Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report. It also notes the mission carried out by the Office in October 2004, and the information provided to it by the technical committee responsible for reports. The Committee notes that the Libyan Government welcomes the mission and provides assurances of its commitment to comply with the obligations deriving from the Convention. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s request to provide it with technical assistance to follow up the comments of the Committee and that this assistance will be provided during the course of 2005. It hopes that, as a result of this assistance, the Government will take the necessary measures to give full effect in law and practice to the provisions of the Convention on which it has been commenting and that it will provide information in its next report on the following points.

Part IV of the Convention. Unemployment benefit. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee recalls that, under the terms of section 38 of the Social Security Act, No. 13 of 1980, and Decision No. 303 of 1988 establishing rules governing the provision of cash unemployment benefits, in cases where a contract of work is terminated without the insured person being entitled to a pension, the insured person continues to receive the previous wage from the employer for a maximum period of six months or until he or she finds another job. Upon completion of this period, the competent people’s committee of the public service takes over responsibility until the insured person is assigned to a suitable job. In relation to the minimum standards of protection set out in the Convention, which authorizes the limitation of unemployment benefit to 13 weeks at a replacement rate of 45 per cent, the Libyan system guarantees the protection during the whole period of unemployment with a replacement rate of 100 per cent. In the Government’s opinion, these provisions of the national legislation are adequate to ensure effective protection against unemployment, which is the essential purpose of the Convention.

The Committee considers that, while the Libyan system may prove to be effective in the current national context in which there is practically no unemployment, with the result that the financial burden borne respectively by employers and local budgets remains under control, its effectiveness could rapidly become inadequate where, in the context of greater openness of the national economy to global markets, unemployment and production costs in the country were to rise. The Committee therefore wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the Convention is intended to afford effective protection against unemployment by means of a system of social security which makes it possible to finance unemployment benefit through collective contributions from all those concerned, thereby avoiding the situation in which they are payable directly by employers, which may become too burdensome if the level of unemployment in the country rises. The Committee therefore hopes that the Government will be able to reconsider the question in the light of its position as expressed in its 1995 report, in which it indicated that it would endeavour to adopt the necessary rules to permit the Social Security Fund to receive contributions and to pay unemployment benefit, thereby giving effect to Part IV of the Convention through a system of social security and taking into account more fully the principles of organization and financing set out in Articles 71 and 72. In this respect, the Committee notes that the technical committee is of the opinion that provisions should be introduced into the national social security system to cover unemployment benefit with a view to giving effect to Part IV of the Convention, and that the submission to amend section 38 of Act No. 13 and Decision No. 303, referred to above, has been forwarded to the Social Security Fund with a view to bringing these provisions into conformity with the Convention. The Committee also notes the indication of the technical committee that it will ascertain whether the Social Security Fund has made progress in this respect and will provide information as soon as possible.

2. Part VII. Family benefit. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 24 of Act No. 13 of 1980 only provided for the granting of family allowances to pensioners under the social security system, whereas Article 41 of the Convention covers other categories of employers or residents. In reply, the Government indicated in its previous report that the family benefit for the various categories of employees is covered by the legislation respecting labour and the public service and that the purpose of the Convention to provide family benefit to all employees without exception is fully attained. The Committee notes the decision of the People’s Committee of 24 April 1978, a copy of which was provided by the Government, which provides in section 1 that "Libyan employees, in both the public sector and the private sector, shall receive in addition to their wage and other indemnities, a family allowance ...". The Committee recalls that the Convention also covers employees who are not nationals. It hopes that the Government will provide copies with its next report of the provisions which also ensure that non-nationals are entitled to benefit from family allowances.

[The Government is requested to report in detail in 2005.]