Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

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

Article 1 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the formulation and implementation of an active employment policy and to indicate the specific measures taken to create productive employment and reduce precarity in employment in the country. The Government reports that the National Employment Policy is still being finalized and is therefore not yet in effect. It adds that the National Action Plan for Youth Employment (PANEJ) 2016–20 and the Growth and Employment Strategy Paper (DSCE) nevertheless remain important documents for the promotion of employment in Cameroon. The Government adds that it has made employment a central priority of its development policy and one of the three strategic priorities of the DSCE. The Government adds that in Cameroon there is a close link between the objective of full employment and the economic and social development objectives set out in the DSCE and in the vision of the emergence of Cameroon by 2035. The Committee hopes that the Government will adopt the national employment policy in the near future. It requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments in the formulation and implementation of this policy, and to provide a copy once it has been adopted. The Committee also requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the specific measures implemented 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 has observed difficulties related to a lack of adaptation between employment and training. In order to remedy this, it is promoting vocational training and the establishment of centres of excellence for vocational training throughout the national territory, through a partnership with the Republic of Korea. The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the impact of the measures taken or envisaged to resolve the difficulties related to the coordination of education and training policy with employment policy, particularly in terms of the long-term integration into the labour market of the most disadvantaged categories of workers. In this respect, it once again requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations is ensured in practice.

Informal economy. The Government reports the implementation in 2005 of an integrated support project for the informal economy funded by resources from the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. It adds that these resources, valued at 9 billion CFA francs, have made it possible to establish the Support Fund for Actors of the Informal Sector (FAASI). The Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the activities of the FAASI, in terms of identifying its participation on creating productive employment or training for workers from the informal economy and of the application of the principles of the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204).

Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Government indicates that the National Employment and Vocational Training Observatory (ONEFOP) and the National Tourist Office (ONT) are working in collaboration with the National Statistics Institute (INS) to compile and publish data on unemployment in Cameroon. It adds that it will provide information to the Committee on the employment situation and on the level and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment for 2016, as soon as it is available. The Committee once again requests the Government to specify the active employment policy measures adopted as a result of the establishment of the various structures responsible for collecting information on employment. 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 recalls that the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of policies. The Government indicates that within the framework of the implementation of the employment policy, all categories of society are consulted through various bodies such as the National Labour Advisory Board, the National Social Dialogue Follow-Up Committee and other bodies involved in the various economic activities. It also reports the organization and holding of workshops and forums in order to gather recommendations which could be integrated into employment programmes in Cameroon. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing 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 once again requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which the representatives of rural workers and workers in the informal economy participate in the formulation of employment policies and programmes.

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