Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

1. The Committee notes the detailed report provided by the Government for the period ending June 1998. In its report, the Government provides information on the operational plan of the General Directorate of Employment for 1999, as well as detailed statistics on the situation of employment, unemployment and underemployment in the country. In September 1997, the national rate of open unemployment was 3.2 per cent, with underemployment affecting 23.4 per cent of the population. The Honduran Social Investment Fund (FHIS), defined as a mechanism for the payment of the social debt, promotes employment through the construction of productive or social infrastructure, a support programme for the informal sector and other programmes of action designed to meet the basic needs of the population. The operational plan of the National Institute of Vocational Training (INFOP) was also included in the report. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate in its next report the programmes implemented by the FHIS and the INFOP to promote the creation of productive employment. The Committee is aware that the hurricane which affected the whole Honduran territory in November 1998 resulted in massive human, economic, social and environmental losses. The Committee hopes that the Government will retain the objectives of full, productive and freely chosen employment, as set out in Article 1 of the Convention, among its priorities for national reconstruction and that the assistance of the international community will also be directed at sustaining programmes for the creation of employment, particularly for the population most affected by the hurricane. The Committee trusts that the Government will take into account the need to comply with the provisions of the Convention when designing and implementing new employment programmes and that, in its next report, it will be able to indicate the extent to which it has been able to overcome the difficulties encountered in attaining the objectives of the Convention.

2. The Committee considers it appropriate to recall once again that, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, representatives of the persons affected by the measures to be taken shall be consulted concerning employment policies, both during their formulation and their implementation. In view of the circumstances, the Committee is bound to request the Government to provide information in its next report on the manner in which consultations with the representatives of employers and workers have been ensured in practice, particularly for those sectors affected by the hurricane, including the rural sector and the informal sector.

3. Finally, the Committee hopes that the competent departments of the ILO can make a contribution to the achievement of the objectives of the Convention and that the Government will be able to indicate in its next report the action taken as a result of any activities undertaken by the ILO.