The on-site inspections carried out by the inspectors of the Independent Authority are moving to the digital age “Labour Inspection”. For a few days now, inspectors have had access to 500 tablets connected to the Integrated Information System (IPS) of the Labor Inspectorate, as well as the upgraded “TOOL II”.

In this way, the start and end time of the audit is declared online (so that there is no possibility of declaring undeclared workers afterwards), while the results of the audits are sent directly both to the audited company and to the Labor Inspection database. This new way of checks is also combined with the application of the Digital Work Card and also with the risk analysis method applied by the Labor Inspection.

Specifically, as the inspectors’ tablets have direct access to its data Digital Job Card, this means that checks for compliance with the schedule and the recording of overtime are done quickly and transparently, strengthening the protection of employees and fair competition between businesses. At the same time, the quality of controls related to compliance with Occupational Health and Safety legislation is also improved.

All this, combined with the application of the method risk analysis for targeted audits in the regions and sectors where more offending is found and in enterprises with more employees, especially those that have not been audited for a long time, add credibility to the system.

The way of utilizing the new digital media and how they support the work of the Labor Inspectorate was the subject of a working meeting held today by the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Kostis Hatzidakis, with the Governor of the Authority, Giorgos Tzilivakis. The meeting was also attended by Inspectors Evgenia Panagiotakopoulou and Christos Pantazis who presented Mr. Hatzidakis with the new digital model for carrying out inspections. As they noted, the new system has been embraced by the employees of the Labor Inspectorate as it greatly facilitates their work, while it is also evaluated positively by businesses. By replacing hand-written Inspection Forms, the online application for inspections and tablets act as “power multipliers” in the hands of inspectors, allowing them to spend more time either in the field or dealing with the resolution of labor disputes in local agencies.

Almost all of them Inspectors have already been trained in the use of the new online application for carrying out checks through mobile devices and the new model has already started to be piloted with great success. The goal is to carry out 60% of the Labor Inspection inspections using tablets by the end of June and 80% by the end of the year.

The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Kostis Hatzidakis said: “The transition of the Labor Inspectorate to a new digital era strengthens the speed, reliability and impartiality of the controls. Since the Labor Protection Act launched the creation of the new Independent Authority, we have pointed out that our main priority is to stop any whispers of interference in the work of Inspectors and to secure a modern and reliable control system. The installation of the new Governor and the Board of Directors together with the regular publication of all data, the increase of controls and the introduction of new digital tools justify this choice”.

The Governor of the Independent Labor Inspection Authority, Giorgos Tzilivakis, said: “We use modern digital media, which are another tool in the hands of inspectors and help them every day in their work, namely the observance of labor legislation and the smooth functioning of the labor market. After all, the utilization of the possibilities that technology offers us, through data analysis, the digital card, the permanent interconnection, even when carrying out checks and the more general digitization of processes, is part of the operational planning of the new Independent Authority”.