Key departments of the International Labour Organization (ILO) have hosted a major workshop for heads of inspection departments and labour inspectors of The Directorate of Labour Affairs and Inspection within the Ministry of Labour. The meeting, held in Amman, Jordan on May 6-8, explored the potential implementation and impact of strategic compliance planning for the nation’s labour inspection regime.
Strategic compliance planning looks beyond the traditional enforcement model of routine inspections and reaction with the aim of designing targeted, tailored, and proactive compliance interventions along with strategies for their effective implementation, despite resource limitations. The plan aims to empower the labour inspectorate to apply a more progressive and innovative approach to compliance.
Valkyrie Hanson, International Labour Organization Technical Specialist for Strategic Compliance, who lead the workshop said, “Strategic compliance planning helps labour inspectorates to resourcefully and inventively identify stakeholders and tailored interventions to influence compliance. This novel methodology is anticipated to enable them to achieve sustainable and measurable compliance outcomes”.
The Labour Administration and the Labour Inspection and Occupational Safety and Health Branch (LABADMIN/OSH), a branch of the International Labour Organization’s Governance and Tripartism Department, developed the International Labour Organization approach to strategic compliance planning for Labour Inspectorates. The approach not only provides them with the tools to develop short-term inspection strategies and a long-term compliance plan, but also to cover contingencies that fall in between.
“Developing a Strategic Compliance Plan enables the labour inspectorates to effectively utilize their limited resources by working with all relevant stakeholders to promote compliance with the relevant legal provisions,” explained Andrew Christian, Labour Administration and Labour Inspection Officer at the ILO.
The workshop focused on sectors identified as priorities by the labour inspectorate. Participants were divided into three groups to focus on the selected sectors and asked to map target economic units, economic units connected to target economic units, and economic units influenced by target economic units, in order to trace out the potential spillover effect of the compliance interventions. The groups were then asked to identify common areas of non-compliance with relevant legal provisions and their underlying causes. Lastly, participants were guided through the design of bespoke strategies, leveraging wide ranging stakeholders and innovative interventions to address the underlying causes of non-compliance. The result was a draft Strategic Compliance Plan that the labour inspectorate will now refine and implement in the coming months.
“The unique methodology of this planning workshop was appreciated by all, making for a highly interactive three-day experience. The skills offered are excellent and useful,” said Abed Aljwad Alnatsha, Ministry of Labour Inspector on secondment to Better Work Jordan.
Amin Al-Wreidat, Labour Inspection and OSH RO-Arab States/DWT-Beirut also shared his views on the workshop, saying, “This workshop empowered labour inspectors to act and helped them realize that compliance can be achieved despite resource limitations. We look forward to the implementation stage of the Strategic Compliance Plan.”
For more information please visit the Strategic Compliance Resource Page: http://www.ilo.org/labadmin/info/WCMS_620987/lang–en/index.htm