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

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Mauritius (Ratification: 2004)

Articles 1(2) and 10 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment services to employment promotion. The Committee takes note of the report received in August 2014 indicating that the Electronic Labour Exchange launched in 2007 no longer satisfied the expectations of various stakeholders and has therefore been replaced by an interactive website: www.mauritiusjobs.mu. The Government reports that the new website aims essentially at addressing the present needs and exigencies of both employers and registered jobseekers, while providing a user-friendly platform. Users based locally and internationally may use the website. Cooperation programmes have been initiated and agreements finalized with several countries. The Committee also notes with interest that a Youth Employment Program (YEP) was initiated in January 2013 and that a joint public–private initiative called the Skills Working Group (SWG) was established for the purposes of its implementation. As of August 2013, 8,480 young people were listed in the YEP’s database and 1,994 had been placed in companies. The Committee invites the Government to describe any arrangements made nationally or locally in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations to encourage full voluntary use of employment service facilities.

Articles 4 and 5. Participation of social partners. The Committee notes that the services provided by the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF) aim to enhance employability through jobseekers’ training and placement and encourage entrepreneurship among unemployed women. Through the Placement and Training Programme, the NEF contributes financially to the costs of training and remuneration of trainees. Registered candidates are listed on the Empowerment Programme Initiative Platform, a database that allows employers to recruit trainees therewith. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information regarding the activities of the NEF and the social partners on the operation of the employment service.

Article 11. Cooperation with private employment agencies. The Committee refers to its 2008 direct request and, once again, invites the Government to provide detailed information on effective cooperation established between the public employment service and private employment agencies.