Domestic work and Labour Inspection

Transcription

1 Domestic work and Labour Inspection Turin, 9 July 2013 Joaquim Pintado Nunes Labour Administration/Inspection Specialist Labour Administration and Inspection Programme LAB/ADMIN Geneva

2 LABOUR INSPECTION ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS Convention 81 Labour Inspection Industry and Commerce Convention129 Labour Inspection in Agriculture Recommendation 1947 (No. 81) Labour inspection Protocol 1995 (Convention No. 81 ) Labour Inspection in non-commercial activities

3 LABOUR INSPECTION ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS Technical information and advice on the most effective means of complying with the law ART. 3/2 CONV 81 Any further duties entrusted to labour inspectors shall not be such as to: Secure enforcement of legal provisions relating to conditions of work a) interfere with the effective discharge of their primary duties or b) to prejudice in any way the authority and impartiality which are necessary to inspectors in their relations with employers and workers. Bring to the attention the defects or abuses not covered by law

4 LABOUR INSPECTION ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS Central Authority (ART. 4) Cooperation and collaboration (ART. 5) Employment status of labour inspectors (ART. 6) Quality of services (ART. 7) Labour inspection shall be placed under the supervision and control of a central authority. With other government agencies and public or private institutions engaged in similar activities With employers, workers and social partners Public officials whose status and conditions of service are such that they are assured of stability of employment and are independent of changes of government and of improper external influences. Recruitment with sole regard to the qualifications for the performance of the duties Adequate training

5 LABOUR INSPECTION ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS Gender balance (ART. 8) Both men and women shall be eligible for appointment to the inspection staff; where necessary, special duties may be assigned to men and women inspectors Technical expertise (ART. 9) Qualified technical experts and specialists, including specialists in medicine, engineering, electricity and chemistry, are associated in the work of inspection, in such manner as may be deemed most appropriate under national conditions, for the purpose of securing the enforcement of the legal provisions relating to the protection of the health and safety of workers while engaged in their work and of investigating the effects of processes, materials and methods of work on the health and safety of workers.

6 LABOUR INSPECTION ACCORDING TO INTERNATIONAL LABOUR STANDARDS Sufficiency of resources a) Inspectors b) other Number of inspectors depending on duties they have to perform number, size and situation of workplaces number and classes of workers number and complexity of legal provisions material means placed at the disposal of inspectors practical conditions under which visits must be carried out to be effective Local offices suitably equipped transport facilities (and reimbursement of expenses with)

7 CONVENTION 2011 (No. 189) and RECOMMENDATION 2011 (No. 201) on Decent Work for Domestic Workers Convention 189 requires development/ implementation of measures for labour inspection, enforcement and penalties with due regard for the characteristics of domestic work Recommendation 201 covers all the three main functions of labour inspection: information, enforcement and contributing for law improvement

8 Convention 2011 (No. 189) Article 17 ( ) establish effective and accessible complaint mechanisms and means of ensuring compliance ( ) ( ) develop and implement measures for labour inspection, enforcement and penalties with due regard to the special characteristics of domestic work ( ) specify conditions under which access to the household premises may be granted having due respect for privacy Recommendation 201 (24): Members may consider conditions under which LI should be allowed to enter the premises in which the work is carried out

9 Free access to workplaces (Art. 12 Conv. 81) Privacy of domestic households Opposing principles? Resolution on Labour Administration and Labour Inspection (June 2011): Challenge of providing effectiveness to the law in places of difficult access or where the employment relationship is particularly difficult to establish

10 Why is domestic work a challenge for labour inspection? Diversity of (interconnected) problems - Undeclared work - False independent work - Working time, rest periods - Wages - Discrimination/ gender stereotypes - Migrant work (irregular status) - Forced labour - Child labour - Moral and sexual harassment - Safety and health risks - Illegal precarious work - Special features - Information deficits - Outside the scope of labour law/ less protection - Outside the mandate of labour inspection - Low coverage by social partners - Privacy of households vs. access of labour inspectors - Difficulty of proof - Invisibility - Cultural challenges for inspectors - Workers with multiple employers

11 Challenges will be different depending on the nature of the employer Private company Private employment agency Worker Social public services/ municipalities Household occupant

12 ACCESS TO THE PRIVATE DOMICILE Where inspection visits are envisaged, measures need to be taken to specify the conditions under which the access may be granted, having due respect for privacy - Art. 17(3) Convention 189 CEACR 2006 (General survey) identified two options: consent of employer or occupant prior authorization by a judicial authority Article 8 European Convention on Human Rights protects the privacy and inviolability of private households

13 Statistics Many countries do not have statistical data on complaints and visits related to domestic work In all the EU countries, for instance, the number of complaints and inspection visits is very low Latvia: 2 complaints in 2011 Poland: 9 visits from 2009 to 2012 Portugal: less than 20 complaints in 2011

14 POLICIES, APPROACHES AND METHODS Most of the inspectorates don t have a particular policy, neither approaches or methods for domestic work When focusing on domestic work, undeclared work is a priority No relevant specific action with social partners on the subject Cooperation happens mainly with Judiciary Social security Tax authorities Immigration authorities Police

15 POLICIES, APPROACHES AND METHODS Many inspectorates with good practices on providing information/ raising awareness Call centres Printed leaflets Information on their websites Use of different idioms No specialized units for domestic work (but Ireland has specialized inspectors) No specific training

16 SO NO GOOD PRACTICES WHEN IT COMES TO ENFORCEMENT? Many for violations that domestic workers can be exposed to BUT Not much to address domestic work per se Serious challenge when considering undeclared domestic workers Some good practices for registered domestic workers

17 IRELAND Pilot programme for supervision of working conditions of domestic workers Employer is summoned by post to cooperate by allowing the inspectors to enter in the domicile If employer denies access to the household, he is to provide an alternative Inspectors meet with workers Interpretation services are provided Compliance promotion: employers are notified to correct any nonstandard working condition

18 Main findings Low awareness levels of both parties of the employment relationship Difficult area of work for labour inspectorates Demand for labour inspection services is very low The lack of statistical data doesn t allow to have clear figures on the number and nature of violations of worker s rights The subject is not seen as a priority by labour inspectorates, at least in what concerns enforcement strategies and methods were developed to tackle some problems that may involve domestic workers, but not for domestic work per se DOMESTIC WORK New world for Labour inspection?

19 HOW TO ENHANCE LABOUR INSPECTION RESPONSES TO DOMESTIC WORK?

20 General mandates and approaches Attention by labour inspectorates to domestic work should aim at both prevention and enforcement. Inspectorates need more and reliable information and knowledge of domestic workers and their situation. Measures to facilitate recognition and formalization of the employment relationship, as well as professionalization of domestic work can enhance compliance and facilitate supervision and enforcement. Given the specific nature of domestic work, labour inspectors and inspectorates could benefit from specific training

21 Methodologies and mechanisms Preventive and reactive strategies for labour inspection should be developed to ensure compliance with legislation, given that intervention models based on complaints appear to be inefficient. Methodologies to proactively promote compliance using different methods need to be developed. Risks need to be identified and analysed to better develop tools and measures to overcome those risks. Mechanisms are needed to identify cases of most serious violations. Specific approaches in respect of specific vulnerable groups, such as migrant or children in domestic work should be created. There is a need to build confidence among domestic workers and employers in the services labour inspection can provide

22 Inspection visits to households The inviolability of the home must be respected and protected Household visits would need to be limited to those cases where it is useful and appropriate, and carried out within the conditions set to protect the inviolability of the home. The question of how to identify employers for inspection through a visit in their homes requires further attention Methodologies on how to intervene where criminal offences are suspected are needed Speedy processes to obtain judicial authorization are necessary to ensure protection of domestic workers when most serious violations are occurring

23 Cooperation and collaboration Domestic work is a sector that particularly requires collaboration between labour inspection services and the judiciary Collaboration between labour inspectors and other enforcement agencies in charge of labour and social protection of domestic workers is similarly essential There is room for developing collaboration between inspectorates and social partners in the area of domestic work. Partnerships between labour inspectorates and civil society organizations can also play a valuable role

24 Challenges Better knowledge of the specific problems arising out of domestic employment relationship in each country, region. How to collect the data? How to include domestic work within other areas of work (strategic and operational planning)? Balance between the right to privacy and access of inspectors to the household how to guarantee effectiveness and efficiency of inspection? Invisibility and low demand from interested parties Can inspectorates be proactive? How? Domestic workers involve vulnerable groups (women, migrant, children). Specific approaches should be used? Which ones? How to establish good communication channels with the judiciary? Is there a role for non traditional partners (NGO, local based organizations, others)?