Historical and legal aspects of the transformation of the legal status of labor inspection in Ukraine

Abstract

The article examines the process of transformation for the legal status of labor inspection in independent Ukraine, taking into account the political and legal determinants that condition it. As a basis for distinguishing the conditional stages of development there were drawn normative and legal acts determined in historical retrospect and establish (in modern Ukraine) the legal status of the labor inspectorate as a specialized body for supervision and control over compliance with labor law. As a result of the conducted research there were determined five stages of labor inspection development in independent Ukraine: the first stage (September 23, 1991 – August 2, 1996) – the formation of special state bodies for supervision of compliance with labor and occupational safety law while simultaneously preserving the function of state supervision for legal and technical labor inspections as part of trade unions; the second stage (August 2, 1996 – November 29, 2000) – creation and functioning of the state inspection of the Labor Ministry in the status of a structural division for central apparatus of the Labor Ministry and territorial state inspections; the third stage (November 29, 2000 – April 6, 2011) – formation and functioning of the State Department for Supervision of Compliance with Labor Law (Derzhnaglyadpratsi) as a governmental body of state administration within the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy in Ukraine; the fourth stage (April 6, 2011 – February 11, 2015) formation and activity of the State Labor Inspectorate of Ukraine (State Labor) in the status of a central body for executive power; the fifth stage (from February 11, 2015) – formation and functioning of the State Labor Service of Ukraine in the status of a central body for executive power, endowed with broad powers to supervise and control compliance with labor law, employment of the population, mandatory state social insurance. It is emphasized that in the process of transformation there is a change in the organizational and legal status of the labor inspection together with the formation of an integrated system for supervision and control, which in theoretical sense implies a coherent and flexible concept structurally including administrative, procedural and technical integration. In practice, such a policy of labor management involves further improvement of the law enforcement practice for inspection, combining it with informational, advisory, analytical measures within the framework of the implementation for a comprehensive approach. It has been found out that functional integration, or the concentration of functions in a single state labor inspection service, is the predominant trend in the formation of the supervision and control system, capable of ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of control and supervision activities. Key words: labor law, transformation, legal status, labor inspection, control, supervision, inspection, international standards, principle of functional integration.