Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Portugal (Ratification: 1983)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report for the period ending 31 May 2000, and the annual inspection reports for the period 1999 2000. The Committee requests the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

1. Staff of the labour inspectorate and number of enterprises liable to inspection (Articles 14, 21, 26 and 27) of the Convention. Noting that the labour inspectors who cover agriculture are the same as those covering other sectors of the economy, the Committee notes that their overall number fell between 1998 and 2000 from 325 to 316, and that the number of inspections carried out in agriculture (Article 27(d)) fell over the same period from 2,874 to 587, with the number of enterprises inspected declining from 2,097 in 1998 to 493 in 2000. The Committee notes that the number of enterprises liable to supervision by the labour inspectorate (Article 27(c)) is not provided, with the result that it does not have sufficient information available to assess the level of application of the Convention in relation to needs. It requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that this information is provided regularly in the annual inspection report, along with information on the subjects enumerated in Article 27(a) to (g).

2. The preventive control of new plant, new materials or substances and new methods of handling or processing products (Article 17). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the measures taken to give effect to this provision of the Convention or, in the event that no measures have yet been taken, requests it to take the necessary steps for this purpose and to provide all relevant information.

3. Labour inspection and child labour in agriculture. With reference to its general observation of 1999, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the involvement of the general labour inspectorate in the context of a plan to eliminate the exploitation of child labour (PEETI). The Committee also notes the statistics concerning the incidence of working children in the various sectors of the economy over recent years and notes that the figures concerning child labour in agriculture are only provided for 1999 (15 children), but that no figure is given under this item for 2000. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate the measures which have been taken to provide labour inspection services with the necessary resources to combat unlawful situations of child labour continuously and effectively, and if it would provide information on the results achieved in this respect, particularly in the agricultural sector.