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

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

The Committee notes the Government’s reports received in October 2019 and August 2021. The Committee also notes the observations of the Free Confederation of Mauritanian Workers (CLTM), received on 12 June 2019, and the Government’s reply, received on 21 October 2019.

Article 1 of the Convention. Employment policy. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide detailed and up-to-date information on the results achieved in the context of the National Employment Strategy in terms of the creation of lasting employment and reducing poverty. The Committee notes the Government’s reference in its report to the adoption by the Council of Ministers on 21 February 2019 of the National Employment Strategy (SNE) for the period 2019-30 and the Operational Plan of Action (PAO). The Committee notes that the SNE and the PAO contain four strategic objectives with the aim of raising the activity rate from 37 per cent in 2017 to 48 per cent in 2030 and of increasing the number of active persons from 0.81 million to 1.6 million in 15 years. In this connection, the Committee notes the findings of the National Survey of Employment and the Informal Sector in Mauritania (the 2018 Statistical Yearbook of the National Statistical Office) on labour market trends between 2012 and 2017. The Committee notes the increase in the rate of the working age population (52 per cent in 2012 and 52.7 per cent in 2017) and the active population (39 per cent in 2012 and 41.5 per cent in 2017). It also notes the changes in the unemployment rate (10.1 per cent in 2012 and 11.8 per cent in 2017), and particularly that the unemployment rate of women is still higher (12.6 per cent in 2012 and 13.3 per cent in 2017) than that of men (8.6 per cent in 2012 and 10.9 per cent in 2017). In its observations, the CLTM indicates that the employment policy should be the essential objective to reduce unemployment through an active policy to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment. However, it considers that there is no employment policy with the segregationist system of which the Harratines (former slaves) and Black Mauritanians are the victims, as they are excluded from positions of responsibility in all sectors, thereby creating social inequality and intercommunity tension. The CLTM adds that this vision prevents any reliable employment policy capable of creating full employment in the country. The Committee notes that the Government’s reply does not provide details in this respect. The Committee emphasizes that equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation is an essential element of any inclusive employment policy and recalls that the policy should also include measures to prevent unemployment for specific groups of workers who are vulnerable to exclusion (Promoting employment and decent work in a changing landscape, General Survey, 2020, paragraph 71). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the progress achieved in the application of the National Employment Strategy (SNE) for the promotion of full, productive and freely chosen employment. In particular, it requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted or envisaged to promote the full labour market integration of Harratines and Black Mauritanians. The Committee also requests the Government to provide with its next report a copy of the SNE and updated information on employment, unemployment and underemployment, including statistical data disaggregated by sector, age and gender, also indicating the occupation rates of Harratines and Black Mauritanians. It further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that all workers have full opportunities for access to employment irrespective of their race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin, as set out in Article 1(2)(c).

Article 2. Policy coordination. Education and vocational training. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the coordination of education, vocational training and employment policies. It also requested the Government to include information on the measures taken to improve the supply of vocational and technical training, particularly for vulnerable workers, including young persons and women. The Committee notes that, according to the CLTM, vocational training should be matched with the needs of the market and recruitment for jobs must take into account the qualifications of applicants. In this regard, the Committee notes that one of the objectives of the SNE is to increase the school attendance rate of the population at the primary level (from 611 000 students in 2015 to 1 183 000 in 2030), at the secondary level and in vocational training (from 199 000 in 2015 to 739 000 in 2030) and in higher education (from 27 000 in 2015 to 99 000 in 2030). With regard to youth employment, the Government refers to the Support Project for Youth Training and Employment (PAFEJ 2014-21), financed by the African Development Fund that one of the objectives is the creation of conducive conditions for more inclusive economic growth and the reduction of youth unemployment. The Committee also notes that, according to the information available on the website of the Mauritanian Information Agency, the Government has also launched the National Programme for Food Security, Training and Integration (SAFIRE) for the period 2019-23, financed by the European Union, which has the objective of promoting social integration through vocational training and support for youth to find employment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to promote education and training for the population in terms of the access of beneficiaries to lasting jobs. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the coordination of vocational education and training policies with employment policy and the specific needs of the labour market. It further requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the SAFIRE projects and the Support Project for Youth Training and Employment, including Harratines and their descendants and Black Mauritanians.

Collection and use of employment data. The Committee previously requested the Government to report on any progress made in the collection of data on employment, and to specify the employment policy measures adopted as a result of the establishment of the Employment Market and Training Information System (SIMEF). The Government indicates that, in accordance with the protocol agreement concluded on 23 September 2015 between the Government of Mauritania and the International Labour Office, the implementation of the component, “Support for the finalization of the National Employment Policy and the Employment Market and Training Information System (PNE-SIMEF) (MAU1401BAD) was launched to reinforce the Mauritanian information system and provide it with appropriate architecture. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in the implementation of the Employment Market and Training Information System (SIMEF) and its impact on the collection and use of employment data.

Labour market institutions. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the institutions that are necessary for the attainment of full employment. It also requested it to provide information on the manner in which the employment offices that exist in the country contribute to ensuring that workers who are available, including young workers, are suitably integrated. The Committee notes the Government’s description of the strategic objectives of the SNE, which include: focusing the national employment policy and sectoral policies on employment, strengthening public employment and integration services, guiding the development of human capital according to a logic based on demand, and developing the governance framework of employment. The Committee notes that, within the framework of the achievement of the objectives of the SNE, the Government plans to multiply the number of operational officers of the employment services by 3.7 with a view to reducing the number of persons experiencing vocational integration difficulties per officer (from 3488 in 2018 to fewer than 500 in 2030). With reference to youth insertion, the Government indicates that it plans to increase the number of young persons integrated through employment programmes from 20 000 in 2018 to 110 000 in 2030. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the results and impact of the measures adopted in the context of the four strategic objectives of the SNE for the strengthening and governance of the labour market institutions necessary for the achievement of full employment. In particular, it requests it to provide information on the number of operational officers appointed and the public or private employment offices created, and the number of persons placed in employment by these offices.

Employment promotion and the development of micro- and small enterprises. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken in the context of the National Microfinance Strategy (2015-19) and the National Strategy for the Promotion of Micro- and Small Enterprises (2015–19) on the creation of lasting employment by micro- and small enterprises. It also requested information on the jobs generated by labour intensive programmes. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain information in this regard. The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the effectiveness of the measures and programmes implemented, including within the context of the SNE, to promote the creation of lasting employment, develop entrepreneurship and create new micro- and small enterprises, particularly for youth and women.

Article 3. Consultation of the social partners. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the participation of the social partners in the formulation, updating and implementation of the SNE and the measures taken or envisaged to associate the representatives of persons working in rural areas and the informal economy with the consultations required by the Convention. The Government indicates that the preparation of the SNE was the subject of broad dialogue with the social partners and technical and financial partners in several working meetings and sharing and validation workshops. The Government adds that the SNE contains indicators of objectives which were defined through participation to facilitate their achievement. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the participation of the social partners in the application of the SNE. It also requests it to indicate the manner in which the interests of the rural and informal economies are taken into account in the implementation of the SNE.

Employment trends and measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic. With reference to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the policies and programmes adopted to promote full, productive, freely chosen and lasting employment, the Government indicates in its 2021 report that strategies and programmes were adopted with a view to the creation of decent jobs based on gender equality and non-discrimination during the pandemic. In this regard, the Committee notes with interest the measures taken by the Government to ensure the effectiveness of action in support of youth employment, in particular within the framework of the National Integrated Support Programme for Micro- and Small Enterprises (PNIME-2020), which provided financial support for 70 young former detainees and training and integration for 80 young persons in the field of building and public works (BTP) through the Support Project for Youth Training and Employment (PAFEJ). It also notes: the financing and launching of the “My Project, My Future” programme for 750 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and the creation of 2250 jobs; the MEHENTI youth programme, which focuses on the independence of apprentices through valuing trades and which provided training and integration (self-employment) for 350 young persons; the entrepreneurship fund for the financing of 1500 income-generating activities and micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, including 50 micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises financed for the benefit of three associations of women entrepreneurs; the STAGI programme for youth employability by the Government and employers; the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) project for socio-vocational integration with gender parity for a period of three years; the World Bank Youth Employability Project (PEJ) focusing on awareness-raising, identification and training and financing of income-generating activities for 60 000 young persons in various trades, with 50 per cent girls in Deux Hodhs, Nouakchott, Assaba, Guidimakha and Trarza for a period of five years; the employability and socio-economic integration support project for vulnerable youth (PEJ-BAD, targeting the training and integration of 1000 young persons in the wilaya of Brakna; the agreement with the Ministry of Fishing for the integration of 1000 young persons into fishing trades; and the financing project with UNDP to promote jobs affected by the pandemic for a period of 12 months through the Employment Projects Coordination Unit (CPE). The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the labour market measures taken to address the COVID-19 pandemic and to mitigate its negative effects. The Government is also requested to provide statistical data on the impact of these measures on employment retention and job creation, including for persons with disabilities.