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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - New Caledonia

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention.Implementation of the employment policy within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes with interest all the measures adopted for the implementation of the Employment and Vocational Integration Strategy 2016–20 (SEIP), including through territorial Act No. 2018-20 of 2 October 2018, organizing the governance of the employment, integration and vocational training and guidance sector in three levels (policy, technical and advisory). The Act provides, among other measures, for the establishment of the conference of executives and the creation of the strategic employment, integration and vocational training and guidance council (CSEIFOP), which plays a major role in the governance of the sector. The Government indicates that many measures have been taken to combat unemployment and promote the creation of stable, productive and quality jobs. It reports the adoption of the Local Employment Support Emergency Plan (PULSE), which has been drawn up to preserve and develop employment. The Committee notes the information provided on the results of the implementation of the Employment and Vocational Integration Strategy 2016-20 (SEIP), which are set out in the annual implementation review (RAE). With reference to labour market information, the Government indicates that many employment measurement tools and indicators have been introduced with a view to evaluating, adapting, reorienting and intensifying the employment policy. In particular, it refers to the employment, skills, wages and training observatory (OEQSF), which addresses employment problems through two draft studies, namely: the employment market study and the prospective employment and training study. In this regard, the Social Dialogue Council (CDS) observes, in the opinion issued on 1 September 2021 on the reports on the application of ILO Conventions, that the social partners regret that the prospective employment and training study, which is carried out every two years covering enterprises in New Caledonia with a view to assessing their employment and training needs and examining the recruitment procedures of employers, has not been undertaken since 2019. In this regard, the Government confirms that, in view of the budgetary difficulties in New Caledonia, no allocation was made in the budget for the study to be carried out. The CDS also observes that sectoral employment market studies, which are of great value to the social partners, are no longer published due to the lack of statistics and the impossibility of producing indicators at the level of New Caledonia. In this connection, the Government indicates that the introduction of a new trade application in one of the three provinces of the territory in January 2019 resulted in the breakdown of the systems for the processing of statistics and resulted in it being impossible to produce employment market indicators at the territorial level. However, the Government refers to the syntheses produced annually by the Statistics and Economic Studies Institute (ISEE-NC). It indicates that these syntheses are based on labour force surveys carried out in accordance with ILO standards and are financed by the Government of New Caledonia with a view to producing indicators for the regular monitoring of unemployment and employment. With reference to labour market trends, the Committee takes due note of the voluminous information provided by the Government, including the statistics contained in the employment and training synthesis produced by the ISEE-NC in 2019, which shows a slight increase in the employment rate of women (from 56.0 per cent in 2014 to 56.6 per cent in 2019) and a significant decline in the rate for men (from 65.9 per cent in 2014 to 63.4 per cent in 2019). The gap between the employment rates of men and women therefore fell to 7 points in 2019, compared with 13 points in 2009 and 25 points in 1989. In relation to the participation of the social partners, the Committee notes that they have been associated with the formulation and implementation of measures intended to promote full employment through the various bodies on which they are represented, including the CDS. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information on the results of the measures implemented and on labour market trends, particularly in relation to the active population, employment and unemployment, disaggregated by sex and age. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged for the reactivation of the prospective employment and training study and the sectoral labour market studies, which are of great value to the social partners. The Government is also requested to continue providing information on the consultations held with the social partners, in accordance with Article 3, as well as on the manner in which the representatives of minorities, including the Kanak community and the Saint-Louis tribe, are consulted on the formulation and implementation of the employment policies and programmes that affect them.

Groups in vulnerable situations. The Committee notes the general and specific measures which have been implemented to facilitate and promote the social and occupational integration of young persons in stable jobs. It notes in particular the implementation of personalized measures for individualized support to young persons encountering difficulties in integration, particularly in the southern province of the territory. With regard to the employment of young women, the Government reports the specific measures implemented to increase the labour market participation of women, including the draft texts of the Department of Labour and Employment, which are in the process of being prepared or adopted, with the objective of reconciling family life and work. It adds that the territorial Bill on real occupational equality between men and women is intended to combat gender stereotypes, sexism and discrimination at work and at the same time to offer the necessary conditions to improve the reconciliation of work and private life. The Committee notes in this respect the statistics provided by the Government on the labour market participation rate of women, including women in the Kanak community. It also notes that a rise in precarious employment is having a greater effect on this community (29 per cent of the Kanak community compared with 17 per cent of the non-Kanak population) and the increase in part-time jobs, the numbers of which rose from 10,400 in 2014 to 15,000 in 2019, in which a majority of women are employed (61 per cent of the labour force). With reference to persons with disabilities, the Government indicates that specific measures have been taken to promote their occupational integration. It reports in particular the launching in July 2018 of a website (handicap.nc) intended to improve the vocational integration of persons with disabilities. The Government also refers to projects to promote enterprise creation through the development of employment measures adapted to persons with disabilities. In this regard, the CDS indicates that the representative of the General Confederation of Labour (COGETRA) has requested an assessment of the employment of persons with disabilities by public communities in light of the obligations set out in the territorial legislation. It adds that the southern province is currently employing 11 officials instead of the required 65, and that the community has therefore been fined 65 million CFP francs The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed information, including disaggregated statistics, on the impact of the employment promotion measures adopted in terms of employment creation, particularly for women, young persons, members of the Kanak community and persons with disabilities. The Government is also requested to keep the Office informed of the development of the draft texts by the Department of Labour and Employment, which are in the process of being prepared or adopted, with a view to the reconciliation of work and family life. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the situation of persons in the Kanak community in relation to employment and occupation, and on any measures taken to improve their access to training and employment, remedy de facto inequalities and promote effectively equality in employment and occupation for all components of the population in New Caledonia.

COVID-19. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures adopted for the management of the effects of the COVID-19 health crisis, including Decision No. 26/CP of 11 April 2020 introducing exceptional measures in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and the specific or support subsidies provided to 3,780 enterprises.