The ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference is a platform of exchange that brings together labour inspectorates and external partners in the ASEAN region to share experiences and good practices on the organisation and operation of national labour inspection systems, with a view to formulating recommendations for enhancing the capacity and cooperation of labour inspection across ASEAN Member States towards building a strong and developed ASEAN Community.

The Conference is organized on a regular basis and is placed under the purview of the SLOM’s Working Group on Progressive Labour Practices to Enhance the Competitiveness of ASEAN (SLOM-WG) – a subsidiary technical body under the ASEAN Labour Ministers’ (ALM) umbrella.

The core objectives of the ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference are to:

a) Share information, knowledge and experiences on policies, legislations, good practices and innovations as well as challenges and solutions pertaining to achieving workplace compliance through labour inspection, both in the areas of general working conditions and occupational safety and health

b) Build and sustain the network of labour inspectors in ASEAN in order to enhance labour inspection capacity of ASEAN Member States; and

c) Promote the professionalism of each ASEAN Member State in all aspects of labour inspection so as to promote compliance with labour laws and regulations.

The theme selected by Brunei Darussalam for the 10th ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference was "Building competency and preparedness of labour inspectorates in ASEAN" and participants had examined several topics of relevance as well as discussed two key sub-themes over the course of the two-day event: “core competencies” and “establishing competency”. The Conference had included a drafting session to formulate recommendations and conclusions from each sub-theme discussion for consideration of ASEAN Member States to voluntarily implement.

Participants and ASEAN labour inspectors to the Conference were provided with expert presentations by various international organizations including the International Labour Organization and the International Association of Labour Inspection as well as a presentation on incorporating safety and health guidance into labour inspectorate competencies delivered by Safety, Health and Environment National Authority (SHENA). The sub-theme discussions we led with the assistance of the Regional Centre for the Future of Work (RCFW) - an initiative by the Singapore Ministry of Manpower.

Yang Mulia Awang Haji Shariful Bahri bin Haji Sawas, Acting Commissioner of Labour, had delivered opening remarks of the conference and attended by senior officers from the Law Enforcement Division of Department of Labour. More than 70 participants to the virtual Forum had included representatives from the ten (10) ASEAN Member States and the ASEAN Secretariat as well as representatives from various international.

The inaugural meeting of the ASEAN Labour Inspection Committee was then chaired by Yang Mulia, Awang Rozan Justin Teo bin Haji Azlan, Assistant Commissioner of Labour, on 15 December 2021.

The ASEAN Labour Inspection Committee meeting is an initiative formulated as a result of ASEAN consultations to elevate the ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference to be a subsidiary body of Senior Labour Officials (or SLOM) that will facilitate cooperation among labour inspectorates in areas of mutual interest. ASEAN SLOM had agreed to strengthen the relations among labour inspectorates of ASEAN Member States and promote cooperation by institutionalizing the ASEAN Labour Inspection Committee.

The inaugural meeting of the ASEAN Labour Inspection Committee was attended by labour inspection focal points of all ASEAN Member States and consider the outcomes of discussion of yesterday’s ASEAN Labour Inspection Conference as well as potential areas of cooperation and future themes of the Conference.