Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Iraq (Ratification: 1970)

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 supplied in September 2009, in reply to the 2008 direct request. The Government indicates that it is working in coordination with the ILO, the social partners and a specialized technical team with the participation of university professors. The work of this team is intended to prepare a national employment policy and to implement a special framework for vocational education and training. The Committee invites the Government to include information in its next report on the progress achieved in the formulation and implementation of a national employment policy, and of the special framework for vocational education and training. The Committee also invites the Government to include updated information on the impact of the measures adopted for the creation of productive employment in the context of the Poverty Reduction Strategy.

The Committee notes the Private Sector Development Programme, prepared in coordination with several United Nations agencies, intended to establish a dynamic framework for action for the development of the private sector. The programme is essentially intended to develop and increase employment opportunities through the promotion of a legal environment that is conducive to the creation of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises. In the General Survey of 2010 on employment instruments, the Committee emphasizes that the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189), provides a specific framework to ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as micro-enterprises, create jobs in compliance with international labour standards. In this respect, the Committee invites the Government to include 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 Recommendation No. 189).

Measures to promote the employment of specific categories of workers. The Government indicates that special funds have been allocated to grant loans to around 100,000 jobseekers, including young persons, graduates, displaced persons and families that have suffered damage. Similarly, 93,000 projects have been undertaken up to now in various regions of the country, which have generated over 120,000 jobs. The Government adds that the community rehabilitation programme intended for the most vulnerable categories of workers, such as the disabled and the widows and wives of disabled workers, is still being implemented, and that loans have been granted to these categories of workers to facilitate the launching of small-scale projects. The Government indicates that these projects are monitored to ensure their effectiveness and to provide economic support for them. The Committee invites the Government to include more detailed information in its next report on the impact of the measures adopted for specific categories of workers, such as women, young persons, older workers and workers with disabilities, in terms of their integration into the labour market.

Article 2. Collection and analysis of employment data. The Government indicates that efforts are being made in coordination with the Central Statistical Office to assess labour market needs in relation to vocational guidance and training. The Committee invites the Government to provide detailed statistics in its next report on the situation and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment in both the formal and the informal economy.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates that a meeting of the National High Commission for Employment and Vocational Training was held on 4–5 January 2009 to review its work and to prepare recommendations for submission to the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers which, in turn, transmits them to other ministries for necessary measures to be taken. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in its next report the recommendations made by the National High Commission for Employment and Vocational Training on the subjects covered by the Convention. It also requests the Government to provide additional information on the participation of the social partners in the design and implementation of employment policies.