Employers make significant contribution to new guidelines on principles of labour inspection

A new balanced set of guidelines were agreed during a recent ILO meeting.

Experts from the International Labour Organization’s tripartite groups (Employers, Workers and Governments) met from 13-16 December to provide technical guidance on key principles contained in ILO Conventions No. 81 and 129 and provisions of Recommendation No.20 in the context of contemporary practice. The main outcome was a new set of guidelines on the general principles of labour inspection.

During the session, Employer experts used the opportunity to craft guidelines which are up to date, practical, balanced and speak to both developed and developing countries as well as SMEs and micro-enterprises. Employers from the outset advocated that labour inspection is not something standalone, but instead part of much broader policies and strategies to secure and protect good working conditions. They also argued for the inclusion in the guidelines the promotion of a balanced approach between enforcement and the advisory role of labour inspection.

Some of the Employers’ Group proposals that were accepted by the tripartite group included:

• The need for labour inspectorates to be connected to evolving labour market trends and the profound transformations in the world of work.
• The value to collaborate with social partners and businesses to achieve better compliance, and the need to minimise business disruption.
• The importance for labour inspection to embrace IT as to expand advisory services and assistance, and to increase the efficiency of inspections.
• The need for labour inspectorates to benefit from adequate HR policies, diversity of profiles, necessary skills and technical expertise, protection against risks, and appraisal for performance.
• The importance of cross border collaboration between inspectors together with social partners in order to provide a level playing field for business.

The agreed guidelines can be found here. The report summarizing the deliberations of the meeting will be available end of January.