How can Labour Inspection
support Labour Prevention?
On the Role of Labour
Inspection in Small and Medium Enterprises.
Content:
1. The welfare state and labour inspection.
2. Market economy and SME`s.
3. Labour inspection in SME`s.
4. Worker participation and enforcement.
5.
Active
participation of labour inspectors.
6. Proposals.
1. The welfare state and labour inspection.
The socalled
welfare state model with a high degree of public spending in education and
health has reached its zenith....or has it? Good governance in a democratically
oriented society means the state must support an economy with possibility for
people to earn a living to support their families but also safe and healthy
workplaces.....as a value in itself and against social exclusion.
I define
labour inspection as a central societal value expressing respect for the
concerns of working people and their families. In Scandinavia we have seen a
development, where the labour- and union movement have fought for a welfare
state model with effective state labour inspection intervention in branches and
enterprises not respecting the health and safety laws. What is the lesson of
this in relation to the problems in SME`s in sectors with the most serious
risks to workers?(1). How can labour inspectors fullfill their splendid and
important task of workers` protection?
2. Market economy and SME`s.
The
creation of an internal market in EU has accelerated the phenomena of social
dumping. With stronger incentives for transnational and multinational
enterprises to shift investment to the lowest cost areas. With the opening of
markets in Eastern Europe and the more or less rapid emergence of a private
sector, the ILO has pointed to the problems and uncertainties for the labour
inspectorates in a period of transition.
"Employers
in SME`s are often in breach of the law, and many of these new employers do not
understand their obligations, their motivation essentially being that of
maximum profit from minimum investment"(2). Some of the consequences is
reflected in labour inspectorates reporting failure to pay full wages and the
issue of a great number of notices to stop work due to immediate risk to life
or health of workers
3. Labour inspection in the SME`s.
Much points
to the fact that the role of the labour inspector in the small businesses is
the single most important factor in changing the affairs. SME`s form the major
proportion of EU businesses and in growth-and marked-driven economies like EU
and the Eastern European countries the safety and health problems are
well-known and well-docu-mented. With this in mind it becomes central that
labour inspection is effective and focused on the central risk factors,
integrating safety and health risk factors(1).
We see
contradictory statements from EU in this area. In relation to SME`s the
Programme from 1988(88/C 28/02) mentions " a need to keep regulations down
to a necessary minimum" and at the same recognizing the special problems
in the SME`s.
Such
contradictory statements can lead to a reduced role for labour inspection as
different ministries( labour versus finance) and political ideologies will
compete for hegemony.
Especially
the idea of self-regulation is a strong dimension in the employers effort to
guard against intervention in the internal affairs of their enterprises. This
is also reflected in the sucess in marginalizing the safety and health agenda
from the public forum. We can observe employers with a bad record in workers`
safety and health playing the role as "entre-preneurial heroes" in
the media. And a marginalizing of the labour inspection control of SME`s due to
limited political support in the parliaments.
A good
example of labour inspection being accorded a primary and visual role is the
Polish systems with labour inspection being responsible directly to the
parlia-ment(Sejm). But this is a model against the stream of one-sided economic
thinking which is popular in these times, subordinating workers` needs to
market-driven priorities.
Small and
medium employers have strong visions of independence and large freedom
of action.
And as buyers of labour-power they play a pivotal role providing economic
safety for workers in economies with low social benefits. Workers are often
under a strong economical and psychological pressure not to complain about
their working conditions for fear of dismissal. Labour inspection have access
to these workplaces and must therefore be supplied with the necessary means to
fullfill this important mission.
4. Worker participation and enforcement.
The problem
of a low level of trade union organization is not specific phenomena in Eastern
Europe. A common conclusion is that workers at enterprises with low union
strength must not be forgotten: "In the absence of trade union workplace
organization, the role of law and its enforcement by the labour inspectorate
becomes more central to worker participation"(3). The different degrees of
unionization is manifest and a high degree of unionization seems to be
supportive of establishing safety and health manage-ment systems. In Denmark
and Sweden the labour inspection makes enforcement notices to appoint safety
representatives, safety commitees and training of these. This points to the
fact that election of safety
representatives in SME`s can be supported by an active approach by the labour
inspection.
5. Active participation of labour inspectors.
We must be
careful not to overemphasize the role of detailed regulations as labour
inspection often is limited in ressources. Of central importance is "local
activity" where informed players take their roles in guarding the workers
safety and health. Essential is active union presence in the enterprises.
An example
of a legalistic mentality is the often over-optimistic hopes that The Framework
Directive in the Eastern European Countries in itself will raise the level
of safety
and health. Especially the obligation for employers to evaluate all the risks
to safety and health of workers shows examples of a limited approach. Instead
studies by the European Foundation(4) show that a wider approach, called
workplace-assessment, better supports a general preventive policy. When all
aspects of work are raised, it is more open towards improvements in the general
work situation. Involvement of workers are e prerequisite and supports the
general worker participation.
Off course
good laws are a precondition to effective labour prevention. And in practice
the labour inspectors are foreseen to play an active role and pivotal role:
"Bringing to the notice of the competent authorities any defects or abuses
not covered by existing legislation"(from ILO Convention no. 81). If
development of the health and safety laws shall be dynamic, it must be openly and democratically discussed.
Labour inspectors can play a central roles if they provide concrete
documentation on the actual risks to workers and the practical, political and
legal problems of reducing or abolishing
these risks. And concrete documentation on the non-compliant
employers/branches.
This
documentation can often be "unpopular" to some political and
economical sectors. One reason can be that labour inspectors` documentation on
risks or "black spots" often will parallel the social criticism from
union and labour parties. And here
labour inspection often takes a passive role,
taking neutrality for status quo.
Instead I
propose an active public role! Unless there is real participation the
experiences from concrete inspection work will be filtered away in the
government bureaucracies, with the labour ministries taking a "closed
mind"-look at the technical-legal-political level when compromises are
taken to soften the conflicting views of the main actors
in the
labour market. The use of the media in raising public awareness to particular
health hazards must not be underestimated. It can both compensate for the
reduced resources in manpower and be an investment in a future hope of more
goodwill from
the
political system "discovering" the important social role of labour
inspection.
The
independence of labour inspectors is fundamental to the principal
ILO-Convention No. 81 on Labour Inspection. They must be protected by
"improper external influences" and "independent of changes in
government" and "receive training to perform the duties assigned to
them". But in reality labour inspectorates are experiencing reductions in
public spending which play a central and neglected role as a disciplining
measure. Labour inspectors face enormous challenges with a lot of contradictory
and stressful
demands.
Besides labour inspectorates in the eastern Europe still suffer problems rising
from the non-integration of safety and health inspection systems.
To meet
these challenges, training of inspectors is of primary importance and must
cover subjects like: Prevention in both safety and health, Communication with
workers and employers with low knowledge of the health and safety laws,
Non-unionized workplaces, Precarious employment patterns, Psycho-social risk
factors, Child work and how to use modern media.
6. Proposals.
To raise the level of public insight
in real working life problems, labour inspection must take a more active role.
Tripartite responsibility as "the third leg" demands an inde-pendent
, openminded and offensive labour inspection. This can be catalysed by an
active role played by media, researchers and NGO`s in bringing to light the
risks to workers` life and health when there is a weak regulation and
enforcement regime. Independent monitoring of labour inspectorates(both at
european and international level) must focus at the effectiveness of different
labour inspectorates. Restricting the
role of labor inspection to a more advisory function, will foremost be harmful
to workers in small and medium enterprises. And good safety and health
management must be based on good legislation that is concrete and detailed to
support effective prevention policies in all establishments. We must build on
models not based on a minimum-level principle, but based on "best
EU practices" regarding labour preven-tion in SME`s.(1).
Litterature:
1.Safety
and Health Management in SME`s. Best EU practices regarding safety and health
management in small and medium enterprises(SME`s). How can labour inspection
support labour prevention. John Graversgaard, Danish Labour Inspection,
Phare-project to the Polish State labour Inspection, 1996.
2. Labour Inspection Systems in the Transition
Countries. Conference in Tihany,
Hungary, 1996, ILO- Labour Administration Branch, Geneva, 1998.
3. Employee
representation in health and safety at the workplace. A comparative study
in five European countries(France,
Italy, Spain, Greece and UK), D.R. Walters & R.J. Freeman, Commission of
the European Communities, Luxembourg, 1992.
4.
Assessing working conditions-The european practice, Mossink J.C.M & De Gier H.G. TNO Prevention and Health
in Leiden, European Foundation for the Improvement of living and working
conditions, Luxembourg, 1996.