Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2019, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) - Mali (Ratification: 2016)

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Article 1(1)(a)–(c) of the Convention. Types of private employment agencies. The Committee welcomes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention, received on 30 August 2018, supplemented by a second report, received on 26 August 2019. The Government indicates that there are fee-charging private employment agencies and temporary work agencies in Mali that are appointed by the competent authorities and the social partners to carry out paid placement services and temporary placements. The Government indicates that the activities authorized for private employment agencies are governed by the provisions of Act No. 2017-021 of 12 June 2017, amending Act No. 92-020 of 23 September 1992 issuing the Labour Code, as well as the Decree No. 96-178/P-RM of 13 June 1996 implementing the Labour Code. The Committee notes that, under section L.301 of the Labour Code, the activities of fee-charging private employment agencies consist of regularly providing services to match job offers with jobseekers, without the person carrying out this activity becoming a party to the labour relations that may result from it. The Committee also notes that, under section L.313 of the Labour Code and section D.313 of Decree No. 96-178/P-RM, fee-charging private employment agencies may, alongside their other functions, assume the role of a temporary work agency, the function of which is to make workers, whom it hires and remunerates on the basis of agreed skills, available to user enterprises on a temporary basis. In addition, section L.313-3 of the Labour Code provides that temporary work agencies may assume the role of an outsourcing agency, alongside their other functions. The Committee notes that the national legislation envisages private employment agencies (subsection (a)) and private temporary work agencies (subsection (b)). The Government’s report does not mention the provision of the direct employment services set out in Article 1(1)(c) of the Convention. Nevertheless, the Vision 2020 Strategic Development Plan provides that fee-charging private employment agencies are responsible for providing training in methods of seeking work, promoting employment, harmonizing placement practices and improving the rules on the promotion of labour market intermediation. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether private employment agencies are authorized to offer other services relating to jobseeking within the meaning of Article 1(1)(c) of the Convention. If so, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the most representative organizations of employers and workers consulted in this regard.

Article 4. Right to freedom of association and collective bargaining. Mali has ratified the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that supervision and inspection visits are conducted by the inspection services to ensure the proper application of the legislation on freedom of association and collective bargaining in fee-charging private employment agencies, with the aim of raising awareness on respect for freedom of association. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether the provisions of the Labour Code on the right to freedom of association and collective bargaining also apply to temporary agency workers in user enterprises.

Article 5. Measures to promote equality. Special services designed to assist the most disadvantaged workers. The Committee recalls its 2017 comments on Mali’s application of the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), in which it noted with interest the adoption of Act No. 2017-021 of 12 June 2017 amending Act No. 92-020 of 23 September 1992 issuing the Labour Code, which introduces provisions relating to discrimination in employment and occupation into the Labour Code. The Government indicates that section L.305 of the Labour Code establishes that, “fee-charging private employment agencies shall not subject workers to any discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or any other form of recognized discrimination”. With regard to special services or targeted programmes designed to assist the most disadvantaged workers in their jobseeking activities, the Committee notes that the National Council of Private Employment and Temporary Work Agencies in Mali (CONABEM) collaborated in 2015 and 2016 with Handicap International and the Malian National Federation of Persons with Disabilities (FENAH) with regard to the labour market integration of persons with disabilities in Mali. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the special services or targeted programmes implemented by private employment agencies to assist the most disadvantaged workers in their jobseeking activities, including persons with disabilities.

Article 6. Processing of personal data of workers. In its first report, the Government did not provide information on the manner in which the protection of workers’ personal data is ensured. However, the Committee notes that, according to the CONABEM, the protection of workers’ personal data is ensured using human resources management software and by staff tasked with the confidential maintenance of personnel files. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the regulations currently in force and how they ensure that processing of personal data of workers by private employment agencies is done in a manner that protects this data and ensures respect for workers privacy by limiting the data to matters related to their qualifications and professional experience, as provided for in this Article of the Convention.

Article 8. Protection of migrant workers. The Government indicates that the protection of workers provided for under the provisions of the Labour Code covers migrant workers, but does not clarify whether this protection also extends to private agencies. The Government also indicates in its report that it has concluded a series of bilateral agreements on immigration with several countries. The Committee requests the Government to clarify whether the protection of migrant workers provided for under the provisions of the Labour Code also extends to private agencies. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the steps taken to ensure that migrant workers recruited or placed by private employment agencies benefit from adequate protection and to prevent them from falling victim to abuse.

Article 9. Prohibition of child labour. The Committee recalls that Mali has ratified the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182). In this context, the Government refers to section L.187 of the Labour Code, which provides that children may not be employed in any enterprise, even as apprentices, before the age of 15 years. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the sections of the Labour Code on the prohibition of child labour also apply to private agencies and to detail the measures adopted to ensure that, in practice, child labour is not used or supplied by private employment agencies, including temporary work agencies.

Article 10. Mechanisms for the investigation of complaints, alleged abuses and fraudulent practices. The Government indicates that if a violation is detected during a labour inspector’s monitoring visit to a private employment agency, a notice is sent to the agency. In the event that the infringement persists, a default notice is issued and a report is sent to the Public Prosecutor. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the applicable legislation determining the complaints procedures, and how the current procedures enable the effective investigation of alleged abuses and fraudulent practices concerning the activities of private employment agencies, specifying the nature and number of complaints lodged, and the manner in which they were resolved. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate, where applicable, the employers’ and workers’ organizations involved in these procedures.

Article 11. Measures to ensure adequate protection for the workers employed by private employment agencies and user enterprises. Responsibilities of private employment agencies and user enterprises with regard to protection for workers. In its first report, the Government indicates that, under the Labour Code, workers are guaranteed all the rights related to labour relations. The Social Insurance Code and the Act on compulsory health insurance provide for statutory social security benefits and compensation in the event of occupational accidents diseases. The Government also indicates that all private employment agencies and user enterprises are governed by the same regulations set out in the Labour Code and the Social Insurance Code and share the same responsibilities. In this context, the Committee notes that section L.313 of the Labour Code, which provides that temporary work agencies are deemed to be employers and have the rights and obligations of such. The Committee recalls that, in paragraph 313 of its 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, it highlights the need to have a clear legal framework in place to secure adequate protection in the areas enumerated in Articles 11 and 12 of the Convention. The Committee recalls that, given the particularities of working arrangements in which employees work for a user enterprise that assigns and supervises the execution of the work and the indeterminacy of responsibility, it is necessary for member States to address these particularities through measures that ensure that in each case effective responsibility is determined. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the provisions that ensure adequate protection for the workers employed through private employment agencies, including temporary work agencies, in relation to the aspects covered by Article 11 of the Convention. With regard to Article 12, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the respective responsibilities of private employment agencies, including temporary work agencies, and user enterprises in all of the areas covered by this Article, and the manner in which these responsibilities were assigned.

Article 13. Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. Provision and publication of information. The Committee recalls that Mali has ratified the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88). The Government indicates that the employers and workers organizations consulted on the promotion of cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies are the National Council of Employers of Mali (CNPM), the National Union of Workers of Mali (UNTM) and the Confederation of Workers’ Union of Mali (CSTM). The Committee notes that the CONABEM was established on 9 March 2007 to ensure effective cooperation between the public employment service and fee-charging private employment agencies. The Government indicates that fee-charging private employment agencies regularly provide information on placements made to the National Employment Agency (ANPE), in accordance with section L.305 of the Labour Code, and the information is released to the public every three months. The Government adds that there are cooperation agreements between the ANPE and the Mali Municipalities Association and Mali’s fee-charging private employment agencies and, with a view to strengthening this cooperation, a partnership protocol between the CONABEM and the ANPE was signed on 23 January 2016. The Committee notes that the protocol was concluded to compel the CONABEM to provide to the ANPE reliable and secure statistical data on the labour market. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcomes of the partnership protocol signed between the CONABEM and the ANPE and to indicate how it contributes to improving cooperation between the public employment services and fee-charging private employment agencies. The Committee requests the Government to include in its next report more detailed information on the regular examination of the effectiveness of the cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Government is also requested to provide extracts of statistical reports produced using information provided by private employment agencies.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the statistical data provided by the Government on the applications received, the vacancies notified and the placements made by public and private employment agencies in 2015 and 2016. At the time of the last CONABEM general assembly, there were 53 fee-charging private employment agencies throughout the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide general indications on the manner in which the Convention is applied and extracts of reports by the inspection services and, if such statistics exist, information on the number of workers protected by measures giving effect to the Convention, as well as the number of violations of the relevant legislation.