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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - French Polynesia

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an employment policy within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy. In reply to previous comments, the Government indicates that, in 2013, job vacancies declined by 40 per cent compared with 2012, from 10,716 to 6,512 in all categories. The Committee notes that the unemployment rate rose from 11.7 per cent in 2007 to 21.8 per cent in 2012 (increasing from 12,500 to 25,000 unemployed persons), while labour force participation dropped (from 53 per cent to 48 per cent) during the same period. In 2013, the Employment, Training and Vocational Integration Service (SEFI) proposed 4,617 job vacancies, 912 training courses and 983 job placements (non-commercial sector). At 31 December 2013, a total of 9,725 jobseekers were registered with SEFI, representing a decline of 2 per cent compared with the previous year. The Committee notes that in order to reach out to the public and forge connections with the Directorate of Social Affairs, SEFI will establish offices in an additional eight communes. The Committee also takes note of the results achieved by mechanisms intended to support wage employment and prevent long-term unemployment, provide new opportunities for marginalized persons, promote the integration of workers with disabilities, and develop household services, while combating unofficial work and supporting the creation of small enterprises. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved by the new mechanisms established to promote employment, particularly apprenticeships, assistance for the establishment or takeover of an entrepreneurial activity, and hiring subsidies. It hopes that the report will also contain up-to-date information on labour trends and labour market measures.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates that all the amendments made to the implemented mechanisms, in particular those relating to apprenticeships, assistance for the establishment or takeover of an entrepreneurial activity, and hiring subsidies, were presented to the social partners during comprehensive tripartite consultations. The Committee notes that each mechanism to promote employment and integration was covered by a territorial Act, which is why consultation of the Economic, Social and Cultural Council was compulsory. The Council issued two favourable opinions regarding the draft territorial Acts, respectively concerning the amendment of the apprenticeship mechanism (Opinion No. 127/2012) and various employment assistance provisions (Opinion No. 131/2012). The Government also indicates that the social partners, with the cooperation of SEFI, introduced working meetings at the end of 2013, with a view to creating the first vocational qualification certificate specifically for the profession of security and prevention officer. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing examples of consultations held with the social partners on the subjects covered by the Convention.