The Labour Inspection Convention (No. 81) was adopted in 1947 and entered into force in April 1950. Parties to the Convention commit to maintain labour inspection systems for workplaces in industry and commerce. The functions of the labour inspection system are to enforce the legal provisions relating to conditions of work and the protection of workers; to inform and advise employers and workers on how they can best comply with the laws; and to advise the competent authority of defects or abuses not specifically covered by existing legal provisions. National laws are to provide penalties for violations of the laws that labour inspectors administer, and for obstructing inspectors in the course of their duties. The Convention's provisions apply to workplaces where legal provisions related to working conditions and worker protection are enforceable by labour inspectors. Ratifying countries have an obligation to report every three years on the measures taken, in law and in practice, to apply the Convention.

CEACR / ILO