Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Suriname (Ratification: 1976)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report on the period ending June 1994 and the information that it contains in reply to its previous request. It notes that the period was characterized by a decline in economic activity, a decrease in employment in the formal sector and a fall in the purchasing power of the currency. According to the Central Bank's (VCB) report for 1993, the situation requires the continuation of the stabilization programme to combat inflation and reduce the State's share of the economy through privatization. The report emphasizes that it is vital to strengthen tripartite consultation in order to ensure the success of the programme, which should rapidly be accompanied by the adoption of social protection measures. The Committee also notes the extracts from the Multi-Annual Development Programme (MOP) dealing with the labour market. The document shows that unemployment is affecting young persons and women particularly severely and is resulting in the emigration of the highest skilled workers, which can only compromise the country's growth prospects. In the short term, new jobs are only likely to be created in the informal sector.

2. The Committee notes that in this worrying context the Multi-Annual Development Programme refers in very general terms to placement and training measures financed, among others, by the Social Investment Fund. The Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information in its next report on the objectives and nature of the measures adopted in the context of the labour market policy and the results achieved as a result of these measures. The Committee also hopes that the Government will be able to provide statistics on trends in employment, underemployment and unemployment during the reporting period. It notes with interest in this respect the statement that the implementation of the ILO technical cooperation project on employment planning and the formulation and implementation of employment policies has resulted in the compilation of such information. With reference to its previous request, the Committee requests the Government to indicate any other action taken as a result of the project to improve the application of the Convention (Part V of the report form).

3. The Government states that Act No. 95 of 1988 to establish the State Council is being amended. Please supply the amended text of the Act. The Committee also recalls that Article 3 of the Convention requires consultation with the representatives of all the persons affected by employment policy measures. Please indicate the manner in which, in addition to the representatives of employers' and workers' organizations, consultations are held with the representatives of other sectors of the economically active population, such as persons working in agriculture and the informal sector, with a view to seeking their cooperation in formulating and implementing the employment policy. The Committee cannot overemphasize the importance that it attaches to giving full effect to this fundamental provision of the Convention, particularly in the context of structural adjustment.