Complaints

The Labour Department through its Factory Inspectorate, in pursuance of its mandate under both the Labour Department Act (Cap.23) and the Factories Act (Cap 347), investigates all representations made to the Chief Labour Officer concerning occupational safety and health matters in all economic sectors. Both Acts prohibit the officers from disclosing the source of any information or complaint.

The legal framework is intended to ensure that workers may take action to ensure that adequate safety and health conditions are provided at the workplace. Under the Factories Act it is an offence to punish or in any way disadvantage an employee by reason of his requesting an inspection of his workplace by an Inspector. Workers are, however,encouraged to use this facility in a responsible manner.

The state of relations at the workplace and the circumstances of the particular case should be considered in determining at what point the intervention of the Factory Inspector is considered necessary or desirable. Typically, it would be advised that where employees have a concern, they should follow the chain of command within the organisation before requesting the intervention of the Chief Labour Officer.