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The Committee notes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention received in July 2008. It notes the provisions of Act No. 04-19 of 25 December 2004 on the placement of workers and the supervision of employment, and those of Executive Decree No. 07-123 of 24 April 2007 determining the conditions and procedures for granting and withdrawing certification of private employment agencies and laying down the model terms of reference for the performance of the public employment service. It invites the Government to provide updated information in its next report on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including extracts from relevant court decisions and extracts from activity reports of private employment and inspection agencies, as well as statistical information on the number of workers placed by private employment agencies (Parts III, IV and V of the report form).

1. Article 5, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Measures to promote equality. The Committee notes the provisions of the model terms of reference which indicate in section 11 that administrations and agencies should avoid, in their activities, any distinction, exclusion or preference based on discrimination, in accordance with the legislative provisions in force. In this respect, they ensure equal treatment for all categories of people who approach them and avoid, directly or indirectly, any preferential treatment. The periodic supervision of the competent state services, in particular those under the Ministry of Employment and the General Labour Inspectorate, is required to ensure respect for equality of opportunity of jobseekers in access to employment (section 29 of Executive Decree No. 07-123). The Committee refers to the comments it has been making for several years on the application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), and recalls that certain grounds for discrimination, such as race, colour, religion and national extraction, were not covered by the 1990 Labour Code. It invites the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to ensure that private employment agencies do not subject workers to any of the forms of discrimination referred to in this provision of Convention No. 181.

2. Article 5, paragraph 2. Special services to assist the most disadvantaged workers. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the special services or targeted programmes designed by private employment agencies to assist the most disadvantaged workers in their jobseeking activities.

3. Article 8. Protection of migrant workers. The Committee notes the provisions prohibiting private employment agencies from placing national jobseekers abroad or the foreign labour force in Algeria (section 2 of Executive Decree No. 07-123 of 24 April 2007). In its 2007 direct request on the application of the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), the Committee had emphasized the growing role of private agencies in the international migration process and the risk of repercussions on the recruitment, placement and conditions of labour of migrants. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on Convention No. 181 on the measures taken to provide adequate protection and to prevent abuses of migrant workers recruited or placed in Algeria. In this regard, the Committee recalls that, in March 2006, a Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration was published by the ILO, which includes non-binding principles and guidelines for a rights-based approach to labour migration. It also requests the Government to provide information on bilateral labour agreements concluded to prevent abuses and fraudulent practices in the recruitment, placement and employment of migrant workers.

4. Article 10. Complaints. The Committee notes that certification may be withdrawn in the event of a failure to fulfil obligations arising from the laws and regulations (section 15 of Executive Decree No. 07-123). The supervision of private employment agencies is provided for by sections 29 to 32 of the same Executive Decree. The Committee requests the Government to include, in its next report, information showing how the procedures in force enable an effective investigation of alleged abuses and fraudulent practices concerning the activities of private employment agencies, specifying the type and volume of complaints received, and indicating on how they were resolved.

5. Article 13. Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Committee recalls that Algeria has ratified the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), and the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), and that, under Convention No. 181, the public authorities retain final authority for formulating labour market policy (Article 13, paragraph 2). It hopes that in its next report the Government will give an account of the measures taken to promote cooperation between the National Employment Agency and private employment agencies (Article 13, paragraph 1). Please also supply examples of the information provided to ANEM by private employment agencies and specify the information that is made publicly available and the intervals at which this is done (Article 13, paragraphs 3 and 4).