Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1977)

1. Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. With reference to the observation of 2002, the Government provided brief information in September 2003 that the National General Budget envisaged an increase in investment with a view to financing over 3,000 public works in all regions of the country. To maintain the necessary macroeconomic equilibrium for the growth of production, employment generation and price stability, the Government had reached significant agreements with multilateral organizations to obtain the resources required both to finance the fiscal deficit and to carry out public investments. The Committee notes that the employment situation deteriorated in Bolivia in 2002. The urban employment rate fell from 55.4 per cent in 2001 to 53 per cent in 2002. The open urban unemployment rate only rose from 8.5 per cent in 2001 to 8.7 per cent in 2002 due to the fact that the fall in the number of employed persons was compensated by the reduction in the economically active population. The number of employed women fell by 4.7 per cent and the open urban unemployment rate among women rose from 9.7 per cent to 10.3 per cent (according to estimates by ECLAC in its Economic Study of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2002-2003).

2. In its previous observation, the Committee recalled that in June 2001, the international financial institutions made arrangements allowing Bolivia to benefit from the Enhanced Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC), under which Bolivia benefited from a considerable lightening of debt service (in the order of US$2 billion until 2020). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures adopted to promote the objectives of full and productive employment set out in the Convention in the implementation of the property reduction strategy. In this respect, the Committee emphasizes the importance of having available statistical information on the size and distribution of the labour force and the nature and extent of unemployment as an essential basic stage in pursuing an active employment policy within the meaning of Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention.

3. Please provide information on the results achieved by the National Emergency Employment Plan (PLANE), launched in November 2001, in relation to the creation of productive employment. Please also continue providing information on the achievements of other projects established to create lasting employment through micro-enterprises in the rural sector.

4. The Committee once again requests the Government to refer in its next report to matters relating to the coordination of education and vocational training policies with the employment policy, which is essential to ensure that all workers have opportunities to acquire the necessary training to find a suitable job and to make use of their training and skills in such employment. In this respect, the Government may wish to refer to the guidance contained in the Human Resources Development Recommendation, 2004 (No. 195).

5. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Committee once again recalls that the consultations required by the Convention must cover the measures to be adopted in relation to the employment policy with a view to taking fully into account the experience and views of the persons consulted and also to securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting the support necessary for the implementation of such policies. Consultations with representatives of the persons affected should include, in particular, representatives of employers and workers, as well as representatives of other sectors of the active population, such as those who work in the rural sector and the informal economy. The Committee trusts that the Government will include in its next report the information requested in the report form under Article 3 of the Convention on the consultations required in relation to the employment policy.

6. The Committee asks the Government, when preparing its next report on the application of the Convention, also to take into account the points raised in this year’s observation on the application of the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88). The preparation of a detailed report containing replies to the matters raised in this observation will undoubtedly provide an opportunity for the Government and the social partners to evaluate the manner of achieving the objective of full and productive employment set out in the Convention. The Committee recalls that the preparation of a full report on the application of the Convention may require consultations with other concerned government ministries or agencies, such as those responsible for planning, the economy and statistics. The Government may also consider it useful to refer to the Committee’s General Survey of 2004 on promoting employment.