Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Cameroon (Ratification: 1970)

The Committee notes the observations received on 16 September 2021 from the General Union of Workers of Cameroon (UGTC) concerning the application of the Convention.

Article 1 of the Convention. Youth employment. The Committee notes that the Government's report does not contain information on this matter. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the measures and programmes implemented or envisaged to reduce youth unemployment and to promote the long-term integration of young people into the labour market, paying particular attention to the employment of young women, and to provide information on the progress made or results achieved in this regard. The Government is also requested to provide information on consultations with youth representatives, including specific examples of the manner in which their views have been taken into account in the development and implementation of projects and programmes affecting them.

Employment of women. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide any information on the employment of women. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on any measures taken or envisaged to promote the participation of women in the labour market. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by age, region and sector of activity, on the impact of programmes for the integration of women into the labour market. The Government is also requested to provide information on the consultations held with representatives of women workers, including specific examples of the manner in which their comments and suggestions have been taken into account in the development and implementation of projects and programmes affecting them.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Government reports the adoption of Act No. 2019/004 of 25 April 2019, which is a framework law governing the social economy in Cameroon, and the related decree (Decree No. 2020/0001 on the structuring and functioning of the network of social economy units). The Committee notes the provisions of section 3 of the Act, which stipulate the eligibility criteria for organizations and enterprises to be granted the status of social economy unit. The Committee also notes that a study entitled “Evaluation des besoins des unités de l’économie sociale et identification des chaines de valeur prioritaires pour la création d’emplois décents au Cameroun” (Assessment of the needs of social economy units and identification of priority value chains for the creation of decent jobs in Cameroon) was carried out in collaboration between the Ministry for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Social Economy and the Craft Industry of Cameroon and the ILO, with a view to proposing measures and mechanisms for the effective implementation of the National Social Economy Development Programme (PNDES), to enable the social economy sector to play its role fully. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken, particularly in the context of the implementation of Act No. 2019/004 of 25 April 2019 and the PNDES, to promote the creation of SMEs and to reduce the obstacles they face, particularly with regard to limited access to infrastructure, financial services and raw materials.