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Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee notes the detailed report and the full documentation received in September 2009. The Government lists the measures intended to promote economic growth, increase income and reduce the fiscal deficit and tax burden. The Government’s objective is to create high-quality employment; carry out investment in economic and social infrastructure in order to promote productivity, investment and decent work; and strengthen investment in education, training, research and technological development. In the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, the Committee emphasized that Executive Decree No. PCM-05-2007 of 2007 integrates the “National Plan for the Creation of Decent Employment” into the country’s poverty reduction strategy and gives it the status of state policy (2010 General Survey, paragraph 57). The Government points out that in its report since 2008 the country is no longer in the category of “heavily indebted poor country”, having moved into the category of “lower middle income country”. According to the National Institute for Statistics, the percentage of households living in poverty in 2009 was 59.2 per cent and 36 per cent of households were classified as living in extreme poverty. In 2009 the rate of open unemployment was 2.9 per cent and the rate of invisible underemployment was 29.8 per cent. With the implementation of the National Decent Work Programme (PNTD), the Government is seeking to generate some 425,000 jobs during 2006–09 and some 650,000 jobs in the following six years. The PNTD seeks to promote decent work with the emphasis on young people, the development of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, reduction of informal work and underemployment, and the improvement of services relating to employment, vocational training and labour market information. The Government also states that monitoring instruments for evaluating the management of comprehensive employment policies are being applied in order to be able to measure their results. The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its next report on the results achieved in the creation of productive employment in the context of the PNDP. The Committee requests that up-to-date information be included on the size and distribution of the workforce and on the nature and extent of unemployment, as an essential component of the implementation of an active employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. Measures for alleviating the impact of the crisis. The Committee observes the negative impact of the international financial crisis on public finance, growth in GDP and private, national and foreign investment, causing a drop in income and employment. The Government indicates in its report that efforts are being made to ensure macroeconomic stability and stimulate the creation of productive employment, as well as boosting training of the workforce in priority population groups and sectors of production. The Committee also notes the tripartite commission set up to construct a space for dialogue, coordination, negotiation and consultation with special emphasis on the “National Plan for the Creation of Decent Employment” and the “Support policy for supporting the competitiveness of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises”. In the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, the Committee underlines the importance of ongoing, genuine tripartite consultations for tackling and alleviating the consequences of the global economic crisis (2010 General Survey, paragraph 788). The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its next report on the consultations held with a view to formulating and implementing an active employment policy enabling the negative impact of the global crisis to be overcome. The Committee also requests the Government to supply information on the consultations held with representatives of the persons affected by the measures to be taken from other sectors of the economically active population, such as those working in the rural sector and the informal economy.

The Committee notes Decree No. 230-2010 of November 2010 establishing the National Solidarity Plan for anti-crisis employment which includes the National Programme on Hourly Employment. The Committee notes the opposition expressed by the General Federation of Workers (CGT), the Workers’ Confederation of Honduras (CTH) and the Single Confederation of Workers of Honduras (CUTH) towards the draft National Solidarity Plan in a communication sent to the Government in October 2010. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the manner in which account has been taken of the opinions and experience of the representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations in the formulation and implementation of the aforementioned Plan. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the supervision and monitoring of the Programme, the extent to which the beneficiaries have succeeded in obtaining productive employment and details of age, sex, place of residence, training received and any other data enabling a quantitative and qualitative examination to be made of the employment created.

Coordination of policies. The Government states that it is joining forces to improve the employability and competitiveness of the workforce by means of a National Vocational Training Programme which is integrated with the creation of productive work. The Committee also notes that the National Competitiveness Strategy identifies as motors of development the service-oriented maquila (export processing) sector, the full development of agri-food potential, promotion of the forestry sector and the full development of tourism. The Committee requests the Government to include information in its next report on the steps taken to coordinate occupational education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities and to improve the competitiveness of the economy.

Impact of trade agreements. In its previous comments the Committee referred to the entry into force of the Dominican Republic–Central America–United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA–DR). In view of the importance of exports for sustaining productive employment in the country’s economy, the Committee again requests the Government to include information in its next report on the impact of trade agreements on the generation of productive employment.

Export processing zones. The Committee notes that, according to the Honduran Association of Maquila Enterprises, in January 2009 there were 250 enterprises working in the export processing (maquila) sector employing nearly 119,000 workers. More than 12,000 jobs have been lost in this sector since 2008. The highest levels of activity remain in textiles, clothing and vehicle parts. The Committee requests the Government to continue to supply information on the contribution of the export processing zones towards the creation of lasting, high-quality employment.

Micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the 280,000 MSMEs in the country generate approximately 25 per cent of GDP and more than 700,000 jobs. In October 2008 Decree No. 135 approving the Act for the promotion and development of competitiveness of MSMEs was adopted. The Act seeks to promote a favourable environment in which urban and rural MSMEs can develop their competitiveness and establish an enterprise culture, facilitate access to financing, create conditions for the establishment and consolidation of production lines and draw up strategic plans for ensuring the full development of the sector. Funds of 1,000 million lempiras were assigned to the development of the MSMEs. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the impact of the new legal framework relating to MSMEs on the creation of employment and the reduction of poverty.

Migrant workers. The Committee notes that migrants account for more than 5 per cent of the population. The destination of 81.1 per cent of migrants is North America. Remittances from the United States to Honduras amount to some US$2,600,000 annually. The Government states that procedures are being implemented to organize the flow of labour-related remittances and investment and to reduce their utilization in the consumer sphere, ensuring that they are undertaken within proposed plans for the reduction of unemployment and underemployment. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the manner in which programmes for sound investment of remittances sent by migrant workers have contributed to the creation of productive employment.

Youth employment. According to the National Youth Forum, the unemployment rate for economically active young persons stands at 5.2 per cent and is even higher in urban areas, especially the city of Tegucigalpa (10.8 per cent), while rural unemployment stands at 2.9 per cent. The rate of open unemployment for young persons who have completed secondary or higher education is 8.6 per cent and 8 per cent respectively. The Committee observes that young persons who have received training face particular problems in finding employment. The Government indicates that it is necessary to eliminate the social problems that represent a real risk for the youth population, including violence, poor access to health care and education, and also exclusion from political, social and economic opportunities. The Committee notes that the National Youth Policy and its Strategic Plan have been approved. The Plan of Action for Youth Employment 2009–11 has been adopted in order to promote the employability of young people by means of access to technical and vocational training. The strategic components of the Plan of Action include promoting the development of young entrepreneurs and increasing access to productive assets to discourage the migration of young persons between 15 and 29 years of age who form a vulnerable section of the population. The Committee also observes that there is a growing problem of unemployment among educated workers, particularly young university graduates, who are unable to find secure employment commensurate with their skill level. This is now an issue for both advanced market economies and developing countries. Not only are their skills underutilized but this pattern of casual jobs can prove detrimental to their lifetime career progression (2010 General Survey, paragraph 800). The Committee urges the Government to continue to focus on the need to integrate young persons in the labour market. The Committee requests the Government to include information in its next report on the results achieved by the National Youth Policy and the Plan of Action for Youth Employment 2009–11.