Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) - Sweden (Ratification: 1949)

Article 5 of the Convention. Cooperation between the labour inspection service and other government bodies. The Committee notes the Government’s information that the Work Environment Authority is endeavouring to improve cooperation with other bodies, for purposes including drawing up specific agreements on such cooperation. The Government cites the example of a cooperative initiative between the Customs Council, the National Council for Safety and Well-Being, and the Schools Inspectorate. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide details on the substance and specific arrangements for cooperation with other government bodies in the area of labour inspection and on the impact of that cooperation on the work of the labour inspection service.

Articles 5, 7, 13 and 14. Improving the procedure for reporting occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease, and improvements in safety and health conditions in high-risk establishments. The Committee notes that the Work Environment Agency has cooperated with the insurance companies and the Swedish Transport Agency to help employers fulfil the obligations set out in section 2 of the Work Environment Ordinance (1977:2010) and Chapter 42(10) (2010:110) of the Social Insurance Code. The Government states furthermore that the Authority has also developed a method of systematic assessment of workplaces based on the number of risk factors in the working environment and other data available to the Authority, such as the number of occupational accidents (and their consequences), the level of absenteeism, the number of employees and the level of compliance with established standards. This method is intended to identify establishments where inspection is considered a high priority. According to the Government, trade union safety representatives and doctors are authorized to notify inspectors of any anomaly at a work place. Furthermore, complaints and information from anonymous sources can be published in the press. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the impact of the system for assessing occupational risks in terms of any improvements in the level of implementation of legislation and of follow-up on measures ordered by labour inspectors during their inspection visits.

Article 16. Frequency of inspections. According to the Government, less than half of inspections are planned on the basis of the results of the system referred to above, and most inspections are carried out following an accident at the workplace or in response to a notification. The inspectors also conduct large-scale campaigns which do not specifically target high-risk establishments, as well as other inspections that focus on problems specific to particular activities. The Committee notes that in 2010, priority was given to issues of workplace violence and threats, ergonomics, occupational accidents and risk assessment, and that inspectors carried out their duties with different sectoral groups and networks.

The Committee notes with interest that, after a period marked by a significant and sustained downward trend in the number of inspections between 2006 and 2009 (from 39,984 to 30,024), the trend went into reverse in 2010, with a 12 per cent increase in the number of inspections compared to the previous year. The Government attributes that progress to an improvement in productivity per inspector and more effective inspection methods. The Committee notes, however, that the Government did not supply annual reports on inspection activities in 2009 or 2010 and that those reports are not available on the Internet. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would ensure that the Work Environment Authority transmits the annual reports in question to the Office. It also requests the Government to provide up-to-date data on the number and geographical distribution of industrial and commercial establishments subject to labour inspection, the number and distribution, by gender and category, of labour inspectors carrying out their duties in those establishments, as well as statistics for occupational accidents and cases of occupational disease during the period covered by the report.

The Government is also requested to provide details of the various sectoral groups and networks which, according to its information, worked with the labour inspectors in 2010.