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1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Declaring and pursuing a national employment policy. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in August 2009. The Government indicates that the National Employment and Vocational Training Policy is currently being finalized alongside several other sectoral plans and that, in the field of investment, the adoption of the Investment Charter is intended to contribute to an increase in productive investments which create jobs. The Government adds that it has taken measures for balanced regional development, infrastructure development and rural development. These measures include the establishment of the Rural Jobs Development Support Programme (PADER), which has financed 33,065 young persons in rural areas to undertake profitable projects. In the context of a labour-intensive approach (HIMO), the plans include the implementation of rural development programmes. The Committee notes a new Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (DSCE) and observes that the acceleration of economic growth and the creation of decent jobs are among the Government’s new priorities. The Committee would be grateful to examine in the next report the measures adopted in practice and implemented in the context of the National Employment and Vocational Training Policy, as well as the DSCE, in terms of the creation of lasting jobs and the reduction of underemployment. The Committee also hopes that the Government will be in a position to provide statistics on the situation and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, with particular reference to women and young persons.

2. Coordination of employment policy and poverty reduction. In its 2007 observation, the Committee requested the Government to describe the measures adopted to improve the coordination of employment policies and poverty reduction. According to the latest statistics contained in the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper, the population of Cameroon was 17.9 million in 2007, of whom 7.1 million were poor. The Committee notes that, in the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper, the Government has set the objective of reducing the poverty rate from 39.9 per cent in 2007 to under 25 per cent in 2019. The Committee invites the Government to provide updated and detailed information in its next report on the measures adopted to ensure that employment, as a key factor in poverty reduction, is at the core of macroeconomic and social policy. It requests the Government in particular to provide information disaggregated by category on the results achieved in terms of employment, particularly for women, young persons, older workers and persons with disabilities, following the adoption of these measures.

3. Informal economy. The Government indicates that 92 per cent of the active population is in the informal economy and that underemployment remains very high, affecting 75.8 per cent of the population at the national average and 68.3 per cent of the population in rural areas. It also provides documentation on the implementation of an Integrated Support Project for the Informal Sector (PIAASI) and data on applications for support for Informal Production Units (UPI) by sector and province. In 2007, the PIAASI identified over 10,000 actors seeking assistance in the fields of organization, training and financial support while, in the first half of 2007, nearly 1,400 informal production units received financial support. The Committee invites the Government to include information on the measures through which the PIAASI has proven to be effective in terms of the creation of productive employment for workers in the informal economy.

4. Youth employment. The Government indicates in its report that the youth unemployment rate is 13 per cent of the population at the national level, and that 2 million young persons are in inadequate employment. It adds that, in the context of its National Employment and Vocational Training Policy, it has established programmes for the socio-economic integration of young persons, including the National Plan of Action for Youth Employment, the Support Programme for the Integration of Young Agricultural Workers and the Project for the Socio-economic Integration of Young Persons through the creation of micro‑enterprises for the production of sports goods. The Youth Employment Pact, which was launched in 2007, has resulted in the integration of 1,250 young persons into the labour market. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the impact of the measures and programmes intended to facilitate the access of young persons to decent employment.

5. Women’s employment. The Government refers in its report to the National Plan of Action for the Employment of Women (PANEF). It indicates that the Project for the Socio-economic Integration of Girls and Women targets poor women through the provision of training on the development of projects and by facilitating their access to financing. The Committee requests the provision in the next report of detailed information on the results achieved in the context of the PANEF in relation to the integration of women into the labour market.

6. Promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Government indicates that it has established a Support Programme for the Creation and Development of SMEs in the processing and conservation of local mass consumption products and that this Programme envisages the creation of 150 SMEs by young graduates. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the impact of the programme in terms of reducing the obstacles faced in starting up small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government may consider it useful to consult the provisions of the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189).

7. Coordination of education and training policies with employment policy. The Government indicates that the National Employment Policy includes a vocational training component and that, in the context of the development of an approach based on competences and agro-ecological areas, it is in the process of reforming the rural craft and the household sections to transform them into craftwork trade training centres. The implementation of the Programme for the Improvement of the Supply of Vocational Training, the establishment of private vocational training institutions, the provision of vocational training grants to 900 young persons and the opening in Cameroon of a section for the implementation of the Africa Jobs Programme are contributing since 2002 to improving the supply of vocational training. The Committee invites the Government to provide updated information in its next report disaggregated by the sex and age of the beneficiaries on the results of guidance and training programmes, with an indication of the competences and skills acquired by the beneficiaries, and the impact of the various training programmes in terms of the integration of those concerned into lasting employment.

8. Collection and utilization of employment data. The Committee notes that the Government has established a number of structures responsible for collecting and analysing labour market statistics, including the Central Population Census and Studies Bureau, the National Statistical Institute and the National Employment and Vocational Training Observatory (ONEFOP). It also notes the ONEFOP Bulletin containing data on, among other subjects, sectoral employment trends and the informal economy. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the progress achieved in the collection of employment data, with an indication of the employment policy measures adopted as a result of the establishment of the various structures responsible for the collection of employment data.

9. Article 3. Participation of the social partners in policy formulation and implementation. The Government indicates that the representatives of occupational employers’ and workers’ organizations are consulted during meetings convened by the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, the National Employment Fund and the directors of social dialogue institutions. The Committee notes the comments of the General Union of Cameroon Workers (UGTC) and the General Confederation of Labour–Liberty of Cameroon
(CGT–Liberté), according to which two tripartite steering committees were established in June 2007, one responsible for the formulation of the national employment policy and the second for the strategy for the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training. The Committee hopes that the Government’s next report will contain precise information on the operation and activities of these two steering committees. It also requests the Government to provide information on the consultations held with the most vulnerable categories of the population, and particularly with representatives of workers in rural areas and the informal economy, with a view to enlisting their support for the formulation and implementation of employment policy programmes and measures.