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

Unemployment Convention, 1919 (No. 2) - Kenya (Ratification: 1964)

Measures to combat unemployment. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in September 2009. The Government reports that it continues to implement the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERSWEC), 2003–07, which provides a framework for enabling microeconomic and sectoral policies that are vital for rapid economic growth deemed necessary for employment generation and poverty reduction. The Committee notes that, while a comprehensive evaluation of the results has yet to be conducted, the national economy generated 450,000–500,000 jobs annually during the 2003–07 period. The Government reports that it shall continue to provide achievements of the ERSWEC and the newly launched Kenya Vision 2030. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information regarding the Kenya Vision 2030, and to continue providing information on the results achieved under the ERSWEC to combat unemployment (Article 1 of the Convention).

Coordination between employment services. The Committee notes the Government’s new Labour Institutions Act, 2007, which aims at regulating private employment agencies. To this end, the Act sets forth requirements for registration, duties of persons conducting employment agencies, application for registration and deregistration, powers of employment officers, appeals and offenses. The Committee further notes that, according to these requirements, the Director must consult the Board prior to granting the application for registration of an employment agency. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information regarding how the Board advises the Director on matters concerning the operations of the agencies.

The Committee also refers the Government to its General Survey on employment (2010), and invites the Government and the social partners to contemplate ratifying more recent instruments regarding the issues covered by Convention No. 2 of 1919, that is, the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), and the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181).