Minister of Labour calls on ethics and integrity among inspectors

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Minister of Labour calls on ethics and integrity among inspectors

6:13 CAT | 18 Mar 2016

Mozambican Labour Minister Vitoria Diogo on Thursday called for ethics and integrity among labour inspectors.

Speaking at a meeting of the Consultative Council of the General Labour Inspectorate, Diogo called for scrupulous observation of “legality, honesty and professional ethics”. Labour inspectors, she insisted must be impartial in their work to ensure compliance with the country’s labour legislation by both employers and workers.

“Our relationship as inspectors with companies should merit special attention in order to guarantee the necessary trust when we check labour legality”, she said. “We are called upon to show a conduct and culture of integrity, transparency and defence of the best interests of the state”.

This meant that labour inspectors must not work for, or give paid advice to any companies. “A labour inspector cannot at the same time be a disguised worker for a company. That’s a conflict of interest”, exclaimed Diogo. “Under such circumstances, transparency, neutrality and integrity are cast aside, and minds and consciences are for sale. That’s not compatible with the posture we want from labour inspectors”.

Labour inspectors, she added, “must be the most honest of public officials, otherwise they will call into question the entire institution, weaken the state, and undermine stability in labour relations. It is not enough for a labour inspector to be honest. He must also transmit integrity to citizens”.

Corrupt and unethical behaviour, Diogo said, “stain the entire family of the administration of labour, employment and social security. These are situations that bring shame upon us”.

“We know that only a minority are involved in illicit acts”, she added. “We are each called upon not to accept such attitudes”.

She promised to act firmly in cases of corruption “or in cases in which labour abuses and crimes are covered up”.

Diogo called on inspectors to do all in their power to prevent work accidents “which derive from failure to comply with health and safety norms, the search for easy profits, and weaknesses in the overall control system”.

Inspectors must also deal with the illegal hiring of foreign workers, she added, the failure of many companies to pay into social security funds, and such abuses as excessively long working hours and the refusal to give workers written contracts.

Diogo recalled that the government’s five year programme for 2015-2019 sets a target of creating 1.5 million new jobs. She claimed that in 2015, a total of 302,188 jobs were created – which would put the government on course for meeting its target. But only 79,074 of these jobs (26 per cent) were filled by women.

In 2015, she said, labour inspectors visited 8,406 workplaces employing a total of 185,873 workers. 1,043 foreigners were found to be working illegally and were suspended.

The inspectors found 13.634 violations of labour laws. In the great majority of cases (77 per cent), the employers concerned were let off with a warning. Fines were imposed in the remaining 23 per cent of cases.

Source: AIM