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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Cambodia (Ratification: 1971)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. Consultations with the social partners. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide information on the progress made with regard to the development and implementation of a national employment policy. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that the National Employment Policy (NEP) 2015–25 was adopted by the Council of Ministers in September 2015 and launched in October 2015. The Government adds that the NEP, developed in consultation with the social partners, aims to increase decent and productive employment opportunities; enhance skills and human resource development; and enhance labour market governance. Moreover, in order to implement the NEP, measures are being implemented through an inter-ministerial committee. Provincial and municipal committees will also be established to contribute to the implementation of the NEP. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the impact of the measures adopted within the framework of the NEP 2015–25, as well as of other active labour market measures to create decent, productive and sustainable employment. It also requests the Government to provide additional detailed information on the involvement of the social partners in the implementation of the NEP and other employment measures, as well as on the involvement of representatives of the persons or groups affected by the measures to be taken (Article 3).

Article 2. Labour market statistics and information. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any statistical information in its report. It therefore once again refers to its 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, paragraph 70, in which it stressed the importance of compiling and analysing statistical data and trends as a basis for developing and implementing evidence-based employment policy measures. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide updated statistical information, disaggregated by age and sex, on labour market and employment trends, including in relation to employment, unemployment and underemployment.

Education and training policies. The Committee notes the information provided on apprenticeship programmes in operation during the 2013–16 period, in which 53,114 apprentices were placed in a total of 1,086 enterprises. The Government indicates that employers with more than 60 workers are required to hire apprentices under the provisions of the Labour Law. Enterprises may nevertheless be exempted from participating in the apprenticeship programmes by, for example, paying an apprenticeship tax. The Committee further notes that, in order to better respond to labour market needs and adequately develop and upgrade workers’ labour market skills, the Government has launched a national Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Policy 2017–25. The TVET Policy focuses on improving the quality of TVET services to: better meet national and international market demands; increase equitable access to TVET for employment generation; promote public–private partnerships and aggregate resources from stakeholders to support sustainable development of a TVET system; and improve governance of the system. The Committee further notes that, in 2017, 113 training institutions were registered under the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training. During the 2012–16 period, 254,895 students, 136,544 of whom were women, received formal and informal training. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and type of training, on the impact of the measures adopted under the TVET Policy 2017–25. It also requests the Government to provide information on the coordination of education and training policies with employment policy.

Youth employment. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the promotion of youth employment is one of the priorities of the NEP. In its report, the Government also highlights the launch of a joint programme developed by the Government, in collaboration with the ILO and other UN agencies, “United for Youth Employment in Cambodia”, with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation. The programme was launched in August 2017 to promote youth employment and reduce inequalities in the country. Many young people in Cambodia are forced into jobs where informality and poverty prevail. The programme thus aims to facilitate young women and men’s access to the labour market while by reducing inequalities, particularly for those belonging to disadvantaged groups, and to ensure that young people are better equipped to access employment by meeting labour market needs. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the United for Youth Employment in Cambodia programme, as well as other employment measures adopted to promote decent, productive and lasting employment for young women and men and reduce inequalities in the labour market.

Regional development and rural development. The Committee once again refers to its previous comments in which it noted that the Cambodia–Laos–Viet Nam Development Triangle Area (CLV–DTA) was under review until 2020. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to reduce regional disparities so as to attain a better balance in the national labour market.