Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report for the period ending June 1990, the information supplied to the 78th Session of the Conference (June 1991) and the discussion in the Conference Committee. The Committee notes that, according to the information available to the ILO or contained in OECD reports, there was a reduction in the unemployment rate in 1990, which fell from 12 to 11 per cent. Despite this overall decrease, there remain major disparities between the regions, between the sexes and between age groups, which continue to be affected in a very unequal manner by unemployment. The regional differences in unemployment rates remain considerable: although the unemployment rate in the South has decreased substantially from 21.1 per cent to 19.7 per cent, this rate is three times higher than in the North of the country. The unemployment rate for women is 17.1 per cent as against 7.3 per cent for men, despite a participation rate by women which remains relatively low. Unemployment is particularly high among young persons (33.6 per cent of the 14-24 age group in 1989). The extent of long-term unemployment, which accounts for over two-thirds of total unemployment, is all the more worrying since 60 per cent of the long-term unemployed are young persons. All these figures bear witness to the continuing gravity of the problem of structural unemployment. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would include in its next report the available information on the situation, level and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, both in the aggregate and as they affect particular categories of workers including, as it requested in a previous observation, migrant workers.

2. The Committee notes that the Government gives full recognition to the need to pursue active policies designed to deal with the structural causes of unemployment. In this connection, it notes with interest the information that the resources allocated to active employment policy programmes have been increased substantially over recent years. The Government's report covers all the measures that have been taken, as the Committee has already noted in previous comments, including financial subsidies for the creation of jobs by enterprises in the South, the part-time employment of young persons in work of community interest, the participation of the Fund to Reduce Unemployment in the financing of investments to create jobs, and the financial and technical assistance supplied for the creation of enterprises by young persons in the South. The Committee notes with interest the increased importance of combined employment and training contracts, which covered more than half a million young persons in 1990, and the Government's plans to increase the number of beneficiaries by raising the age limit, to promote the transformation of these contracts into permanent employment contracts and to supplement them by employment preparation contracts intended in particular for young persons of between 15 and 25 years of age. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information on the various programmes that have been implemented, and on the measures that have been taken to assess their impact on the employment of the groups for whom they are intended and on other categories of the population.

3. The Government states that in order to combat unemployment in the South effectively, it is necessary to look beyond isolated emergency measures, which have been found to be insufficient, in order to adopt an integrated approach to development that is coordinated with an active labour market policy. It states that it is convinced of the need to coordinate initiatives to reduce unemployment and develop human resources with more general measures to promote the dynamism of the productive system. The Committee notes these statements and requests the Government to indicate in its next report the general economic policy measures that have been taken or are envisaged, particularly in the fields of investment policy, fiscal policy and regional development policy as a result of this orientation of its employment policy. Furthermore, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply information on the measures that have been taken or are envisaged in order to coordinate education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities, taking into account the relevant provisions of Convention No. 142 and the Committee's comments on the application of this Convention.

4. The Committee notes the conclusion in March 1991 of an agreement between the Government and employers' and workers' organisations for the overall development of the South. More generally, it notes with interest, following the debate in the Conference Committee, that the existing consultation procedures between the Government and the social partners on employment policies appear to be functioning in a satisfactory manner. The Committee does not doubt that the Government will continue to supply information on the manner in which the representatives of the persons affected are consulted concerning employment policies.

5. In conclusion, the Committee notes, in accordance with its previous comments relating to the impact of the measures that have been taken on the employment situation, the conclusion of the Conference Committee in June 1991 that the measures taken within the framework of the employment policy, despite the Government's efforts, have not resolved the employment situation, which remained worrying, especially with regard to disparities between regions, age groups and between the sexes. The Committee trusts that the Government will supply, within the time-limits set forth, as requested by the Conference Committee, the necessary information, particularly on the measures adopted in order to achieve the objectives set out in Article 1 of the Convention.