Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 2006)

Other comments on C122

Direct Request

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Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Formulation of an active employment policy. The Government, in reply to the Committee’s previous comments, indicates that in August 2016, the Ministry of Labour and Employment established a tripartite steering committee on the formulation process of the National Employment and Vocational Training Policy (PNEFP), with the support of ILO experts and a national consultant. It adds that the results of the work led to the validation and official submission of the PNEFP framework document to the President of the Republic in November 2016. The Government indicates that this document has taken into account the sector development policies at the public, semi-public, informal, agricultural, mining, forestry, industrial and infrastructure levels. It considers that, following the recurring crises that the country has gone through, the country’s development must involve the creation of productive and decent employment for the entire population, targeting, above all, the most vulnerable members of society, such as young people, women, persons with disabilities and older persons. The Government therefore considers employment to be a cross-cutting component of all its political programmes. In this regard, it indicates that the main measures of the PNEFP will be determined and regularly reviewed as part of a coordinated economic and social policy, thanks to the creation of the National Fund for the Promotion of Employment and Vocational Training and the Observatory of Employment and Vocational Training. The Committee notes that the unemployment rate is 24 per cent, of which 25.7 per cent in urban areas and 23.4 per cent in rural areas, and that women and young people are the most affected. While recognizing the complexity of the situation on the ground, the Committee nevertheless hopes that the objectives of the Convention will be taken into consideration in the reconstruction of the country. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in the implementation of the PNEFP, including a copy of its framework document. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to respond to the needs of specific groups of workers who are vulnerable to decent work deficits, such as women, young people, older workers and workers with disabilities.

Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Government indicates that the PNEFP provides for the creation of an Observatory of Employment and Vocational Training in order to establish an information system on the employment market and qualifications, conduct analyses on job offers and qualifications and disseminate the findings of such analyses. It adds that the creation of the Observatory and the National Fund for the Promotion of Employment and Vocational Training will make it possible to determine and regularly review the main measures of the PNEFP. Moreover, the Fund seeks to financially support the realization of guidelines and strategies defined by the PNEFP and the Plan of Action on Employment in order to combat unemployment and under-employment, encourage the promotion and creation of sustainable employment in various sectors of the economy and sustain growth through development of human resources. With regard to poverty reduction, the Government indicates that, through the PNEFP, it has established a policy to promote full, productive, decent and freely chosen employment for all, particularly the most vulnerable members of society, such as young people, women, persons with disabilities and older persons. It adds that an intersectoral committee on employment, comprising the administration, employers’ organizations, workers’ unions, NGOs and civil society, will also be set up. The purpose of this committee will be to ensure that employment-related concerns are taken into account in public investments and the various macroeconomic and sectoral policies. As the compilation of data not only allows the examination and evaluation of the results of employment policies, but also in parallel, to follow progress towards full, productive and freely chosen employment, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on all the measures taken in this regard. It also requests the Government to provide information on any developments in the creation and functionality of any of the abovementioned bodies and to indicate the recipients of the employment market information collected by the Observatory of Employment and Vocational Training. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to indicate the measures taken to ensure that employment, as a key element of poverty reduction, is central to macroeconomic and social policies.

Education and training policies. The Government indicates that education and vocational training policies are taken into account in strategic guidelines 2 and 3 of the PNEFP framework document. It adds that, according to the Minister of Labour, a tripartite National Advisory Committee on Employment and Vocational Training, the mandate of which will be to study problems relating to employment and vocational training, will be established to issue opinions and draft proposals and resolutions. The Committee notes that the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in its concluding observations of 4 May 2018, recommended that the State give priority to education and the rehabilitation of the educational system in its peace and reconciliation initiatives (E/C.12/CAF/CO/1, paragraph 40). The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the abovementioned strategic guidelines. It also recalls its direct request of 2013 on the application of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), and reiterates its request to the Government to provide examples of the measures taken to ensure that the promotion of vocational training is coordinated more fully with the employment prospects available to its beneficiaries. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the results of the measures designed to promote the entry of young persons into the labour market.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of employment policies. The Government indicates that the social partners have actively participated in the formulation and implementation of the PNEFP. It indicates that, with regard to the administration, all the sectoral Ministries have been represented, together with employers’ and workers’ organizations and civil society. The Committee requests the Government to include in its next report detailed, specific information on the manner in which workers’ and employers’ organizations have been consulted in the formulation and implementation of employment policies and programmes. It also requests the Government to indicate whether consultations have been held with representatives of rural workers, workers in the informal economy and other groups of workers affected by the measures taken.