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1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Coordinating employment policy with poverty reduction. The Committee takes note of the Government’s report received in October 2008 replying to the direct request of 2006. The Government indicates that a social safety net has been put in place in order to protect the poorest people. The coverage of health and education services has been expanded to contribute to reducing poverty and to give the whole population access to a decent standard of living. The Government also indicates that GDP growth was 4.6 per cent in 2005, and that, since 1998, the poverty rate has fallen by 6.5 per cent, with 35.3 per cent of the population being affected in 2005. The unemployment rate has, however, continued to rise (16 per cent of the population being out of work in 2005). According to data in Yemen’s Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) paper for 2008–10, the steady rise in unemployment is due to rapid population growth (3 per cent per year) and the relatively recent entry of women into the employment market, and also to the limited number of employment opportunities. Unemployment particularly affects young people (28.3 per cent in the 15–24 age group) and women (around 40 per cent) (although they still account for only 21.8 per cent of the active population). The Committee notes that the strategic objectives of the third Poverty Reduction Plan 2006–10 coincide with those of the DWCP in that they seek to create jobs, improve social protection and secure better governance for sustainable development. The Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will provide information on the results obtained in employment in the context of the Poverty Reduction Plan 2006–10 and the implementation of the DWCP. It hopes that the Government will provide more specific information on the impact of the measures to raise the participation rate of women in the formal economy and to create job opportunities in the rural sector.

2. Education and training policies. The Committee notes the very high unemployment rate among young university and high school graduates (54 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively). It also notes that the DWCP points out the need to remedy the current disparity between the needs of the employment market and the training provided, by strengthening vocational training and specialized university education and by implementing programmes for specialized training in management and administration. Furthermore, the development of human capital is among the strategic objectives of the third Poverty Reduction Plan 2006–10. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure coordination between education and training policies and employment prospects.

3. Article 3. Participation of the social partners in formulating and applying policies. The Government states that coordination with representatives of civil society on employment policy takes place through various workshops and symposia. In this connection a discussion was organized in May 2008 in Sanaa on poverty and poverty-related indicators in the Gulf countries in the light of the Millenium Development Goals (MDG). The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on consultations held on employment policies with representatives of the workers and employers in the Labour Council and in the context of any other mechanism bringing together the social partners, specifying the manner in which the representatives of persons employed in the rural sector and the informal economy are associated in the consultations. Further to its previous comments, the Committee also hopes that the Government will be in a position to indicate the results obtained by the measures taken in the context of the project to step up the role of the Labour Council, indicating in particular whether formal procedures have been established for consultations on the subjects covered by the Convention.