Conference Agenda

The transformations of work and the weakening of trade unions call for a rethink of labour market regulation. In response to these challenges, labour inspections have experimented with different enforcement strategies through internal services restructuring, the diversification and combination of approaches to workplace monitoring, and the cooperation with partners such as trade unions.

Co-enforcement with unions and workers is a key strategy for enhancing the effectiveness of labour inspection by leveraging their expertise and direct knowledge of workplace conditions. This takes various forms, such as joint inspections involving inspectors, unions, and workers, or “inspector-delegates” elected by workers that can carry out enforcement functions. These models empower workers to participate actively in monitoring their working conditions and encourage controls through complaints filed by workers, enhancing trust and the willingness to denounce employer abuses.

The Joint Company Inspection (IPE) in Geneva is a significant example of “union-initiated co-enforcement”. The IPE is composed of an equal number of inspectors from unions and employer associations and its delegates have prerogatives similar to those of state inspectors. Why and how did this form of co-enforcement emerge in the Swiss context, known for its fragmented labour inspection system and historically limited union participation in labour market control? What are the advantages and limitations of IPE for labour market regulation?

Based on semi-structured interviews with IPE managers and key informants across the Swiss labour inspection system, as well on an analysis of grey literature, this paper explores the socio-economic and political conditions that enabled the emergence of this form of co-enforcement of labour standards. We first examine the global challenges of labour inspection and introduce co-enforcement, emphasising the role unions can play in it. It then analyses the fragmented Swiss labour inspection system, before exploring the creation of IPE and discussing its interaction with other enforcement bodies in the promotion of labour standards. By examining the dynamics between unions, employer associations, and inspection, the study contributes to academic and political discussions on the innovative forms of labour market regulation.