47 228. Based on the lack of effective supervision of health and safety regulations, the Committee recalls that the compliance with the Charter "cannot be ensured solely by the operation of legislation if this is not effectively applied and rigorously supervised" (International Commission of Jurists v. Portugal, decision cited above, §33). The enforcement of health and safety regulations required by Article 3§2 is therefore essential if the right embodied in Article 3 is to be effective. 229. States that have ratified the Charter have undertaken, under Article 20§5, to “maintain a system of labour inspection appropriate to national conditions”. The Committee considers that states have a measure of discretion regarding not only how they organise their inspection services but also what resources they allocate to them. However, since such services are the main safeguard of health and safety in the workplace, "there must be a minimum number of regular inspections to ensure that the largest possible number of workers benefit from the right enshrined in Article 3" (Conclusions XIV-2, Belgium, p. 127) and that the risk of accidents is reduced to a minimum. The Committee stresses that this limits states' discretion and that the Charter is violated when the staffing of the inspection services and the number of visits carried out is manifestly inadequate for the number of employees concerned. 230. The relevant data available to the Committee come from the complainant organisation. The Government does not quote any figures but does acknowledge in a general way that there are gaps in the inspection arrangements for mines and quarries because of staffing problems. It claims however that, in spite of the situation, the inspectorates are active in supervising mines and quarries and that there are plans to improve the situation. 231. The Committee considers that in the areas such as the right to safety and health at work, which are so intimately linked with the physical integrity of individuals, the state has a duty to provide precise and plausible explanations and information on developments in the number of occupational accidents and on measures taken to ensure the enforcement of regulations and hence to prevent accidents. In the present case, the Committee considers that Greece has failed to honour its obligation to effectively monitor the enforcement of regulations on health and safety at work particularly as the Government recognises the lack of inspectors and is unable to supply precise data on the number of accidents in the mining sector. The alleged violation of Article 2§4 232. The Committee points out that Article 2§4 of the Charter requires states to grant workers exposed to occupational health risks compensatory measures. 233. The Committee notes that for a number of years Greece, like the other states party to the Charter, has been pursuing a policy of occupational risk prevention and elimination rather than one of compensation. It considers that this development needs to be taken into account in interpreting Article 2§4 of the Charter, to ensure consistency with Articles 3 (right to safe and healthy working conditions) and 11 (right to protection of health). A literal reading of Article 2§4, without taking other factors into consideration, would point to the conclusion that there had been a violation of the Charter.