Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) - Poland (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee refers to its comments under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), in so far as they concern the application of the present Convention.

Article 16(1)of the Convention. Right of inspectors to enter agricultural undertakings freely. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that, according to section 3 of the Act on Freedom of Economic Activity (AFEA), agricultural enterprises carrying out activities in the area of crop farming and animal husbandry, horticulture, market gardening, forestry and inland water fisheries are excluded from the scope of the AFEA. Therefore, prior authorization by labour inspectors to carry out inspections is not as a rule required. However, the Committee understands from the Government’s indications that, in practice, these undertakings are sometimes considered to exercise economic activities and to fall within the scope of the AFEA, despite the stipulations in section 3 of the AFEA. Furthermore, the Government once again indicates that as a result of contradictory decisions by administrative courts in recent years, there are doubts as to whether labour inspection is to be considered as a supervisory body for economic activities falling within the scope of the AFEA. The Committee would like to refer the Government to its related comments under Articles 5(b) and 12(1) of Convention No. 81 regarding the free access of labour inspectors to workplaces liable to inspection, and requests it to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to remove any obligation on labour inspectors to obtain prior authorization in order to exercise their right of entry into workplaces liable to inspection to carry out inspections.

Articles 26 and 27. The Committee notes with interest the detailed information on the work of the labour inspection services in agriculture in a separate annual report for the period of 2011–12. It further notes the Government’s indication that a report on the activities of the National Labour Inspectorate (NLI) will be communicated as a separate chapter of the report on the activities of the labour inspection services from 2013 and will be made available in mid-2014. The Committee welcomes the progress made in this regard and hopes that these annual reports will contain information on all the subjects covered by Article 27(a)–(g).

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.