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The Committee notes the Government’s detailed report corresponding to the period ending in May 2008 and the information provided in relation to its 2007 observation.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an employment policy in the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy. The Committee notes the increase in the activity and employment rates since March 2005 and the resulting reduction in the level of unemployment. According to the data published by the ILO in the 2008 Panorama Laboral, the economic growth was also reflected in positive movements in the main employment indicators. Unemployment continued to fall, both at the national level and in urban areas. During the first 11 months of 2008, the national unemployment rate stood at 7.7 per cent, while the urban rate stood at 8 per cent (1.6 and 1.8 percentage points lower than the figures recorded during a similar period in 2007 respectively). These results were due to a significant increase in labour demand (the national employment rate increased by 1 percentage point to reach 57.6 per cent), which contributed to a slight reduction in labour supply. There was a greater reduction in unemployment among women than among men, but unemployment among women continues to be double of that among men and stands at 10.6 per cent compared to 5.8 per cent for men. The Government is proposing structural reforms such as the reform of the State, the reform of the tax system and the adoption of economic policies aimed at boosting the “productive Uruguay” programme by increasing sources of work and improving workers’ qualifications. In labour matters, the Government aims to promote entrepreneurship and business training, encourage the use of technological developments relating to innovation and quality, facilitate geographic decentralization, protect the environment and promote micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the Government, the financial balance, together with the benefits of international trade and the introduction of regulations and measures benefiting workers, such as the reintroduction of wage boards, have had an effect on working conditions and job creation.

In the context of the implementation of an active employment policy, the Government agreed with the ILO on a Decent Work Country Programme in February 2007. The objective of this Agenda is to facilitate the development of strategies and activities aimed at ensuring fundamental rights at work, in terms of both quantity and quality. One of the specific objectives of the Agenda is the creation of productive employment which includes high formal coverage, social protection and guarantees for the exercise of fundamental rights at work, with special consideration being given to gender equality, young persons and ethnic pluralism. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on how the measures taken under the Decent Work Country Programme have promoted the objective of full and productive employment under the Convention. Please also indicate whether the objectives of overcoming poverty, reducing social inequalities and ensuring sustainable development, as established under the Decent Work Agenda, have been achieved.

Workers in the informal economy. The Committee notes that, according to the National Institute of Statistics, informal employment, which is understood to mean employment not involving social security registration, stands at 33.4 per cent. The informal economy is a low-quality employment sector, which provides the Government and social partners with the challenge of devising and implementing policies and legal frameworks to facilitate the integration of these workers into the labour market in appropriate conditions. The Committee notes that the Government has adopted various approaches, including the Domestic Work Act which promotes the registration of workers, the Employment Objective Programme which grants benefits to companies registered under the social security system and the establishment of a committee on informal employment within the context of the National Commitment to Employment, Income and Responsibilities. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to gradually integrate persons working in the informal economy into the formal labour market. Please also provide information on the recommendations made by the Committee on informal employment relating to the integration of persons working in the informal economy into the labour market.

Cooperatives. The Committee notes with interest that in October 2008, Act No. 18407 on cooperatives was promulgated, which aims to regulate the establishment, organization and operation of cooperatives and the cooperative sector. The Act also creates the National Institute of Cooperatives (INACOOP) to promote the economic, social and cultural development of the cooperative sector and its integration into the country’s development. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress being made by INACOOP to promote labour and social cooperatives, the objective of which is to achieve the social and labour market integration of the heads of households belonging to sectors in which basic needs are not being met, as well as young persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and any group in a situation of extreme social vulnerability.

Education policies and the supply of vocational training. The Committee notes the vocational training and labour market integration programmes implemented for young persons (PROJOVEN), rural workers, persons with disabilities (PROCLADIS), women (PROMUJER) and for the strengthening of micro- and small enterprises (FOPYMES), as well as the programme on the establishment of micro undertakings. It also notes the possibility available to companies of deducting their training expenditure from their business tax (IRAE) as a means of promoting ongoing training. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on training activities for active workers, the recently unemployed and the long-term unemployed.

Participation of the social partners in employment policies. The Committee notes that in 2007, agreement was reached on the terms of the Bill creating the National Institute of Employment and Vocational Training. According to the Government, the Bill marks substantive progress with regard to the institutional framework and tasks of this tripartite body, includes public funds equal to those contributed by employers and workers and establishes various levels of management at the sectoral level (sectoral employment committees) and at the territorial level (departmental and local employment committees), providing the departmental committees with infrastructure and financial support for their management. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the progress made in strengthening the mechanisms which allow the development and implementation, in consultation with the social partners, of the employment policy measures required by the Convention.