Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Chile (Ratification: 1968)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Declaration and pursuance of an active employment policy. In reply to the 2010 observation, the Government provided a report received in September 2011 containing a list of the principal programmes established to promote employment. The Government identifies the five main programmes implemented by the National Training and Employment Service (SENCE) to generate employment and promote the integration into the labour market of women, young persons and workers in a precarious situation. The “Investment in the Community” programme includes initiatives implemented by SENCE or the regional authorities for the direct and transitional recruitment of unemployed persons in areas with high levels of dismissals. The “Recruitment Bonus” programme consists of the distribution of subsidies to enterprises covering the payment of 30 per cent of the minimum monthly income. The “Employment Support” programme is intended for unemployed persons covered by the Chile Solidario social protection system to help them develop their skills with a view to strengthening their employability. A specific programme is intended to develop the labour skills of women. The Government has also adopted measures to provide tax breaks and training vouchers for persons wishing to obtain training. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report quantitative and qualitative data disaggregated by programme so that it can examine the manner in which the programmes adopted have enabled beneficiaries to obtain productive and long-term jobs. The Committee notes that, according to the data published by the ILO in Panorama Laboral 2011, the economy grew by 6.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2011 (with an annual growth rate of 8.4 per cent in the first quarter). Between January 2010 and September 2011, the urban employment rate increased (from 53.2 to 55.5 per cent) and the unemployment rate also fell between 2010 and 2011 (from 8.5 to 7.3 per cent). The Committee refers to its previous observations and recalls that it is fundamental to be able to assess the manner in which the political commitment to achieve full employment is reflected in government policy documents and in the general legal context. The Committee hopes that the Government will include in its next report detailed information on the adoption and implementation of an active employment policy, as required by Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. The report should also provide up-to-date data on the size and distribution of the labour force and the nature, extent and trends of unemployment and underemployment.

Youth unemployment. The Government also describes the SENCE programmes intended to ensure decent employment conditions for young persons entering the labour market. The Committee notes the requirements that have to be met to receive the monthly subsidy that the Government offers employers which recruit a young person up to 25 years of age. The Government also refers to the skills training programme for young persons and apprentices up to 25 years of age. The Committee notes that the average unemployment rate for young persons between 15 and 24 years of age in the first nine months of 2011 was around 17.5 per cent, which is 1.1 per cent lower than the corresponding rate for the same period in 2010. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the results achieved by the measures adopted for the integration of young persons into the labour market and to help them obtain high-quality jobs.

Coordination of vocational education and training measures with employment policy. The Government indicates that the training programmes provided by ProEmpleo are designed to be adapted not only to the interests of beneficiaries but also to labour market demand. Through this coordination, it is ensured that training and skills development facilitate the integration of beneficiaries into the labour market. The Committee invites the Government to provide up-to-date information in its next report so that it can assess the manner in which the beneficiaries of the measures taken by the SENCE find long-lasting employment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide more precise information on the coordination of vocational education and training policies with employment policy.

Participation of the social partners. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide information on the manner in which the experience and views of the social partners are fully taken into account, their full cooperation secured and their support enlisted for the formulation and implementation of employment policy. The Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour has a social dialogue unit, which has a training programme and holds social dialogue meetings. The Committee notes that the objective of the social dialogue meetings is to promote the generation of dialogue machinery at the national and regional levels in high-priority sectors, such as employment policy, so as to influence the establishment of public policies which resolve the problems identified. The social partners participate in social dialogue meetings. The Government also refers to the existence of regional dialogue meetings, depending on the productive sector. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the consultations held with the social partners for the design and implementation of an active employment policy. In this respect, the Committee emphasizes the importance of taking into account the views and securing the support of the social partners so as to ensure that the programmes implemented generate high-quality jobs (Article 3). In particular, the Committee reiterates its interest in examining information on formal consultation procedures with the social partners on the matters covered by the Convention at both the national and regional levels, including representatives of the rural sector and the informal economy.

ILO technical assistance. The Government indicates that in 2011 ProEmpleo held two workshops with ILO assistance. In the first, emphasis was placed on the need to ensure the follow-up of programmes to promote the reintegration into the labour market of the unemployed. In the second, the need was identified to give priority to access to employment and recruitment subsidies for the most vulnerable persons in the labour recruitment incentives programme. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the action taken as a consequence of assistance or advice received from the ILO for the adoption and implementation of an active employment policy, as required by the Convention (Part V of the report form).