Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160) - Eswatini (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 2. The Committee notes that, although the Government repeats that the latest international standards are followed, it does not indicate which ones. The Committee again asks the Government to be more explicit and specify, for each Article of the Convention for which the obligations were accepted (i.e. Articles 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15), which standards and guidelines are followed.

Article 7. The Committee notes that finally a household income and expenditure survey was conducted in 1995 and that a report on the survey is included in the Government’s report as an annex. It notes, however, that other series published in the ILO Yearbook of Labour Statistics have not been updated from 1996 onwards. The Committee asks the Government to communicate data regularly to the ILO (in accordance with Article 5).

Article 10. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that statistics of wage structure are compiled and published in the annual Employment and Wages Survey Report. It notes, however, that the latest Employment and Wages Survey Report issued in 1995 contained no statistics of that type, and that, from information available in the ILO, there is no evidence that statistics are compiled on the structure of earnings and hours of work by main components, and the distribution of employees according to levels of earnings and hours of work. The Committee draws the Government’s attention to the obligation under this Article to compile such statistics, according to the guidelines contained under Paragraph 5 of Recommendation No. 170, and asks the Government to provide the relevant information with regard to the application of this Article.

Article 12. The Committee notes that, although the Government states in its report that the latest CPI figures (details included) are attached to the report, this does not appear to be the case. It also notes that there is no other information concerning this Article in the report. The Committee again asks the Government to communicate to the ILO up to date figures of consumer price indices regarding all items and food groups (according to Article 5) as well as the title and reference of the publication which contains the detailed methodological description of this new series of CPI (if any), and also this methodological description itself (according to Article 6).

Article 14. The Committee notes that there is still some confusion regarding the statistics that are produced by the Department of Labour and those supplied to the ILO. It again asks the Government to provide the published statistics of occupational injuries, as well as the reference information concerning its publication to the ILO, as soon as practicable in accordance with Article 5. The Committee also notes that little methodological information is published. It asks the Government to produce, publish and communicate to the ILO detailed information, including coverage, concepts and definitions, methods of reporting and methods of estimation, in accordance with Article 6.

Article 15. The Committee notes that transmission of data on strikes and lockouts to the ILO is irregular. It asks the Government to communicate the statistics as soon as practicable to the ILO, in accordance with Article 5.

Article 16. The Committee notes that, although obligations under Article 9 have not been accepted, the Central Statistical Office apparently collects and compiles statistics of average earnings which fulfil the basic requirements of Article 9, paragraph 1. However, no statistics of hours of work (actually worked or paid for) seem to have been compiled up to now. The Committee further notes that the requirements of Article 9, paragraph 2, are no longer fulfilled, since no statistics of average wage rates and normal hours of work seem to have been compiled since 1993. The Committee again requests the Government to continue to indicate the position of its law and practice concerning statistics of hours of work (hours actually worked or hours paid for) (in accordance with Article 16, paragraph 4) and to indicate what steps, if any, are envisaged in order to compile such statistics according to the guidelines contained in Paragraph 3(1) and (2) of Recommendation No. 170.

As regards Article 11, under which obligations have not been accepted either, the Committee again asks the Government to indicate the position of its law and practice concerning statistics of the level and composition of labour cost (in accordance with Article 16, paragraph 4) and what steps, if any, are envisaged in order to compile such statistics.