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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Senegal (Ratification: 1966)

In reply to the observation of 2007, the Committee notes the Government’s report received in March 2010 and the comments from the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Senegal (UNSAS).

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. The Government states that the draft employment policy drawn up in 2006 has not been implemented but that its key strategies have been incorporated into the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (GPRSP) 2006–10. The Government considers that the GPRSP in itself carries insufficient weight to reduce poverty and that this explains the weak performance of the GPRSP as regards the creation of decent and productive employment. The Committee notes that, in order to rectify this situation, a new national employment policy is being finalized. According to available data, the employment rate is 38.7 per cent, which means that, out of 100 persons of working age, less than 40 have a job. The national unemployment rate is estimated at 10 per cent, with a higher rate in the urban areas of the Dakar region (16 per cent compared with 6.3 per cent in rural areas) and for women (13.6 per cent compared with 7.9 per cent for men). Nearly 23 per cent of workers are underemployed. Poverty continues to have a strong impact on 75 per cent of the rural population. The Committee recalls that the first key stage on the way to achieving full, productive and freely chosen employment is demonstrating the political will to do so. The Committee observes that Article 2 of Convention No. 122 requires member States to adopt a clearly defined, coordinated economic and social policy as a framework (General Survey of 2010 concerning employment instruments,
paragraphs 785–787, which provide further guidelines for ensuring the application of Convention No. 122). The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the progress made in the adoption and implementation of a national employment policy. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position in its next report to indicate the results achieved by the measures taken in the context of the poverty reduction strategy in order to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment.

Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Government indicates that the various projects such as the Operational Directory of Occupations and Jobs (ROME), the National Employment Agency, and the National Employment and Vocational Qualifications Observatory (ONEQP) have not been developed as much as expected because the 2006 draft employment policy was not adopted. The Government points out that, with the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD), a draft master plan for the compilation of statistics has been drawn up which will enable more reliable information on employment to be available. UNSAS, for its part, emphasizes the lack of coordination between the different structures managing employment programmes and policies and refers to delays in the compilation of employment data going back to 1997. UNSAS also refers to the urgent need to establish a procedure to regulate supply and demand and to monitor job placement programmes. The Committee stresses the importance of the establishment of a system for the compilation of labour market data in order to be able to decide on and periodically review the measures to be adopted in order to achieve the objectives of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to supply information in its next report on progress made in this area.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the design and formulation of policies. The Committee notes the setting-up of a Higher Employment Council, an inter-ministerial structure responsible for monitoring the implementation of guidelines defined by the Government with regard to employment and training. The Government indicates that the social partners are represented within the inter-sectoral national committee for monitoring implementation of the Declaration on Employment and Poverty Alleviation issued by Heads of State and Government at the Ouagadougou Summit in 2004 and that they are actively participating in all phases of the design, implementation and evaluation of employment policies. The Government also indicates that, regarding the new draft national employment policy, the terms of reference and the memorandum of guidance have been shared with all the social partners and that, once the interim report has been filed, it is planned to hold sectoral meetings with the administration, the representative organizations of employers and workers, NGOs and occupational organizations in the rural and informal sectors before the meeting of the inter-sectoral committee responsible for approving the document which will be submitted to the Government for adoption. The Committee requests the Government to supply detailed information on the activities of the Higher Employment Council, stating the contribution of the social partners with regard to employment policies. It hopes that the Government’s next report will contain information which will enable it to evaluate the manner in which the experience and opinions of the social partners have been taken into account in the formulation and implementation of national employment policy.

Part V of the report form. Technical assistance from the ILO. The Government indicates that in November 2008 it received ILO support in connection with discussion of a strategy to formalize the informal economy, and that a draft plan of action for improving the informal economy has been drawn up. The Government also indicates that in September 2009 the ILO gave technical and financial support in connection with updating the draft new national employment policy. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the results achieved as a result of these technical assistance activities in terms of job creation and improved access to the labour market.