International Labour Organisation Reports

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

Ministers are individually accountable to the States Assembly, including for the actions of the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.

The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made (10.09.2009) to approve reports made by the Government of Jersey in accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation

Decision Reference: MD-C-2009-0066
Decision Summary Title :	L:\International\Chief Minister decisions\ILO reports to 1 Sept 2009.doc		Date of Decision Summary:	7 September 2009
Decision Summary Author:	International Relations		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt?	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:
Written Report Title :	Unemployment Convention 1919 (no.2); Forced Labour Convention 1920 (no.29); Labour Inspection Convention 1947 (no.81) and Protocol 1995; Abolition of Forced Labour Convention 1957 (no.105); Radiation Protection Convention 1960 (no.115).		Date of Written Report:	1 September 2009
Written Report Author:	Social Security Dept; International Relations		Written Report : Public or Exempt?	Public
Subject: International Labour Organisation reports – (a) Unemployment Convention 1919 (no.2) (b) Forced Labour Convention 1920 (no.29) (c) Labour Inspection Convention 1947 (no.81) and Protocol 1995 (d) Abolition of Forced Labour Convention 1957 (no.105) (e) Radiation Protection Convention 1960 (no.115).
Decision(s): The Chief Minister decided to approve the above reports made by the Government of Jersey in accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation.
Reason(s) for Decision: Every year the Government of Jersey is required under Article 22 of the ILO Constitution to submit reports on the application of certain ratified ILO Conventions which have been extended to the Bailiwick.
Resource Implications: There are no resource implications.
Action required: International Relations to forward the reports through the official channel; to notify the States Greffe of the Ministerial decision; and, in accordance with article 23, paragraph 2, of the ILO Constitution, to forward copies to employers and employees representative organisations.
Signature:		Position: Chief Minister
Date Signed: 10 September 2009		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

International Labour Organisation Reports

Article 22 of the Constitution of the ILO

Report for the period 27 July 2007 to 1 September 2009 made by the Government of Jersey on the

ABOLITION OF FORCED LABOUR CONVENTION, 1957 (No. 105)

Simplified report

I. There have been no changes to the legislation and administrative regulations, etc., which apply the provisions of the Convention.

II. Articles 1-2

There have been no changes since the previous report in application provisions of the legislation and administrative regulations, and the measures taken by the competent authorities, which ensure the application of the various provisions of the Convention.

III. There have been no changes to the authority or authorities in which the application of the abovementioned legislation and administrative regulations, etc., is entrusted, or methods application is supervised and enforced.

IV. There have been no decisions of courts of law or other tribunals involving questions of principle relating to the application of the Convention.

V. There have been no changes in the manner in which the Convention is applied.

VI. Copies of the present report have been communicated in accordance with article 23, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, to -

 the Jersey Chamber of Commerce

 the Transport and General Workers Union

and published on the States of Jersey website.

Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 (No. 115)

Report for the period ending the 31st July 2009, made by the States of Jersey in accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the Radiation Protection Convention, 1960.

In accordance with the advised requirements for this reporting round, it is advised that there have been no changes in legislation in support of this convention.

The requirements for the control of exposure from Work with Ionising Radiation are set out in the Approved Code of Practice for Work with Ionising Radiation introduced under the Health and Safety at Work (Jersey) Law, 1989.

The Approved Code of Practice is available online at

http://www.gov.je/SocialSecurity/HSI/Guidance+on+Legislation/Approved+Codes+of+Practice/Ionising+Radiation+Approved+Code+of+Practice.htm

Direct Request 2005

Paragraph 4

The Committee have interpreted paragraph 6 of Appendix 3 of the Approved Code of Practice as applying to workers under the age of 16. This is not the intention, with the wording of the paragraph referring to persons who are not employees.

Paragraph 5

The periodicity of medical examination is set out in paragraphs 90 and 91 of the Approved Code of Practice.

Paragraph 6

It is not the intention of this section of the Approved Code of Practice to permit any exceptional exposure of workers. The intention is for the employer to assess the potential for foreseeable accidents and to reduce their consequences by the preparation of appropriate contingency plans.

Paragraph 7

The aim of the Approved Code of Practice is to prevent the circumstances where workers are excessively exposed to Ionising Radiation. The Approved Code of Practice does not therefore address the scenario where workers have been excessively exposed and are unable to continue working with Ionising Radiations. Given the limited use of work that is carried out with Ionising Radiations in the Island, the Inspectorate is not aware of any situation where this has occurred, however, in the event of such a situation, a worker who meets the criteria for the Social Security or Income Support schemes administered by the Social Security Department, would be provided with financial support.

Paragraph 8

The Annual report for the Health and Safety Inspectorate, which provides information on the work carried out by the Inspectorate in 2008, is available online at http://www.gov.je/SocialSecurity/HSI/Whats+New/Annualreport2008.htm

Although no specific reference is made in the report to any work carried out by the Inspectorate in respect of Ionising Radiation, the Inspectorate have provided advice to persons involved in carrying out site radiography during the last 3 years and have provided specific advice to the medical profession and other employers on the application of the Approved Code of Practice.

Article 22 of the Constitution of the ILO

Report for the period from 27 July 2009 to 1 September 2009 made by the Government of Jersey on the

FORCED LABOUR CONVENTION, 1930 (No. 29)

Simplified report

I. There have been no changes since the previous report to the legislation and administrative regulations, etc., which apply the provisions of the Convention.

II. Articles 1-26

III. There have been no decisions of courts of law or other tribunals involving questions of principle relating to the application of the Convention.

IV. There have been no changes since the previous report in the manner in which the Convention is applied.

V. Copies of the present report have been communicated in accordance with article 23, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, to -

 the Jersey Chamber of Commerce

 the Transport and General Workers Union

and published on the States of Jersey website.

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81)

Report for period ending the 31st July 2009, made by the States of Jersey in Accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation, on the measures taken to give effect to the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947, (No.81)

In accordance with the advised requirements for this reporting round, only changes in legislation and the most recent statistical information and activities of the Health and Safety Inspectorate is included in this report.

The Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos – Licensing) (Jersey) Regulations, 2008, have been introduced since the last report.

The Regulations, which replaced the previous Asbestos Licensing (Jersey) Regulations, 1997, provided for changes in definitions and application of the licensing regime for work with Asbestos, to ensure that the approach taken to protect workers from the risk associated with exposure to asbestos is in keeping with current practice.

The Regulations may be accessed online at:

http://www.jerseylaw.je/law/display.aspx?url=lawsinforce%2fconsolidated%2f05%2f05.300.05_HealthandSafetyatWork(Asbestos-Licensing)Regulations2008_RevisedEdition_1January2009.htm

A guide to the Regulations may be accessed online at:

http://www.gov.je/SocialSecurity/HSI/Guidance+on+Legislation/Law+and+Regulations/Asbestos+Licensing+Regulations.htm

Article 14

The Health and Safety Inspectorate Annual Report for 2008 provides information on the work of the Health and Safety Inspectorate and includes statistical information on work related accidents and ill health sourced through claims made for Social Security Benefit.

The report can be viewed on the States of Jersey website. Copies have also been sent to organisations representing employers; the Jersey Chamber of Commerce and the Institute of Directors, and the trade union organisation, Unite the Union.

The review is available online at:

http://www.gov.je/SocialSecurity/HSI/Whats+New/Annualreport2008.htm

Direct Request 2007

The Minister for Social Security, who has political responsibility for the Health and Safety Inspectorate, is aware of the pressure on the limited staff resources of the Inspectorate. Unfortunately, due to the present economic and manpower constraints placed on the Islands public service, it has not yet been possible to provide additional resources to the Inspectorate.

REPORT

for the period ending 31 August 2004 to 1 September 2009, made by the States of Jersey in accordance with Article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation on the measures taken to give effect to the

UNEMPLOYMENT CONVENTION, 1919 (NO 2)

I. No change since previous report.

II. Article 1

This information is provided on a monthly basis to the Statistics Unit of the Chief Ministers Department. Statistics are also supplied directly by the Statistics Unit to the ILO.

Attached for information is a report on the unemployment statistics for April 2009, which includes comparative unemployment statistics since March 2008.

Measures taken to combat unemployment are described in Article 2 below.

Article 2

One free public employment agency exists in Jersey under the control of the Minister for Social Security. Job vacancies are advertised via the Work Zone, which provides the following services:

Helping people into work by providing advice, training opportunities,

advertising job vacancies and registering individuals who are unemployed.

Providing Special Needs employment.

Working in partnership with Careers Jersey (a government careers service) to provide careers advice and training to all in Jersey’s community.

There is also a job vacancy searching service on the Social Security website http://www.ess.gov.je/employment/system/default.asp

The number of people registered as unemployed at the end of April 2009 was 923 and there was a daily rate of 70 - 90 vacancies being advertised on the job boards and the website.

All private employment agencies are registered and licensed under the Employment Agencies (Registration) (Jersey) Law 1969 and the Employment Agencies (Registration) (Code of Conduct) (Jersey) Order 1970, under the control of the Minister for Social Security.

Article 3

A system of insurance against unemployment does not exist in the Island. However, on 28 January 2008 the Income Support (Jersey) Law came into force. This legislation provides financial assistance to households which receive low or no income. Unemployed residents of Jersey who obtain assistance from the Income Support system are required to enter into a Jobseekers Agreement and actively seek work.

The legislation may been seen at http://www.jerseylaw.je/Law/display.aspx?url=lawsinforce%2fconsolidated%2f26%2f26.550_IncomeSupportLaw2007_RevisedEdition_1January2009.htm

I. The Minister for Social Security.

II. No.

III. See Articles 1-2 above.

IV. Copies of the present report have been communicated to representative organisations of employers and workers in accordance with article 23, paragraph 2, of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation. Official unemployment data is published on the States of Jersey website on www.gov.je/statistics and a 6 monthly labour market report produced by the Chief Ministers Department carries a commentary on unemployment.