Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Lebanon (Ratification: 1977)

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report received in October 2008, in reply to the 2007 direct request. The Committee notes that a workplan was submitted by the National Employment Agency to the Ministry of Labour in 2008 with a view to addressing the challenges arising out of the economic crisis at the national level. New employment offices have accordingly been opened in the regions of the North, Bekaa and the South in order to address the employment and training needs of these regions more effectively and respond to them through appropriate measures. During the year 2007–08, some 300 persons with disabilities and 2,154 trainees benefited from accelerated vocational training contracts. The National Employment Agency is also planning the preparation of a guide of the legal and administrative measures intended for jobseekers wishing to set up an enterprise. The Committee notes the Government’s economic reform plan, submitted at the International Conference on Support for Lebanon in 2007. It notes that the plan is based on three principal components: structural reforms to stimulate growth and create more jobs, budgetary adjustments to free up income and promote the effective use of public resources and special programmes for the poorest and most vulnerable categories. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report the manner in which a policy is applied to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee would be grateful to be able to examine the results achieved by the measures adopted by the National Employment Agency in terms of the creation of lasting employment and the reduction of underemployment. The Committee also hopes that the Government will be in a position to provide statistics in its next report on the situation and trends with regard to employment, unemployment and underemployment, particularly with regard to women and young persons.

2. Promotion of employment through education and vocational training for young persons. The Committee notes the programmes established in the context of the National Education for All Plan (2006–15), which targets young persons and is intended to provide them with education and training focused on the acquisition of the qualifications necessary for economic development. The Committee refers to its comment on the application of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), and invites the Government to continue providing information in its reports on Convention No. 122 on the education and training programmes implemented, with an indication of the results achieved in terms of the integration of the beneficiaries, and particularly women and young persons, into lasting employment.

3. Migrant workers. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in the context of an active employment policy with a view to preventing abuse during the recruitment stage of foreign workers established in Lebanon.

4. Promotion of small and micro-enterprises. The Government describes the measures adopted by the Council for Development and Reconstruction and the Association of Banks in Lebanon to stimulate the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises. A guarantee fund “KAFALAT” has been established to help small  and medium-sized enterprises to gain access to finance from commercial banks. The fund provides them with support by offering loan guarantees based on feasibility studies of business plans demonstrating the viability of the proposed economic activity. The Economic and Social Fund Development has also focused its attention on the least-developed regions with a view to creating new job opportunities by granting microcredit to individuals and small enterprises. The Committee invites the Government to provide additional information in its next report on the measures adopted “in order to create an environment conducive to the growth and development of small  and medium-sized enterprises” (see Paragraph 5 of the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189)).

5. Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of policies. The Government indicates in its report that the Labour Cooperation and Coordination Board, which is a tripartite body under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour, has dealt with collective dismissals and disputes between the social partners. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of this tripartite body, with an indication of the manner in which it is consulted on the formulation and review of employment policies and programmes. Please also indicate the manner in which the views are taken into account of “representatives of other sectors of the economically active population”, and particularly those working in the rural and the informal economy, with a view to securing their full cooperation in the formulation of employment policies and enlisting support for the measures adopted in this respect.

6. Part V of the report form. Technical cooperation with the ILO. The Government refers to the projects financed by international partners, as well as the measures adopted as a result of the technical assistance provided by the Office. The Committee requests the Government to indicate any factors which may have prevented or delayed the implementation of the technical assistance provided by the ILO. It invites the Government to provide information on the action taken as a result of the technical assistance received from the ILO with a view to ensuring the implementation of an active employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.