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

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Coordinating employment policy and poverty reduction. The Committee notes the information sent by the Government in a report received in October 2010. The Government indicates that, since the regime change in 2009, the Action Plan for Madagascar 2007–11 (MAP), which placed employment promotion and poverty reduction at the heart of economic priorities, was abrogated and that statistical data on labour market trends are not available. In view of the national crisis and the reactions imposed against the new regime by the African Union, the European Union and the South African Development Community (SADEC), the economic and trade advantages granted by the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) have been suspended. Furthermore, the closure of several enterprises in the export processing zones and the problems encountered by enterprises have likewise had adverse effects on employment. In such a context the Committee is concerned about the effective pursuit of “an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment”, “as a major goal” “within the framework of coordinated economic and social policy” (Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention). It hopes that the Government will be in a position to send information in its next report that will allow an assessment of how the main axes of the economic policy, in areas such as monetary, budget, trade or regional development policies, contribute “within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy” to the pursuit of the employment objectives laid down in the Convention. The Committee trusts that the Government will provide information on the measures taken to create lasting employment, to reduce underemployment (reported to affect some 25 per cent of the active population) and combat poverty, specifying the measures taken to promote employment among the most vulnerable categories (women, young people and rural workers).

Coordinating education and training policy with employment policy. In reply to the previous observation, the Government states that the decree to create the Malagasy Employment Promotion Office (OMEP) was repealed in 2009 and that the employment programmes implemented with support from the UNDP have likewise been suspended since the onset of the crisis. The Government states that large enterprises that have vocational training centres have been alerted with a view to the provision of training opportunities to facilitate re-entry to the labour market for workers made redundant. The Committee hopes to be able to examine information in the Government’s next report on the results of the action taken to ensure the coordination of education and vocational training policies with employment policies. It asks the Government to give an account of the results obtained in terms of access for young graduates to lasting employment.

Collection and use of employment data. The Government again points out that the training organized by the ILO in 2008 on monitoring indicators was of benefit to employment managers. The statistical data allowing implementation of an employment policy are still not reliable because data collection has been disrupted by the national crisis. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to send the results of the household surveys conducted by the National Statistics Institute. It accordingly asks the Government in its next report to give an account of the progress made in obtaining reliable data so as to formulate and implement an employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of policies. The Government states that at the last consultation, the social partners discussed the dissolution of the OMPE and the transfer of functions to the Malagasy Observatory of Employment and Ongoing and Entrepreneurial Training (OMEF). The Committee again draws attention to the importance of giving full effect to Article 3 of the Convention, particularly in a context of massive and persistent underemployment. It hopes that the next report will contain detailed information on the consultations held with representatives of the social partners on the subjects covered by the Convention. Furthermore, it asks the Government to provide information on the consultations held with the most vulnerable categories of the population, particularly with the representatives of workers in rural areas and the informal economy, in order to obtain their cooperation in the formulation and implementation of employment policy programmes and measures.