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

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

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report received in September 2008. The Committee notes from Panorama Laboral 2008 that there was a 1.6 per cent growth in employment in 2008, but the rate of unemployment for the same year was 15.6 per cent, representing a 1.1 per cent increase over the previous year. The Government also refers to its 2007 National Employment Report which addresses, among other things, the economic, social and sectoral policies. The Committee recalls its previous request for information on the results of the implementation of the Multi-Annual Development Plan 2006–11, and asks the Government to provide further information in its next report on the measures taken to attain the objectives of its employment policy, and the implications thereof.

2. Support to small and medium-sized enterprises. The Government indicates that it is seeking to address unemployment through the creation of credit facilities for small businesses. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Foundation for Productive Work Units (SPWE) provides technical and administrative assistance to small enterprises through consultancy services. The SPWE delivered six, 15 and 12 courses in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively. The Government indicates that there has been no significant progress in the establishment of the Social Investment Fund, which was intended to provide credit facilities for small and medium-sized enterprises. A microfinance programme was, however, launched on 28 August 2008 and has since facilitated the provision of small loans. The Government also reports that the JKJB-Fund, which is a joint effort between the SPWE and the Saving and Credit Cooperation de Schakel, provides small loans to entrepreneurs of small businesses at a low rate of interest. The JKJB-Fund will make small loans available from June 2008 to June 2010, and is focused on four geographical areas. In so doing, applicants are given counselling, training and assistance in the preparation of their business plans. The Committee welcomes receiving information on measures taken to support the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises and, as a result, to stimulate employment. The Government may consider it useful to consult the provisions of the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189).

3. Education and vocational training. The Government also indicates that the Foundation for Labour Mobilization and Development (SAO) seeks to train the employed and unemployed and to promote the enhancement of skills and development of artisanship, through the coordination and promotion of training and retraining activities. The SAO also provides specialized training programmes for specific target groups, such as women and young persons. The Government further indicates that it is in the process of creating further training opportunities through the establishment of the Suriname Hospitality and Tourism Training Centre, which seeks to train or enable training for all workers and potential workers in the hospitality and tourism sector in Suriname. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information on the results of its technical and vocational training programmes and the measures taken to ensure that the skills acquired through such training programmes meet the demands of the labour market.

4. Article 3. Consultations with social partners. The Government indicates that the National Commission on Employment has already fulfilled its task, in that it finalized the National Employment Report in 2007. The Government indicates that it still intends to transform the National Commission on Employment into a permanent tripartite entity, the National Council for Employment, which would be tasked with providing advice and reviewing the national labour policy. The Committee notes that the Labour Advisory Board did not hold consultations with respect to policy matters. However, it formulated advice to the Minister of Labour on the draft Labour Act, and proposals relating to contract labour and national sickness insurance. The Committee also notes that the Social Economic Council had yet to be installed, and thus no tripartite consultations were undertaken therein. The Government indicates, however, that it is intensively engaged in reviewing the labour legislation in Suriname, and has installed six commissions tasked with revising various parts of the legislation. The Government indicates that the views of tripartite partners are taken into consideration when amendments or new laws are recommended, through their participation in the commissions and consultations. The Committee asks the Government to provide further information in its next report on the manner in which representatives of persons affected are consulted in the formulation and implementation of its employment policies. Please also indicate the measures taken or contemplated to involve representatives of other sectors of the active population, such as persons working in the rural sector or in the informal economy in the consultations required under the Convention.