conference (ILC) in
2009 in response to the global economic crisis, highlights labour administration
and inspection as importance areas in responding to the crisis and in promoting
economic and social development. This is why the Governing Body of the
International Labour Office (ILO) decided at its June 2010 session to have a
general discussion on labour administration and labour inspection during the
100th session of the ILC.
What is labour administration?
Giuseppe Casale: For the ILO, labour administration
is defined as public administration activities in the field of national labour
policy. A labour administration system covers “all public
administration bodies responsible for and/or engaged in labour administration –
whether they are ministerial departments or public agencies.
Basically, labour administration helps making Decent Work a reality. It is a
major source of information for governments, employers and workers. It is also
an active intermediary in the prevention and settlement of labour disputes as
well as an informed observer of the societal trends by virtue of its special
links with the social partners. In many countries, labour administration is
responsible for an increasing part of public expenditures, particularly in the
areas of social security and job creation. It also ensures, through labour
inspection, that there is fairness and a “level playing field” for workers and
employers.
What are the relevant ILO standards related to labour
administration?
Giuseppe Casale: The key ILO standards on labour
administration are ILO Convention No. 150 and its accompanying Recommendation of
1978. These standards provide the basic international legal framework for the
proper functioning of any labour administration system. In addition, there are
several other relevant instruments such as the Labour Inspection Convention, the
Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, the Labour Statistics Convention,
and the Tripartite Consultation Convention.
What is labour inspection?
Giuseppe Casale: For the ILO, the role of labour inspection
is to secure the enforcement of a country’s labour laws dealing with such
matters as conditions of work and the protection of workers’ health and safety.
Labour inspection is one of the core functions of any system of labour
administration. It has always been central to the ILO’s mandate, ever since the
organization was founded in 1919.
The range of topics that labour inspectors cover may vary from one country to
the next, but generally includes the promotion of occupational safety and
health; the protection of wages and social security entitlements; the promotion
of fundamental labour rights such as freedom of association and
non-discrimination; as well as the proper functioning of industrial relations
and social dialogue. In carrying out their work, labour inspectors have a direct
impact on a country’s socio-economic development by reconciling workers’
protection and safety with productivity and competitiveness.
What are the relevant standards in labour inspection?
Giuseppe Casale: As I already mentioned, international
standards in this area include the Labour Inspection Convention No. 81, and its
Recommendation as well as the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention No. 129
and its Recommendation. Other Conventions have provisions dealing with labour
inspection such as the Convention on Occupational Safety and Health and the
Working Environment, 1981 (No. 155), the Convention on the Promotional Framework
for Occupational Safety and Health, 2006 (No. 187) and the Convention on the
Inspection of Seafarers’ Working and Living Conditions 1996 (No. 178).
More particularly, ILO Convention 81 defines the three main functions of
labour inspectors: to secure the enforcement of the law; to advise employers and
workers; and to provide information to the competent authorities. It also sets
out their powers, such as the power to enter the workplaces, to carry out
inquiries, to ask questions, to examine documents and take samples; or to make
orders with a view to remedying defects and to decide whether it is appropriate
to give a warning and provide advice, or to launch or recommend legal action. In
return, inspectors are required to respect certain obligations: they cannot have
any direct or indirect interest in the enterprises under their supervision and
they must not reveal trade secrets of the enterprises they inspect nor the
source of any complaint.
What have been the challenges experienced by labour administration
and inspection?
Giuseppe Casale: The main challenges for labour
administration include the sometimes limited policy-making capacity of labour
ministries. This is often due to a lack of human and financial resources,
limited access to reliable sex-disaggregated data or inadequate information
technology. National labour inspection systems also may lack a central
authority, which tends to result in a less efficient mechanism for ensuring
labour law compliance. Added to this, the growth of private labour inspection
initiatives threatens the public role of the ministries and labour
inspectorates. Other challenges for labour inspectors include weak
administration, new forms of employment, undeclared work and new technologies
and work processes.
Did the recent economic and social crisis have an impact on labour
administration and inspection services?
Giuseppe Casale: The deteriorating economic conditions
caused by the crisis led many countries to adopt rescue measures. This increased
the role and profile of labour administrations as key crisis response
institutions, especially in dealing with layoffs, unemployment benefits and job
creation programmes. On this last point, public employment services (PES) are an
example of how one of the earliest and most traditional features of labour
administration has had to adapt and reorganize its functions to a changing
labour environment. However, the activities of labour administration and
inspection systems have not been immune from the current trend towards fiscal
consolidation and the adoption of austerity measures.
As a result, labour ministries, including public employment services and
labour inspectorates, have been increasingly subjected to spending cuts,
creating an additional challenge for already burdened labour administration
systems.
What measures has the ILO taken to strengthen these
services?
Giuseppe Casale: The 2008 ILO Declaration on Social Justice
for a Fair Globalization recognized the need to “strengthen the ILO’s capacity
to assist its Members’ efforts to reach the ILO’s objectives in the context of
globalization” and identified labour administration and inspection, through
tripartism and social dialogue, as areas of critical importance for achieving
this goal.
My department (LAB/ADMIN), which was created in April 2009, reflects the
ILO’s continued commitment to building capacity of labour administration systems
to implement the ILO Decent Work Agenda through the elaboration and
implementation of labour policies. We also work to strengthen labour inspection
systems so that they may become modern and effective tools for good governance.
This means establishing and strengthening the legal and institutional framework
of labour administration and labour inspectorates. It also means ensuring an
effective coordination of the various administrations and agencies dealing with
social matters and policies.
Importantly, this is done through the consultation and participation of
workers and employers. LAB/ADMIN leads the ILO’s work on technical support and
advisory services in labour administration and inspection, mobilizing expertise
from across the Office and working through networks covering different technical
sectors and regions to enhance assistance to constituents.