Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - El Salvador (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee refers the Government to its observation and takes note of the reorganization of the Ministry of Labour and the restructuring of the Labour Inspectorate. It also notes the Government’s statement that the procedure for supervising the provisions of the law that govern health and safety conditions and other working conditions has been revised in the interest of speed, so as to reduce user response time. The Committee hopes that the Government will keep the ILO duly informed of progress made in this respect and that it will not fail to provide copies of any relevant texts.

Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Elimination of certain additional duties in the interest of primary inspection duties. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that certain tasks, such as reckoning the benefits due to workers and the dispatch of end-of-contract documents, assigned under section 402 of the Labour Code to the Labour Inspection General Directorate, are now carried out by administrative staff. It requests the Government to provide information on how this reduced workload has affected the volume and quality of the activities carried out by inspectors as part of their primary duties as defined in Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention.

Article 6. Status and conditions of service of labour inspectors. While noting the Government’s view, the Committee is still of the opinion that a contract limiting an inspector’s appointment to one year, even if it is renewable, is contrary to the Convention. It invites the Government to refer to its comments on the matter in paragraphs 203 to 221 of its General Survey of 2006 on labour inspection and again requests it to take measures promptly to ensure that the status and conditions of service of labour inspectors are such that they are assured of stability of employment and are independent of changes of government and of improper external influences, and to keep the ILO informed.

Articles 7, 10, 11 and 21(c). Human resources, means of action and volume of inspection activities. The Committee notes that the Labour Inspectorate is composed of 45 safety and health inspectors and 88 inspectors responsible for all other areas, and that a special training programme adapted according to seniority has been implemented to further develop their skills. It notes with interest that, thanks to a substantial increase in the budget of the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, more than 150 inspectors for labour and safety at work are to be recruited. The Committee would be grateful if in its next report the Government would provide detailed information on: (i) changes in the strength of the Labour Inspectorate and the coverage of workplaces; (ii) the content of the training for inspectors, the length of the courses and the staff concerned; (iii) the number and geographical distribution of workplaces subject to inspection and the workers employed in them; and (iv) the practical effects of the increase in the Ministry’s budget, in terms of material resources, office automation and transport for labour inspectors.

Article 8. Inspectorate staff to comprise men and women. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that of a total of 113 labour inspectors, 59 are women. It would be grateful if the Government would send full information on this subject, including a breakdown by grade of men and women inspectors.

Article 14. Reporting of industrial accidents and cases of occupational disease to the Labour Inspectorate. The Committee notes that a process has begun to amend and strengthen the legal provisions on occupational health and safety. It notes with interest that the Bill on the prevention of occupational risks establishes a requirement to notify the Labour Inspectorate within 72 hours of any occupational accident and, immediately and without delay, of any serious or fatal accident. The Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to keep the Office informed of the status of the abovementioned Bill and asks it to indicate how it gives effect, or plans to give effect, to Article 14 of the Convention regarding the notification of cases of occupational disease to the Labour Inspectorate.

Article 17, paragraph 2. Action taken on infringements to be at labour inspectors’ discretion. The Committee once again asks the Government to state whether, as this provision requires, it is left to the discretion of labour inspectors to give warning and advice instead of instituting or recommending proceedings. If not, it would be grateful if the Government would take steps to bring the legislation into line with the Convention in this respect and to keep the ILO duly informed.

Article 18. Adequate penalties. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information in its next report on the measures taken to ensure that the penalties for violations of the legal provisions enforceable by labour inspectors and for obstructing labour inspectors in the performance of their duties remain adequate, i.e. dissuasive. Please also provide copies of any relevant texts.

Articles 20 and 21. Annual inspection report. The Committee notes with interest that, via its web site (www.mtps.gov.sv), the Government disseminates information and statistics on labour inspection: number of persons employed in industrial and commercial establishments with at least five employees; number and purpose of inspections between 2000 and 2004 and number of workers covered; number and total amount of fines imposed in certain departments of the country; number of occupational accidents, etc. Although this information does not give a complete picture of how the inspection system as a whole works over a reference period, it is clear that the capacity to compile data and statistics has been developed substantially, and that their dissemination over the Internet make such data available to the social partners and to other interested administrative bodies and institutions giving them the opportunity to express their views on the working of the inspection system. The Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will be in a position to inform it that progress has been made in giving effect to Articles 20 and 21 through the publication and communication to the ILO, by the central inspection authority, within the prescribed period, an annual report on the work of the inspection services containing the information set out under each of the points in Article 21.