Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1988)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of a national employment policy. Consultations with the social partners. In a report received in 2013, the Government indicates that it launched the National Employment Policy in March 2012 with the objective of improving the standard of living of families, and creating conditions conducive to the generation of safe, decent and quality employment in Guatemala. With reference to the comments that it has been making for many years, the Committee notes with interest the document on the effects of trade on employment, Efectos del comercio en el empleo: Informe Guatemala, published by the ILO in June 2013 in the context of a project financed by the European Union. The technical studies undertaken and the multidisciplinary discussions lead once again to the conclusion that the promotion of trade needs to include a perspective which gives a central role to human resources development so as to promote the socio-economic opportunities which provide employment and decent wages. The Committee recalls that it is necessary to take into account the views and secure the support of the social partners to ensure that the programmes implemented generate quality employment. The Committee invites the Government to submit information on the manner in which the objectives set out in the National Employment Policy have been achieved. Please also provide detailed information on the consultations held with a view to securing the cooperation of the social partners for the implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee also once again requests the Government to provide information on the consultations required by the Convention with all the sectors concerned, and particularly with representatives of the rural sector and the informal economy.

Article 1(2)(c). Coordination of education and training policy with employment opportunities. The Committee notes the information provided on the results in 2012 of the implementation of the Training for Work Programme in the departments of Huehuetenango, San Marcos, El Quiché, Sololá, Quetzaltenango and Totonicapán. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the impact of the plans and programmes implemented by the Technical Institute for Training and Productivity (INTECAP), as well as those implemented by the Ministry of Education and the National Employment System with a view to ensuring that each person who has received training can find a job that is suited to them and use their skills and endowments in that job.

Article 2. Labour market information. The General Confederation of Workers of Guatemala (CGTG) considered in its observations received in August 2013 that the labour market information available is inadequate. According to the statistical data provided by the Government in its report, 97 per cent of the economically active population is employed (6,055,826 persons) and the unemployed account for 3 per cent of the economically active population. Visible underemployment accounts for 18 per cent of the total employed population (1,111,954 persons). According to the data of the National Employment and Income Survey 2012, it is calculated that 25.5 per cent of the employed population is in the informal economy. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing up-to-date information on the situation, level and trends of the labour market with a view to identifying the impact of the measures adopted to promote employment among specific categories of workers (women, youth, workers in the rural sector and the informal economy). Please provide updated statistics on the size and distribution of the workforce, and the nature and extent of unemployment and underemployment.

Youth employment. The Committee notes that, according to the assessment made in the National Employment Policy paper, the national labour force is young and unskilled, with 70 per cent of the population of Guatemala being under 30 years of age, and 53 per cent under 20 years of age. According to the Labour Overview 2013 published by the ILO, the young unemployed in Guatemala account for over half of total unemployment. The Committee invites the Government to provide more specific information on the measures adopted to strengthen programmes to promote the integration of the youth population into the labour market.

Rural employment. The Committee notes that, according to the assessment in the National Employment Policy, despite the efforts made to diversify production, the agricultural sector continues to be the main employer (37 per cent of the economically active population). The sector tends to provide employment for people with less education and offers them lower wages. The Committee also notes that the Agricultural and Stock-raising Policy 2011–15 envisages strengthening capacities and the provision of technical assistance to producers, as well as the generation and transfer of technology. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the measures adopted to promote rural employment.