Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. With reference to its 2001 observation, the Committee notes the full and detailed report from the Government received in December 2002. The Government indicates in its report that, with the support of the multidisciplinary advisory team of the ILO Area Office, it has been possible to implement programmes to take up the challenge of reconstruction following the earthquakes which hit El Salvador in January and February 2001. The Government refers in particular to the Rural Employment Reactivation Programme which, in addition to rehabilitating 941,409 jobs during the period January-June 2001, made it possible to reconstruct infrastructure damaged by the natural catastrophes. The Government also refers to its strategy for the creation of jobs through an increase in exports that will result from the new free trade agreements concluded with its principal trading partners. In the context of these policies, it is envisaged that total employment in the export sector will reach 405,000 jobs by 2005. The Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will include information on the actual results achieved in terms of the creation of productive employment through these measures. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the restructuring of the economy and on labour market programmes carried out with a view to matching labour supply and demand so as to ensure that the categories of workers affected by such structural transformations and changes in international trade can enter and remain in the labour market.

2. Article 2. The Government confirms, through the statistics compiled and supplied, that despite the macroeconomic discipline achieved, the underutilization of human resources continues to affect development prospects in El Salvador. The Committee notes with concern that underemployment, which affects around one-third of the active population, particularly occurs in rural areas, giving rise to poverty and encouraging rural-urban migration. The occurrence of underemployment in urban areas is reflected in the increase in urban informal activities and the rise in urban poverty. In this respect, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information in its next report on the phenomenon of underemployment in El Salvador. The Committee also trusts that the Government will continue to give priority in its development plans to an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment.

3. Article 3. In November 2002, the Office forwarded to the Government the observations made by the Inter-Union Commission of El Salvador (CIES) claiming, among other matters, that the Government did not have an employment policy and that the abolition of the Ministry of Planning and Coordination of Social Development had made it difficult to obtain technical resources for the preparation of development and employment policies. It added that workers’ organizations were not taken into account or consulted in the formulation of an employment policy. The CIES also states that the private sector is not taking action to create jobs and that in view of the economic slowdown, its sole and immediate response has been the dismissal of workers so that firms can be competitive. The Committee also takes due note of the comments received from the Government in December 2002 in relation to the observations of the CIES. The Government refers once again to the measures taken in the framework of the Rural Employment Reactivation Programme and the expectations for the creation of employment in the export sector. The Ministry of Labour and Social Insurance is developing a national employment plan in coordination with various public and private institutions at the national level. It refers to labour market studies on the impact of the vocational training programmes implemented by the Salvadorian Vocational Training Institute (INSAFORP). The Government acknowledges that the continued valuable support provided by the ILO through various programmes and projects (strengthening social dialogue, the management of employment, strengthening labour inspection, eradication of child labour, modernization of the Ministry of Labour) has contributed to El Salvador being one of the seven countries in Latin America that have made progress in relation to decent work. The Committee recalls that Article 3 of the Convention provides that the measures to be taken in relation to employment policy should take fully into account the experience and views of the representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations with a view to securing their full cooperation in formulating and implementing the employment policy. The Committee trusts that in its next report the Government will be able to provide further details on the efforts made to hold the consultations required by this important provision and will also indicate the manner in which the views of the representatives of persons affected by employment policy measures, including the opinions of representatives of those working in the rural sector and the informal economy, are taken into account so as to ensure that the objectives of the Convention are being achieved.

4. In a direct request on the application of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), the Committee refers to matters relating to the coordination of education and vocational training policies with prospective employment opportunities.