ACTIVITIES

 

Labour inspectors perform prevention of violations of standard acts regulating occupational safety and health, labour relations as well as the prevention of accidents at work and occupational diseases in enterprises, by controlling the compliance with these standard acts (6-7 per cent of registered enterprises in the country are inspected yearly) and by providing consultations to employees, their representatives, trade unions, employers, occupational safety and health services and committees in enterprises, as well as carrying out their educational mission of the public within the framework of their competence. Furthermore, the State Labour Inspectorate is actively encouraging and striving at the consolidation of relations between employers and employees and their organisations, based on the social dialogue and collective agreements.

The State Labour Inspectorate is assigned the function to carry out the control of undeclared work as well as to coordinate activities of institutions carrying out control of undeclared work in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic of Lithuania. The State Labour Inspectorate by controlling the compliance with laws regulating labour relations, inspects compliance with the provisions of the Labour Code, among them - related with employment contracts, work pay, organisation of work and rest, as well as the enforcement of relevant resolutions of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania and orders of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour.

Labour inspectors inspect if employers in enterprises, institutions and organisations identify hazards and perform risk analysis and assessment, investigate accidents at work, analyse and submit proposals on elimination of their causes and improvement of the occupational safety and health situation in the country, organise and together with representatives of health supervision institutions investigate causes and circumstances of occupational diseases; examine applications and complaints within the framework of the competence of the State Labour Inspectorate; submit comments and proposals on the draft standard acts on the issues of occupational safety and health, labour relations, conclusions on the occupational safety and health training programmes under preparation, participate during the examination of the competence of persons representing employers, persons authorised by employers, as well as the competence  of specialists of occupational safety and health services.

Following the established procedure, the State Labour Inspectorate participates in the acceptance for operation of undertakings, their units or individual workplaces and investigation of accidents with equipment or objects, performs the function of the manager of the Register of Potentially Dangerous Equipment, accepts applications from enterprises to assign funds for implementation of accidents at work and occupational diseases prevention measures, etc.

With Lithuania‘s EU membership, besides the supervision of enforcement of existing standard acts, the State Labour Inspectorate is endowed with new functions and obligations: control of working conditions of posted workers from EU countries, control of drivers work and rest time performed on the roads and in the enterprises following the procedure established by EU documents and national standard acts. Pursuant to the Law on European Work Councils of the Republic of Lithuania, the State Labour Inspectorate is commissioned to control the protection and guarantees of workers representatives rights in the European Community companies and their units, operating in our country; the Inspectorate also carries out the functions of the representation of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work in Lithuania. And these, no doubt, are not the last obligations. In order to be able to execute these obligations, the inspectors are encouraged to upgrade qualifications, to improve administrative and professional capacities aiming at the implementation of the prevention culture by new activity methods, at the same time not leaving out the traditional forms of work, verified by life.

While performing its objectives and developing social partnership, the State Labour Inspectorate cooperates with all trade unions and organisations of employers in the country, also maintains relations with more than 30 governmental institutions and organisations, all municipalities and organizations of counties, Government representatives in counties. Since 1994, the State Labour Inspectorate has a permanent representative in the tripartite Commission of Occupational Safety and Health of the Republic of Lithuania; specialists of the institution on the ongoing basis participate in the activities of the tripartite Council of the Republic of Lithuania.

The complete information on the activities of the State Labour Inspectorate is presented in the yearly report on the status of occupational safety and health and compliance with labour laws in the enterprises, institutions and organisations of the Republic of Lithuania.

The top management of the State Labour Inspectorate, inspectors and specialists accept new challenges, related with economic market changes, with labour relations as well as with the enhanced responsibility in the context of public benefits. We are open for the dialogue with social partners and their representatives in order to improve working conditions, to secure work guarantees for employees more effectively.