Decree-Law 16998 in Bolivia: preventive management and inspection

Bolivia’s Decree-Law 16998 contains the General Law on Occupational Hygiene, Safety and Welfare. It combines the organisation of prevention with technical working conditions: knowing the legal reference is not enough unless it translates into action within the company.

In brief

Its application requires reviewing activities, exposed people and technical standards. This review must connect with the Occupational Safety and Health Management Programme, PGSST, and with inspection.

Contents
  1. Connecting the legal framework with the activity
  2. Organising responsibilities and resources
  3. Connecting the PGSST with actual work
  4. Checking conditions and correcting deviations
  5. Preparing evidence for labour inspection
  6. Hypothetical example: expanding a workshop
  7. Related concepts
  8. References

A–Z dictionary →

The law distinguishes occupational hygiene and safety management from minimum working conditions. Both dimensions must be checked against operations: facilities, equipment, routine tasks and occasional work.

A legal requirements register records which provisions apply and where they are checked. Copying another company’s list of rules does not demonstrate that it covers the establishment’s risks or conditions.

Organising responsibilities and resources

The framework addresses employer duties, organisation and preventive services. To put it into practice, it is useful to specify who coordinates prevention, who implements measures and which resources are available.

Information must reach those who decide on changes or direct tasks. If a repair requires equipment to be stopped, action cannot depend solely on a document existing in the safety manager’s files.

Connecting the PGSST with actual work

The PGSST must be considered alongside applicable technical regulations and official requirements. Its preventive value depends on reflecting workplace conditions and enabling actions to be followed up.

The Ministry has documented inspections that examine this programme alongside measures and evidence at the establishment. That example does not justify generalising one sector’s requirements or inferring an approval procedure for every company.

Checking conditions and correcting deviations

An internal safety inspection helps compare facilities, traffic routes, equipment and emergency resources with the assessment and planned measures. Checks must match the activities actually carried out.

Every deviation requires a decision and follow-up. Preventive action planning helps organise actions and subsequently verify their implementation; a photograph from the initial visit does not by itself demonstrate that the problem has been resolved.

Preparing evidence for labour inspection

Ministerial Resolution 1444/23 approves the General Labour Inspection Regulations. Verification covers conditions and regulatory compliance within their scope; it is not limited to checking that a folder of documents exists.

Preparation should connect each item of evidence with the process and responsible people, address requests through established channels and retain follow-up records. A favourable internal review is not an official declaration of compliance.

Hypothetical example: expanding a workshop

A workshop adds another work area. It reviews access, equipment and exposures, assigns outstanding actions and checks that its programme and applicable documents are updated.

Before closing out the change, it verifies the measures on site. Documentation accompanies the actual improvement and explains what was decided, who was involved and how the outcome was checked.

References

  1. ILO NATLEX. Bolivia’s Decree-Law 16998. Official source
  2. Bolivian Ministry of Labour. MR 1444/23, General Labour Inspection Regulations. Official source
  3. Bolivian Ministry of Labour. Example of verification of measures and the PGSST. Official source
  4. Bolivian Ministry of Labour. OSH technical standards. Official source

Editorial information

Publication date: 19 October 2026.

Editorial responsibility: Sabentis Editorial Team.

Author: Pablo RodríguezLinkedIn

Executive Vice President of the ORP International Foundation and Chief Financial Officer of Sabentis.

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