Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Morocco (Ratification: 1979)

The Committee notes the general observations made by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 1 September 2019, and the Government’s response in this regard, received on 15 November 2019.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Labour market trends and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the active employment measures taken and implemented to promote opportunities for full, productive and lasting employment. The Committee also requested the Government to provide updated statistics, disaggregated by age, gender, economic sector and region, on the situation and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, in both the formal and informal economies. In its report, the Government refers to the adoption of the National Employment Promotion Plan 2017-21 (PNPE), which places emphasis on an overall and integrated approach involving the economic, financial, budgetary and institutional dimensions and taking into account all the employment deficits and the population categories affected by these deficits. The Committee observes that the PNPE 2017-21 is particularly targeted at young graduates in long-term unemployment, young persons who have left school early and are faced with precarious work, inactive women suffering from discrimination and workers in very small enterprises and the informal economy. The PNPE sets out five strategic directions: (i) support for employment creation; (ii) adaptation of the education and training system to labour market needs; (iii) the strengthening of active employment promotion programmes and the placement system; (iv) the improvement of the operation of the labour market and working conditions; and (v) support for the territorial dimension of employment. The Committee also notes with interest that, in collaboration with the ILO, the Government has established four development projects which are contributing to the implementation of the employment policy: the project for the territorialization of the National Employment Strategy/regions, which supports the implementation of the National Employment Strategy 2016-25; the project to reinforce the impact of sectoral, trade and employment policies (ILO/EU); the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), developed following the adoption of a National Employment Strategy; and the project to improve the employability and increase entrepreneurship for young persons and women in Morocco, which was completed in June 2018.

With reference to labour market trends, particularly in the context of the pandemic, the Committee notes the study on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on employment and on very small and medium-sized enterprises in Morocco, undertaken by the African Development Bank and the ILO. The study analyses the effects of the crisis and the effectiveness of the Government’s mitigation measures adopted within the framework of the Pact for Economic Recovery and Employment. According to the study, these measures made it possible to preserve 60 per cent of the 1.5 million jobs under threat. Moreover, very small and medium-sized enterprises (VSMEs) have already been able to benefit from many payment facilities, develop new forms of work and determine their various technical assistance needs. The study indicates that, of a total population estimated to number 35.5 million at the beginning of 2020, 63 per cent of whom are in urban areas, the proportion of working age is 26.5 million, of whom 14.4 million are inactive (64 per cent) and 12.1 million are active. According to the employment survey carried out in the first quarter of 2020 by the High Commission for the Plan (HCP), there were 10.9 million employed active persons and 1.23 million unemployed. The overall activity rate was 45.9 per cent, with a rate of 70.5 per cent for men and 22.1 per cent for women. The overall employment rate of the working age population was 41.2 per cent, with 64.4 per cent for men and 18.7 per cent for women. The percentage of young persons aged 15-24 years who were neither in training or work was estimated at 27 per cent, with women accounting for 80 per cent of this category. The proportion of paid employment was estimated at 85.3 per cent in rural areas and 97.4 per cent in urban areas. The unemployment rate of young persons aged 15-24 was 22.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2019, with a rate of 36.1 per cent in urban areas. Of the 6.2 million people in informal employment, some 19 per cent were young persons and 12.3 per cent women. The percentage of young persons is higher in the informal economy than the formal economy. In contrast, the percentage of women in employment in the formal economy (29 per cent) is higher than in the informal economy (12 per cent). Informal employment represents the majority of employment (nearly 60 per cent) in the private sector. According to the study, the latest report of the National Social Security Fund (CNSS, 2018) indicates that the number of declared workers rose from 3 million in 2014 to 3.47 million in 2018. According to the study, between the second quarter of 2019 and the same period in 2020, the Moroccan economy lost 589,000 jobs, consisting of a loss of 520,000 jobs in rural areas and 69,000 in urban areas, compared with the creation of an annual average of 64,000 jobs over the three previous years. The HCP survey of employment in the second quarter of 2020 showed, in comparison with the second quarter of 2019, a very strong impact on the volume of work and a higher impact on employment in rural areas. The employment rate fell from 42.1 per cent in June 2019 to 39.3 per cent in June 2020. The fall in the employment rate was higher in rural areas with a decrease of 5.6 per cent, compared with 1.3 per cent in urban areas. The unemployment and underemployment rates rose steeply in the second quarter of 2020. With a rise of almost half a million persons (496,000), 311 000 in urban areas and 185 000 in rural areas, total unemployment rose to 1 477 000 at the national level. The unemployment rate consequently rose from 8.1 to 12.3 per cent at the national level, from 11.7 to 15.6 per cent in urban areas and from 3 to 7.2 per cent in rural areas. It is the highest among young persons aged between 15 and 24 years (33.4 per cent), graduates (18.2 per cent) and women (15.6 per cent). The active population affected by underemployment due to the number of hours worked was 957 000, with a rate of 9.1 per cent. Those affected by underemployment due to the inadequacy of earnings or the failure to match training and their employment was 402 000 (3.8 per cent). Total underemployment taking into account both of these components was 1 359 000. The overall underemployment rate rose from 9 to 13 per cent at the national level, from 7.8 to 12.2 per cent in urban areas and from 10.6 to 14.1 per cent in rural areas. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the measures adopted or planned within the context of the implementation of the Pact for Economic Recovery and Employment and on any other measures adopted to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and their impact on the National Employment Promotion Plan 2017-21 and the other projects that are being implemented for the achievement of full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing statistical data on the labour market and the volume and distribution of labour, as well as on the nature, extent and trends of unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by age, gender and region. The Government is also requested to provide information, including statistics, on the impact of the measures adopted on the access to the labour market of certain underprivileged groups, such as youth, persons with disabilities, rural workers and workers in the informal economy.

Labour market programmes. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide updated information on the vocational integration of the beneficiaries of labour market programmes, and particularly on the lasting labour market integration of young persons, and to provide information, including statistics disaggregated by gender and age, on the impact of these programmes on the reduction of the unemployment rate. The Government indicates that, in parallel with public macroeconomic and sectoral policies, employment policy is implemented through leading programmes such as the Idmaj, Tahfiz and Taehil programmes and it provides information on their implementation up to 2018. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the impact of these programmes, as well as on their impact in terms of the lasting integration of their beneficiaries in employment. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and of the mitigation measures taken on the application of these programmes.

Article 3. Consultation with the social partners. In response to the Committee’s previous comments concerning the involvement of the social partners in the implementation of active employment measures, the Government indicates that the process of the preparation of the National Employment Strategy (SNE) and the National Employment Promotion Plan (PNPE) involved the social partners, who made a series of recommendations and expressed views which have been taken into account in the implementation of the various activities. The Government also reports on the consultations undertaken on the occasion of the regional employment meetings, held in March 2019, with the participation of various regional actors and representatives of all sectors of the population at the regional level with a view to identifying regional training and employment needs. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee recalls its general observation adopted in 2020 on the application of the Convention, which emphasizes the fundamental importance of social dialogue and tripartite consultation in crisis periods. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the consultations held with the social partners on the design, implementation and assessment of the measures and programmes intended to promote employment and decent work, including in the context of the pandemic.