Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

1. The Committee notes the Government's detailed report for the period between July 1986 and June 1988. In its previous observation, the Committee requested the Government to pay particular attention to information on the evolution of employment in the public and private sectors, on the role played by the informal sector in job creation, on the unemployment situation of educated young persons and on productive employment and on the employment created through special programmes such as the Minimum Employment Programme (PEM) and the Employment Programme for Heads of Households (POJH). Furthermore, the Committee expressed its concern at the ability of the measures adopted by the Government to ensure both that the system of education and training is designed to meet the needs of the national economy and that there is the opportunity for individuals to qualify for and use their skills in jobs for which they are well suited, as required by Article 1 of the Convention.

2. As regards overall policy measures, the Government has supplied an analysis containing information on the co-ordination of tariff, fiscal, investment and taxation policies and their impact on employment policy, prepared by the National Planning Office (ODEPLAN). In this document, it is stated that, in order to resolve the problem of debt in a realistic manner and seek measures to lessen its financial burden, adjustment by means of expansion of the economy was sought. In view of the existence of a secondary market for Chilean external debt, a system was introduced authorising its capitalisation through the conversion of external debt shares into domestic bonds, and it is claimed that these incentives to investment were an important stimulus to employment in the medium term and resulted in increases in real incomes. In its assessment of the results of the strategy adopted to overcome the effects of the economic crisis in 1982, ODEPLAN indicates that the economic recovery (a sustained growth rate of nearly 5 per cent annually since 1984) and especially the boom in the export sector have permitted a considerable reduction in unemployment. The Committee notes with interest that the information supplied by the Government shows an increase of 6.4 per cent in the number of persons employed for the period July 1987-September 1988, a decrease of 8.2 per cent in the number of unemployed persons and a fall of 3.4 per cent in the unemployment rate, which was estimated at 8.7 per cent of the economically active population in 1988. The information supplied by the Regional Employment Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean (PREALC) confirms this trend in employment and unemployment, but indicates that this improvement was not accompanied by an equally significant recuperation of real incomes since the remuneration of most workers, and particularly those in the construction and agricultural sectors, and the least skilled, remained very low. In parallel, the number of persons registered under government employment programmes, which was higher than 500,000 workers in 1983, also fell drastically. In September 1988, 5,413 persons were registered under the PEM and 20,583 under the POJH. In a general report for the period ending 30 June 1989, the Government states that in December 1989 the PEM and POJH programmes were terminated, following the transfer of those registered under these programmes to stable and productive employment.

3. As regards education and vocational training policies, the Government's report describes the "enterprises' programme", under which part of the cost of staff training measures can be offset, and the vocational training programmes administered by the National Training and Employment Service (SENCE). The Government indicates that within each university and vocational training institute the occupational careers that are available are matched with those requested by the students. It also states that, although there have been dismissals of teaching staff, there have been no cases of conscientious students being unable to obtain diplomas, because, as a criterion for the rationalisation, it was decided to maintain the student/teacher ratio in proportion to the needs of each municipalities. The Government supplies information on the number of teachers who were dismissed (6,118 teachers) and states that the number of actual dismissals only represented 2.5 per cent of the total number of teachers in the education sector. In this respect, the Committee recalls that the Conference Committee, at its 1987 Session, shared, in particular, its concerns in relation to the dismissal of teachers and the political aspects of education and training as elements of an employment policy. The Committee on Freedom of Association also urged the Government to examine the possibility, within the flexibility measures introduced for the reinstatement of teachers, to give particular consideration to the case of laid off teachers who were trade union officers.

4. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue supplying information on the matters raised in this observation and the information required by the report form under Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention on new employment policy measures adopted to attain the objectives of the Convention. It trusts that, in particular, information will be supplied on the wages and incomes policy, the measures designed to harmonise the supply and demand of labour and structural changes, teaching and vocational training policies and measures to guarantee that each worker has the opportunity to acquire the necessary training. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would describe the measures that have been taken to meet the needs of particular categories of workers (women, young persons, the disabled, indigenous populations, etc.). Finally, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply additional information on the procedures adopted to ensure that the effects on employment of measures taken to promote economic development or other economic and social objectives receive due consideration (Article 2) and also on consultations with representatives of social partners in relation to employment policy, with particular reference to consultations with representatives of other sectors of the economically active population such as the rural sector and the informal sector (Article 3).