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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - New Caledonia

Articles 1–3 of the Convention. Implementation of employment policy within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates in its report that New Caledonia adopted the Employment and Vocational Integration Strategy 2015–20 (SEIP) on 15 November 2015. The strategy was formulated and implemented by all institutional stakeholders. The Government adds that the SEIP to a large extent constitutes a response to the comments that the Committee made in 2014, including with regard to measures implemented to facilitate the integration of young persons in the labour market. Moreover, the social partners were associated with the drawing up of the SEIP, as they are with its implementation. Their participation stems from their role in the preparation of the social agenda shared with the Government, which contains measures, including legal measures, to be taken to give full effect to the strategy, and also from their role in the actual implementation of the strategy. The SEIP defines the strategy of the Government of New Caledonia regarding employment and vocational integration for 2016–20 and establishes the following major objectives: (i) to help population groups furthest removed from employment to be integrated into the labour market through specific support and skills acquisition measures; (ii) to support enterprises by helping them to better address changes in their needs and in the skills of their employees, and also by implementing mechanisms that make them priority partners in employment and training policy; and (iii) to improve the effectiveness of public employment and vocational training policy. As regards changes in the legislation, the Committee notes the measures taken in early 2017 in favour of employment, including the facilitation of recruitment through the establishment of a simplified employment mechanism. The Government indicates that this mechanism allows administrative constraints to be reduced for employers who recruit workers for periods under three months. As regards changes in practice affecting the application of the Convention, the Government indicates that the ongoing deterioration of the job market in New Caledonia is causing changes in practice, such as the need for coordination and complementarity in the policies implemented by New Caledonia and the provinces, which calls for effective and increased consultation. The change in governance of the sector is also a key aspect of the SEIP, as part of which New Caledonia has entrusted to the Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (ISEE) the task of conducting a survey on the labour force. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing up to-date information on labour market trends, and to indicate the impact of the measures taken to combat unemployment and promote the creation of stable, productive and quality jobs. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results of the implementation of the SEIP. The Committee further requests the Government to describe in more detail the manner in which the social partners were associated with the formulation and implementation of measures to promote full employment.

Youth employment. The Committee notes the report on the job market in New Caledonia for 2016, which was sent by the Government. This report, produced by the New Caledonia Skills Development Institute (IDC–NC), includes detailed statistics on the job market. It notes that, according to the report, there were 26,256 registered jobseekers in 2016, a 7 per cent increase over 2015. This number has been increasing since 2014, especially because of the increasingly precarious nature of employment, the reduction in the number of jobs offered, and demographic changes. Moreover, the Committee notes that the profile of jobseekers has been similar for a number of years, comprising mainly young people and women, though the numbers of women have been decreasing over the years. Jobseekers have few qualifications, with 90 per cent of them at the level of the baccalauréat or below. However, women tend to be better qualified than their male counterparts. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of measures implemented to facilitate the integration of young persons in the labour market, including specific measures for young women.