MODERNIZING LABOUR INSPECTION IN BRAZIL

Junia Maria BarretoDirector of Occupational Safety and Health Department

Ministry of Labor and Employment

Brazil

• Area (Km2) : 8.547.403,5• Population: 191.854.933• Economically active: 99,5 million

• 2997 inspectors in a federal system – 1/3 of them specialists or with training in occupational health or safety engineering

• 27 regional units + 115 subregional units

• 40 million employees in more than 7 million worksites

• Inspectors in regional and subregional units (two areas: “general” and OSH)

– technically subordinated to the central organ

– access to the career is exclusively through national examination

– federal public servants

– free access to all workplaces

– check the compliance with legal provisions about labor protection

and occupational safety and health regulations

– analyses work-related accidents

– power to impose interdictions or debarments and to impose fines

– can have access to all documents related to the compliance of the

labor law

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Labor Inspection programmes includes:– Worker Protection Network– Slave Work– Child Labor– Health and Safety at Work – inspection and regulation actions

In 2007, 653 090 work-related accidents with 2 804 deaths– 159 741 occupational diseases– 8 504 workers with permanent disability in consequence of the

accidentes/diseases

OSH area (2008): 150 000 inspections performed with 5 000 interdictions or debarments, 40 000 fines imposed, 2 000 accidents analised

Obrigado por sua atenção.

First Regulation of Labour Inspection: 1965

– Remuneration x productivity– Salary + Bonus related to the number and size of workplaces

inspected (12 000 “points”)

Division in general inspectors and OSH inspectors (all of them specialists in occupational health or safety engineering)

No planning of the inspection activities, except after 1998, only in the OSH area (inspection projects with focus in economical activities with more work-related accidents)

Obrigado por sua atenção.

2004: Law n. 10910 – re-structures Labour Inspector’s career

– New inspectors in OSH area - no more only for specialists

– Goals of productivity with financial impacts related to:• Reduction of the informality rates• Maximization of the collection rates the Mandatory Fund for

Unemployment Benefit (FGTS) and fight against tax evasion• Reduction of work-related risks

– Inspectors of both areas must contribute to at least two of these objectives

Obrigado por sua atenção.

Benefits

– Development of new strategies and inspection methods with focus

in economical sectors, clusters and productive chains

– Annual plannig focused in problems selected in consultation with

workers representatives

– More efficiency

Difficulties

– Measurement of inspector’s production do not considered the size of

the enterprise and important safety and health issues

– Challenge of effectiveness

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Number of Inspections Irregularities Corrected (x10) Interdictions andDebarments

Fines Issued

1998-2002 2003-2007

Law nº 11.890, 2008

– Changes the type of the remuneration of all federal inspectors

– No relationship between productivity and salaries

– Challenge: construct a new and better management system for Labor Inspection

2009– New work methodology definition

– Emphasis on quality in search of better and sustainable results and greater efficiency and effectiveness

Guidelines for labor inspection – to plan the work together

– to work in teams

– to develop inspection projects

– to change experiences

– to dialogue with social partners

Inspection projects

– National and regional diagnosis

– Focus on priorities

• National

• Regional

– Plans for 4 years, with annual reviews

– Definition of objectives, goals and indicators

– “Mixed” teams

– Development of tools to help and harmonize inspection procedures

– Evaluation: global, for each project, for each inspector