Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1970)

The Committee notes the observations of the General Union of Workers of Cameroon (UGTC) received on 25 September and 3 December 2015, as well as the Government’s reply thereon, received on 3 December 2015.

Article 1 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the Government’s reference in its report to the main components of the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (GESP) and to the legal provisions determining incentives for private investment and defining required quotas for national workers in investment projects. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the specific measures taken to create productive employment and reduce precarity in employment.

Article 1(3). Coordination of education and training policy with employment policy. The Government indicates that it is the Prime Minister’s Office that coordinates all inter-ministerial committees in relation to the adoption of education and training policy, in collaboration with the Employers’ Association of Cameroon (GICAM). The UGTC inquires as to the reason for limiting the Prime Minister’s Office collaboration to an employers’ organization. The Government explains in its reply that the GICAM is the most representative employers’ organization; however, nothing excludes other employers’ organizations from being involved. In its December 2015 observations, the UGTC emphasizes the need to include the representative workers’ organizations in the adoption of the education and training policy and in the establishment of a tripartite committee to that effect. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the measures taken to coordinate education and training policies with employment policy, specifying their impact in terms of lasting integration into employment for the most vulnerable categories of workers. Please provide information on the manner in which the participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations is ensured in practice.

Informal economy. The Government has given its backing to the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), and accordingly the Ministry for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Social Economy and the Craft Industry supports and trains young persons. Moreover, the Government reports on the results achieved between 2005 and 2013 by the “Integrated support project for the informal economy” (PIASSI) in terms of job creation (44,284 jobs created in the 2005–13 period). The Committee requests the Government to indicate which measures have proved effective in terms of the creation of productive employment for workers in the informal economy.

Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Government states that the National Employment and Vocational Training Observatory (ONEFOP) and the National Tourist Office (ONT) are currently conducting studies on employment and labour, for which the results are not yet available. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be in a position to provide up to date statistics on the employment situation and on trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment, particularly with respect to women and young people. The Committee requests the Government to specify the employment policy measures adopted through the establishment of various structures entrusted with collecting information on employment.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of policies. The Government indicates that the Union of Free Trade Unions of Cameroon (ULSC) represents rural workers in the Social Dialogue Consultation and Follow-Up Committee. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the social partners participate in the formulation and implementation of the national employment and vocational training policy. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which representatives of rural workers and workers in the informal economy participate in the formulation of employment policies and programmes.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.