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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Rwanda (Ratification: 2010)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Development and implementation of an active employment policy. Consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes with interest the adoption on 7 June 2019 of the Revised National Employment Policy (RNEP) for the period of 2019–2024, as well as the series of measures taken by the Government to promote the objectives of the Convention. The Government indicates that the RNEP was developed through the coordination of the Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MIFOTRA) in consultation with other key government institutions, the tripartite National Labour Council (NLC), the Private Sector Federation and the Rwanda Workers’ Trade Union Confederation (CESTRAR), as well as other stakeholders, such as representatives of persons with disabilities, youth and women, with technical support from the ILO. The Committee further notes that the RNEP passed through the tripartite National Labour Council following its validation at the technical level. The RNEP provides guidance to achieve the targets established by the National Transformation Strategy (NTS) of creating 1.5 million decent and productive jobs by 2024, as established by the National Strategy for Transformation 2017-2024 (NST 1). The Government indicates in its report that, under the RNEP, the coordination mechanisms for all stakeholders involved in job creation will be strengthened through joint planning and implementation. Monitoring and evaluation will also be strengthened through periodic labour force surveys. The Government refers to the establishment of the Kigali Employment Service Centre, indicating that, as of June 2017, 1,404 persons had obtained employment through the Centre, including permanent or temporary employment, internships or self-employment opportunities, of which 457 (33 per cent) were women and 947 (67 per cent) were men. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on the nature and impact of measures taken to implement the Revised National Employment Policy. It also requests the Government to provide further information on the activities and impact of the National Employment Agency and the Kigali Employment Service Centre in relation to promoting access to sustainable employment and decent work, particularly in relation to disadvantaged groups, including women, young persons, persons with disabilities, and those working in the informal economy. The Committee further requests the Government to provide additional information on the consultations held with the social partners as well as the representatives of persons affected by the employment measures to be taken.

Article 2. Collection and analysis of statistics. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on progress made in relation to the collection and compilation of labour statistics through a labour force survey. The Committee notes that the Rwanda Labour Force Survey was launched in 2016 with an annual sample spread into two rounds to provide bi-annual estimates of main labour market indicators at the national level. From February 2019, the sample was spread into four rounds to provide relevant estimates on quarterly basis. According to the 2020 Annual Report of the Labour Force Survey, the employment to population ratio was 46.3 per cent, the highest since 2017. In 2020, this ratio was higher among men (55.2 per cent) compared to women (38.5 per cent), and higher among adults (49.5 per cent) than among young persons aged 16 to 30 (42.6 per cent). The unemployment rate rose to 17.9 per cent in 2020, largely due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labour market, up from 15.2 per cent in 2019. Unemployment rates in 2020 were higher among women (20.3 per cent) than men (15.9 per cent) and higher among young people (22.4 per cent) than adults (14.1 per cent). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on the situation and trends of labour force participation, employment, unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by age, sex and urban/rural areas.

Education and training programmes. The Government indicates that the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) continues to operate as an institutional framework to provide a strategic response to skills development challenges in all sectors of the economy. The Government reports that 16 technical vocational education and training (TVET) polytechnics have been established. In addition, the number of TVET schools in the country increased from 402 in 2017 to 409 in 2018. In 2017, there were 107, 501 students enrolled in the TVET schools (65, 327 men and 42,174 women). The Government also reports that, to address existing skills development challenges, the Skills Development Fund implemented by the WDA through the National Employment Program structures delivered Short-Term Massive Vocational Training (MVT) and Rapid Response Training (RRT), focusing on women and youth. The Government indicates that a few months after completing the training, 54.7 per cent of Skills Development Fund graduates were employed, while 45.3 per cent were still looking for jobs. The Government further indicates that the Skills Development Fund II has been launched. Its objective is to minimize skills gaps experienced by private business operators by increasing the supply of skills in high demand in the labour market and providing new entrants with needed skills in selected sectors, including energy, transport and logistics, and manufacturing. The Committee also notes that the National Skills Development and Employment Promotion Strategy for 2019–2024 focuses on the upskilling needs of investing companies through the Skills Development Fund, while addressing its shortcomings, such as insufficient private sector engagement and weak accountability. Noting the adoption of the National Skills Development and Employment Promotion Strategy (2019–2024), the Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information on the nature of the activities carried out by the Workforce Development Authority and their results in terms of coordinating education and vocational training measures with prospective employment opportunities. The Government is also requested to provide detailed information on the impact of the various training and income-generating activities and funding programmes in Rwanda, including statistical data, disaggregated by age and sex, on the number of women and men who have benefited from these programmes and accessed full, productive, freely chosen and lasting employment. The Committee further requests the Government to communicate information on the activities and impact of the Skills Development Fund II and the results achieved.

Youth employment. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has put in place measures to support young persons and graduates, particularly through the National Employment Program (2014–2019) and the workplace learning policy, to help them acquire skills needed in the labour market. The Government also provides graduates with vocational training and assists them to support their self-employment. The Committee notes that young persons are helped to form cooperatives and provided with start-up toolkits to begin operating in Integrated Craft Production Centres (ICPCs). During 2016 and 2017, 25,872 young persons and women received support in entrepreneurship, business development, business coaching and access to start-up loans for self-employment. During the same period, 18,945 young people received training in short-term vocational training programmes, industrial-based training and reconversion programmes. The Committee also notes the adoption of the Private Sector Development and Youth Employment Strategy (2018–2024). To enhance youth employment, the Strategy focuses on, among other measures, promoting workplace readiness programmes, including internships, mentorships and on-the-job training, as well as on providing opportunities for greater involvement of youth in entrepreneurship and job creation. Noting the increase in the unemployment rates of young women and men in 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee encourages the Government to strengthen its efforts to tackle youth unemployment and to promote the long-term integration of young persons in the labour market, paying special attention to the employment of young women, and to provide information on progress made or results achieved in this regard. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the impact of measures adopted to promote youth employment, in the framework of the National Employment Program (2014 – 2019), the Private Sector Development and Youth Employment Strategy (2018 – 2024), and the Integrated Craft Production Centres.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that the RNEP provides for the adoption of measures to empower persons with disabilities and promote their employment, including advocating for skills development and special infrastructure provision for persons with disabilities, to enable them to be more productive at work, conducting a study of feasible incentives to promote employment for persons with disabilities and facilitating access to finance for persons with disabilities business starters. The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of 3 May 2019, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) expressed concern with respect to: (a) the low rate of employment among persons with disabilities – at 56 per cent according to the fourth Rwanda Population and Housing Census (2012), 77 per cent of whom are in the informal sector – where women and youth with disabilities are concentrated; (b) systematic barriers and discrimination against persons with disabilities in the recruitment process and in the workplace, including lack of reasonable accommodation, lack of accessible workplaces and of accessible and affordable public transport; and (c) the lack of vocational training opportunities to enable persons with disabilities to gain access to employment (document CRPD/C/RWA/CO/1, paragraph 49). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the nature and impact of measures taken to promote the employment of workers with disabilities on the open labour market as well as to facilitate their transition from the informal to the formal economy, particularly youth and women with disabilities, including those measures adopted in the framework of the RNEP.

Informal economy. The Government reports that it has implemented various strategies to facilitate formalization, including incentives to encourage informal small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) toward formalization, supporting young persons and women in the informal economy to become entrepreneurs and improving the legal framework. The Government also reports that it has established business development advisory services, Community Processing Centres and Integrated Craft Production Centres to provide hands-on skills and access to start-up equipment for self-employment. The Committee notes that, according to the results of recent labour force surveys conducted from 2017 through 2019, the percentage of informal employment rate is decreasing slightly, but remains high at 89.5 per cent in 2019. The RNEP sets out strategies to facilitate the formalization of informal economy, taking account of the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information, including statistical data, on the impact of the programmes and measures implemented to facilitate the transition of workers from the informal to the formal economy, including workers belonging to disadvantaged groups, such as women, young persons and persons with disabilities, and within the framework of the Revised National Employment Policy (2017–2024).