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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Togo (Ratification: 2012)

Article 1(2) of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee takes note of the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention received in August 2014. The Government states that the national employment policy (PNE), endorsed in September 2012 and adopted in the Council of Ministers on 24 March 2014, draws upon the Five-Year Economic and Social Development Programme of the President of the Republic, the Strategy of Accelerated Growth and Employment Promotion (SCAPE) (2013–17) and an analysis of sectoral policies and strategies. The Committee notes that the PNE was established in the framework of efforts to reduce poverty, promote shared economic development and social progress. According to the Unified Questionnaire on Basic Welfare Indicators (QUIBB) of 2011, unemployment and underemployment account for 6.51 and 22.76 per cent of the active population, respectively. Women are more affected by underemployment (25.5 per cent) than men (20.5 per cent). Furthermore, there are twice as many women unemployed (9 per cent) than men (4.3 per cent), and the unemployment rate in urban areas (9.7 per cent) is three times higher than that in rural areas (2.8 per cent). The Committee invites the Government to specify the results achieved and the difficulties encountered in attaining the employment objectives contained in the PNE and the SCAPE. Furthermore, the Committee invites the Government to indicate the measures that have been adopted to ensure that work is as productive as possible.

Youth employment. The Committee notes that, according to the information contained in the PNE, 60 per cent of the population in Togo are under 25 years of age and 42 per cent are under 15 years of age. According to the data contained in the SCAPE, the employment rates among young people were 8.1 per cent in 2011, whereas underemployment was estimated to be 20.5 per cent. The Government refers to the implementation of programmes to strengthen employability, promote occupational integration and stimulate the self-employment of young people. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the impact of the programmes adopted to ensure the integration of young people into the labour market.

Education and training policies and programmes. The Committee notes that, according to the data in the PNE, illiteracy is still a major problem that hampers the development of persons in the 15- to 49-year age group. It also notes that reference is made in the SCAPE to the Government’s intention to promote skills development by gearing vocational training to the labour market. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the training and educational programmes implemented and to specify the results achieved with respect to integrating those involved in the programmes, particularly women and young persons, in sustainable employment.

Informal economy. The Committee notes the considerable size of the informal economy (the private informal sector alone absorbs 90 per cent of jobs), the lack of jobs in the modern formal economy and the overwhelming presence of women (they account for 70 per cent of the activities in this sector). The Government states that there is a group of officials entrusted with organizing the informal economy, whose task is to identify, monitor and regulate the activities pertaining to this sector. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures adopted, in terms of the establishment of productive jobs, for workers in the informal economy.

Global and sectoral development policies. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote the employment market, as well as on the impact of global and sectoral development policies designed to contribute towards full, productive and freely chosen employment. It also invites the Government to indicate whether the regional development measures provided for under the SCAPE 2013–17 have been effectively implemented to guarantee a balanced distribution of the country’s economic activity.

Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Committee notes that, in order to overcome the shortcomings of the labour information system and the ensuing lack of understanding of the labour market, there are plans to introduce a programme to collect labour market data and a strategy to develop statistics under the Ministry of Planning and Development. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the measures implemented to offset the difficulties existing in the area of employment data. Furthermore, the Committee invites the Government to provide up-to-date information on the labour market.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in formulating and implementing policies. The Committee states that the PNE is the outcome of a process of consultation and social dialogue with all the parties concerned. According to the PNE, labour market governance, involving also the coordination of the various actors, must be based on the consolidation of social dialogue, with the effective application of resolutions issued by the National Social Dialogue Council, and the effective representation and participation of the social partners in the various employment organizations. The Committee invites the Government to indicate in what manner account has been taken of the opinions of representatives from other sectors of the active population, including workers from the rural sector and the informal economy, to secure their full cooperation in formulating employment policies and their help in enlisting support for such policies.

Technical assistance of the ILO. The Government states that Togo benefited from the Office’s technical assistance in drafting the PNE, strengthening the capacities of the national employment agency and undertaking a youth employment diagnostic analysis. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to follow up the assistance received from the ILO in the areas covered by the Convention.