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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Zambia (Ratification: 1979)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report for the period ending June 1994, which contains general information in answer to its previous observation. The Government states in the report that it is fully committed to ensuring the right to work by means of a strategy seeking first to stabilize the economy and then to stimulate growth. However, it recognizes that the economic recovery programme will cause further hardship for the people in the short term. The Government considers that this is nonetheless unavoidable and that bold measures will have to be taken in order to ensure a better future. The report contains indications, in this connection, of the direction followed by macroeconomic policy during the period: priority was given to bringing down inflation and lifting exchange controls so as to promote foreign investment and exports. The Committee notes, however, that the Government does not indicate to what extent the economic growth objectives (a rate of 4 per cent was set, in real terms, for GDP in 1994) have been or are being attained. The report also refers, in the context of structural reforms, to the 1991 Investment Act and the 1992 Privatization Act, but does not indicate how their implementation has affected production and employment. Although the Government refers to programmes for job creation, combating unemployment among young people, training for employment and promoting small enterprises and self-employment, it provides no information in the report on the nature and scope of these programmes and their objectives, nor does it give any evaluation of the results of these initiatives.

2. The Committee must express concern at the Government's statement that its stabilization policy brings adverse repercussions for the population, without specifying exactly what measures have been taken to soften their impact on those most affected. The World Bank considers that the initial effects of structural adjustment are an increase in unemployment and a drop in living standards among the poorer strata of the population. For this reason, the Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to evaluate the effect on employment of adjustment policies and to mitigate their social repercussions so as to ensure that the social costs and benefits are fairly distributed. It hopes that the next report will provide further information showing the pursuit "as a major goal" of an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment (Article 1 of the Convention), together with a full description of the measures taken for this purpose, "within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy", as well as to collect and analyse statistical and other data concerning the active population, unemployment and underemployment (Article 2). The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide available information on the situation and trends in employment, with particular reference to the size and role of the informal sector and the distribution of jobs between the public and private sectors.

3. With regard to the effect given to the provisions of Article 3 of the Convention, the Government stresses its attachment to freedom of association and collective bargaining and indicates that consultations are held through the National Economic Advisory Council and the Tripartite Consultative Labour Council set up by the Industrial and Labour Relations Act, No. 27 of 1993. The Committee notes that under section 83 of the above Act, the Tripartite Consultative Labour Council, on which employers' and workers' organizations are represented, is competent to deal with other matters concerning the development and utilization of manpower, as well as any other matters submitted to it by the Government. The Committee recalls that consultations with representatives of the persons affected by the employment policies provided for in the Convention should aim at securing their cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for those policies, and should cover all aspects of economic policy which affect employment. Furthermore, given their importance in the working population, workers in the rural and informal sectors should be associated with these consultations. The Committee cannot emphasize sufficiently the importance of this provision of the Convention, and would be grateful if the Government would state the manner in which all representatives of all the persons affected by the measures to be taken are consulted on employment policies, "with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies".

4. Lastly, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the action taken as a result of ILO technical cooperation projects concerning employment (Part V of the report form).