Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

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

Article 3(1) and (2) of the Convention. Additional functions entrusted to labour inspectors. In its previous comment, the Committee noted that amendments to the law, including to the Employment Promotion Act, established the procedures through which migrant workers in an irregular situation could enforce their right to outstanding wages upon return to their usual country of residence. It also noted the legal provisions on penalties that applied in work without a valid employment permit, which are applicable to both employers and workers. The Committee requested information on the results of the activities carried out by the labour inspectorate concerning the employment of migrant workers in an irregular situation, the role of labour inspectors in assisting migrant workers in securing their rights arising from their past employment relationship (and a description of the relevant procedures), and the decisions ordering employers to pay unpaid wages and other benefits.

In this regard, the Committee notes that the Government indicates in its report that inspections were targeted at workplaces with a high incidence of migrant workers in an irregular situation, which were increasingly undertaken in joint operations with other control authorities, mostly the Ministry of the Interior and the State Agency for National Security. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that in 2014, the labour inspectorate conducted 190 inspections relating to the employment of migrant workers, in the course of which 13 administrative penalties were imposed on migrant workers and two on employers for employing them without a valid work permit. The Government further indicates that, upon detecting migrant workers in an irregular situation with regard to their residence permit, labour inspectors informed these workers about their rights under the Employment Promotion Act. However, the Committee also notes that the Government has not provided information on cases in which migrant workers in an irregular situation have actually obtained their rights from their employment relationship.

In this regard, the Committee recalls its indications made in paragraph 78 of its 2006 General Survey on labour inspection that the primary function of labour inspection is to protect workers and not to enforce immigration law. It also would like to stress, that the association of the inspection staff in joint operations with authorities in charge of the national security, including the police, is not conducive to the relationship of trust that it is essential to enlisting the cooperation of employers and workers with the labour inspectorate, as workers in a vulnerable situation may not be willing to cooperate with the labour inspection services if they fear negative consequences as a result of inspection activities, such as being fined, losing their job or being expulsed from the country. The Committee therefore considers that the participation of the labour inspection staff to such joint operations is incompatible with Article 3(2) of the Convention. Concerning the sanctioning of workers detected for working without a valid employment permit, the Committee recalled that it noted, also in paragraph 78 of the 2006 General Survey, that, with the exception of a few countries, only the employer is held accountable for illegal employment as such, with the workers involved in principle being seen as victims. The Committee requests the Government to take measures to ensure that any activities carried out by the labour inspectorate with regard to the legality of employment should have as its objective the protection of the rights of workers. In this regard, it also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that labour inspection staff is no longer involved in joint operations with authorities in charge of the national security.

The Committee also requests that the Government provide detailed information on cases in which migrant workers in an irregular situation have obtained the actual payment of wage arrears and other benefits due to them by virtue of their employment. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide statistical information on the violations detected by labour inspectors concerning work without a valid employment permit, the legal proceedings initiated, and the penalties imposed on employers and workers.

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