Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Guinea (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee notes the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee has examined the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government in October 2020.

COVID-19 pandemic. Socio-economic impact. Response and recovery measures. The Committee notes the serious social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at both the national and global levels and the measures adopted by the Government to mitigate it. According to the ILO Monitor on national policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Guinea, a three-pronged national economic response plan has been decided upon, comprising a health component, a social component and support for the private sector. According to the Government, the component of support for the private sector consists of significant support, in particular for the most affected sectors: tourism, hotels and artisans. In this regard, the Committee recalls the detailed guidance provided in international labour standards and wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205), which provides guidance on the drafting and implementation of effective, consensual and inclusive responses to the deep-rooted socio-economic consequences of the pandemic. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report updated information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the measures adopted or envisaged with a view to achieving the objectives of the Convention.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide information on the progress made in the formulation and implementation of a national employment promotion policy and on the results achieved, particularly with respect to young people and women, through measures to promote employment and improve the supply of vocational and technical training. The Committee notes the Government’s view that the development of a clear employment policy not only constitutes a major tool for improving incomes and reducing poverty, but also enables the coordination and coherence of responses. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indications that the national employment policy, which was formulated in 2003, was obsolete and that in 2015 it was decided to update the policy. In this regard, the Committee notes the Government’s repeated indication that, with assistance from the ILO and the United Nations Development Programme, it has developed a new national employment policy, under the coordination of a tripartite national steering committee. The Government indicates that an interim version is available, which was revised during a workshop organized for this purpose. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress made in the formulation and implementation of a national employment promotion policy. It also requests the Government to send a copy of the new policy, once it has been adopted. Moreover, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information, including statistics disaggregated by sex and age, on the results achieved by the measures to promote employment and improve the supply of vocational and technical training, and refers in this regard to its comments on the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), in which it requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure coordination between the various bodies responsible for developing comprehensive and concerted vocational guidance and training policies and programmes.

Article 2. Employment trends. The Committee requests the Government to provide statistical information on the labour market with regard to the situation, level and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by age and sex, including information on changes in the trends as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of employment policies. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the context of the Programme of support for the acceleration of inclusive growth in Guinea (PAACIG), with technical support from the ILO office in Dakar, the Government had formulated the main components of the national employment policy on the basis of the results of initial consultations with the social partners, but that, according to the Government, there were no specific measures for the participation of rural workers or workers in the informal economy in the formulation of employment policy. The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government indicates that the formulation of the new national employment policy is coordinated by a tripartite national steering committee, but does not state whether rural workers or workers in the informal economy are participating in the process. The Committee once again draws the Government’s attention to the importance of the participation of representatives of the persons affected in the formulation and implementation of the national employment policy. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide further information on the consultation of the social partners in the process of formulating and implementing the employment policy. It hopes that the Government will take all the necessary measures to ensure the consultation of the representatives of rural workers and workers in the informal economy in the formulation and implementation of the policy. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the role played by the social partners in the formulation and implementation of the employment policy measures adopted in response to the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.