ILO measures to strengthen inspections

NEW DELHI: A new series of measures has been proposed by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to ‘reinvigorate, modernise and strengthen’ labour inspection worldwide.

The objective is to boost implementation of labour laws on the working conditions that protect the rights of millions of workers worldwide, the ILO said, stressing that good governance of workplaces was central to the promotion of sustainable economic development.

The new initiatives also aim at improving competitiveness, economic growth and job creation, besides preventing some of the 2.2 million annual fatal occupational accidents and spread of diseases llike HIV/AIDS each year.

The ILO said effective systems for labour inspection were vital in the struggle to eliminate child labour, forced labour and discrimination in the workplace. In the face of mounting challenges to the worldwide force of national labour inspectors, the move is expected tocontribute to achieving ILO’s ‘Decent Work Agenda’.

The measures suggested in the package to reinvigorate inspection services included tripartite labour inspection audits to help governments identify and remedy weaknesses in labour inspection, development of ethical and professional codes of conduct, labour inspection fact sheets, global inspection principles, occupational safety and health management systems and targeted training for inspectors.