Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Convention concerning Statistics of Wages and Hours of Work, 1938 (No. 63) - Syrian Arab Republic (Ratification: 1960)

The Committee notes the Government’s reports dated 31 August 2010 and 27 January 2011.

Articles 1, 5, 8 and 12 of the Convention. Compilation, publication and communication of statistics on average wages and hours of work. The Committee notes with interest that information on average hours paid for, covering salaried employees, and average monthly earnings has been made publicly available by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour and the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) on the basis of the annual Labour Force Statistical Survey. It also notes the statistical tables furnished in the Government’s report on: (i) the relative distribution of employees by sector and educational status (2008); (ii) employees cross-classified by economic activity and salary groups; (iii) the distribution of unemployed persons according to educational status; and (iv) the distribution of employed persons by status in employment (source: Manpower Survey). The Committee requests the Government to keep the ILO informed of any progress made in compiling, publishing and communicating statistics on average wages and hours worked in accordance with the provisions of Articles 1, 5, 8 and 12 of the Convention.

In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to Resolution I adopted by the 18th International Conference of Labour Statisticians concerning the measurement of working time. This document defines new concepts and measures in this area of statistics and can be accessed at the following link: http://www.ilo.org/global/What_we_do/Statistics/standards/ resolutions/lang--en/docName--WCMS_112455/index.htm.

General observation of 2000. Follow-up to the recommendation of the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards. The Committee recalls that, in its general observation of 2000, it urged member States which are bound by Convention No. 63 to contemplate ratifying the up-to-date instrument in the area of labour statistics, i.e. the Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160), and to consider seeking the technical assistance of the Office in this regard. The Committee notes that the Government has received ILO technical assistance in the framework of a project on “Strengthening the CBS capacities to analyse census and survey data in Syria” carried out in cooperation with the Institute for Applied International Studies in Norway (FAFO). In this context, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether consideration has been given to ratifying Convention No. 160 and to keep the ILO informed of any developments in this regard.