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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Algeria (Ratification: 1969)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the report submitted in September 2011 in reply to the observation made in 2010, and the general explanations in the report on government policy for the promotion of employment. The statistical data provided show a clear improvement in the employment situation, with a fall in the unemployment rate from 15.3 per cent in 2005 to 10 per cent in 2010, in a context of strong demographic growth, as the active population rose by over 1.1 million persons over that period. The activity rate of women, although slightly higher, at 15.1 per cent (compared with 14 per cent in 2000) remains well below that of men, which is around 70 per cent. The Committee observes that the participation of women in employment, which has the effect of lowering the figures for unemployment, also has the disadvantage of reducing the country’s wealth creation potential. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the progress achieved in improving the participation of women in the labour market. It also invites the Government to provide updated data on the active population and its distribution, the nature, extent and trends of unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by age, sex and region, as well as on other categories for which data are available.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. In reply to the previous comments, the Government indicates that the National Economic and Social Pact, concluded in September 2006, has been the subject of three evaluations in a tripartite setting. In a tripartite meeting held in December 2009, the Pact was renewed and strengthened. In its 2010 observation, the Committee noted the adoption in April 2008 of a plan of action to promote employment and combat unemployment, setting out the government employment strategy for the period 2008–13. In its latest report, the Government indicates that programmes based on the three focus areas have been implemented in relation to placement on the employment market, youth employment and micro-enterprise development. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the implementation of the measures envisaged by the plan of action for employment ending in 2013. It hopes that the next report will contain precise information on the contribution of the social partners to the formulation of a new plan of action for employment and to the revision of the employment policies and programmes already implemented. Please also indicate the manner in which the views of “representatives of other sectors of the economically active population”, and particularly those working in the rural sector and in the informal economy, have been taken into account so that they cooperate fully in the formulation of employment policies and help to enlist support for the measures taken in this respect.

Youth employment. In its report the Government provides updated statistics on the vocational integration assistance mechanism (DAIP), which is intended to facilitate the conclusion of various contracts for young persons. Nearly 600,000 young persons benefited from the mechanism up to June 2011. In February 2011, further measures were adopted by the Council of Ministers to extend the coverage of mechanisms allowing a personalized approach with a view to providing young persons with support for vocational integration adapted to their needs. The Committee invites the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the vocational integration of young beneficiaries of the DAIP, particularly in relation to the long-term integration of the most under-privileged young persons into the labour market and its impact in terms of reducing unemployment.

Promotion of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. The Committee notes the various measures envisaged with a view to the creation of 200,000 SMEs over the period 2010–14. Further incentives for enterprises and investment were decided upon at a tripartite summit on 28 May 2011. Moreover, specific measures have been envisaged to facilitate the economic activity of micro-enterprises. The Committee invites the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the results achieved through these initiatives in terms of job creation.

Employment market policies for workers with disabilities. The Government indicates that, in the context of the Five-Year Programme 2010–15, it was planned to create nine establishments: four work support centres, to be established in Algiers, Oran, Ouargla and Constantine, and five learning farms, to be located in Algiers, Bistra, Mascara, Bouira and Illizi. Persons who obtain satisfactory results in these centres may have access to employment in a sheltered workshop or a centre for the distribution of homework. The Committee invites the Government to continue proving information on the operation of these centres and to supply any relevant indications on the integration of workers with disabilities into the labour market.