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

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Policies to promote employment and coordination with poverty reduction. In reply to its 2009 observation, the Government provided in September 2010 a brief report in which it recalled that, in the context of the five-year plan for the period 2007–11, a comprehensive strategy was adopted under which small employment projects aimed at poverty reduction were funded by the Government in collaboration with the Federation of Employers. Job opportunities were also created through funding and training activities for graduates and persons with disabilities. The Government also paid special attention to projects aimed at combating desertification and providing income-generating activities in regions suffering most from poverty. In its 2009 observation, the Committee noted that about 60–70 per cent of the population in the north and 90 per cent in the south of the country are estimated to be living below the poverty line, with incomes of less than US$1 per day. Persons living in rural areas, in particular women and internally displaced populations, are the hardest hit by poverty. Beyond the state of Khartoum, the infrastructure is either non-existent or underdeveloped. The Committee once again recalls that the UN adopted a policy for post-conflict employment creation, income generation and reintegration which stresses that, in post-conflict situations, employment is vital to short-term stability, reintegration, economic growth and sustainable peace. The Committee asks the Government to report in detail on the measures taken to develop and implement an active employment policy within the meaning of the Convention, with the assistance of the ILO and other international agencies. The Government is also asked to provide detailed information on the results obtained, in the context of the five-year plan for 2007–11, in meeting the employment needs of vulnerable categories of workers, such as women, young persons, older workers and persons with disabilities.

Collection and use of labour market data. In its 2009 observation, the Committee noted that the Government carried out a population census in 2008 in order to compile information needed by planners and policy-makers. The Government expressed its intention to release the results of the census in 2009 and to prepare a survey for the collection of data and information on the labour market. In this respect, the Committee notes that the ILO provided training to concerned staff to carry out a labour market survey. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report an account of the progress made to improve the labour market information system and to include detailed statistics on the situation and trends in employment, specifying the manner in which the collected data has been used to determine and review employment policy measures.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in policy preparation and implementation. The Government refers in its report to the formulation and implementation of an employment policy in line with the Global Jobs Pact. It also indicates that a national charter was formulated with the full participation of the social partners. The Government intends to provide the Committee with information on the development of the national charter in a subsequent report. In the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, the Committee underlines the importance of ongoing genuine tripartite consultations for tackling and alleviating the consequences of the global economic crisis (2010 General Survey, paragraph 788). The Committee expresses its firm hope that the Government will supply detailed information in its next report on the consultations held with the social partners on the formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. It also requests the Government to supply information on the consultations held with the representatives of the persons affected by the employment measures to be taken, such as those working in the rural sector and the informal economy.

Technical assistance to fulfil reporting obligations and the requirements of the Convention. In view of the difficulties to comply with the reporting obligations under the Convention during these past few years and the lack of information in the last report received, the Committee notes that the preparation of a detailed report, including the information requested in this observation, will certainly provide the Government and the social partners with an opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the employment policy in meeting the objectives of full and productive employment set out in the Convention. In this regard, the Government might wish to request technical assistance from the relevant units of the ILO to address gaps in the implementation of an active employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.