Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Ratification: 1966)

1. The Committee took note of the Government's report containing detailed information on developments during the period ending June 1992, and replying to its previous observation. It also notes a communication from the Trades Union Congress (TUC), dated 23 December 1992, concerning the application of the Convention. The Committee notes the Government's indication that it would respond to the comments made by the TUC in due course.

2. The Committee notes that the deterioration in the employment situation on which it commented in its previous observation was even more marked during the period under consideration. The recession in economic activity, which has proved to be deeper and more protracted than anticipated, has caused the loss of more than a million jobs in Great Britain and a rapid increase in the unemployment rate which, according to the Government, rose from 5.5 per cent to 9.4 per cent between June 1990 and March 1992. In Northern Ireland, employment dropped by 2.3 per cent and unemployment rose by 4.8 per cent, reaching 14.3 per cent in June 1992. The OECD reports a standardized unemployment rate of 9.7 per cent in June 1992, and indicates that long-term unemployment is moving towards its high level of 1988 and that the contraction of employment has affected all sectors and all regions of the country, including those which were hitherto the least affected. The TUC confirms this. The TUC also considers that the official figures for unemployment understate its real extent, in particular owing to the narrow restrictions on unemployment insurance.

3. In the TUC's view, the high and rising unemployment reflects the failure of a policy which relies solely on the operation of market forces and disregards the obligations under the Convention. For the TUC, the reduction of unemployment and the restoration of full employment are paramount objectives. The Government, for its part, continues to believe that the best means of promoting employment growth is to create the right economic and financial conditions for enterprises to flourish and to provide everyone with the possibility of obtaining economically viable employment. It mentions in this connection the reduction of burdens on business, the reform of the tax system and the significant progress made in reducing inflation which should reinforce the competitive position of British enterprises in the international market and lead to the expansion of employment. The Government recognizes, however, that unemployment may continue to rise even after economic growth has resumed.

4. The Government also believes that the considerable efforts and resources devoted to assisting the unemployed to find work reflect its concern at the rise in unemployment and its commitment to the principles of the Convention. The Employment Service provides the unemployed with a recently completed package of services to help them keep in touch with the labour market and avail themselves of employment opportunities. With regard to the abolition of the community programme on which the Committee commented in its previous observation, the Government indicates that it was replaced in October 1991 by a new temporary employment programme, Employment Action. The Government also reports that it is increasing financial resources for training for employment. The Committee also notes that far-reaching structural reforms are being implemented to ensure that education and training systems are better matched to job prospects. In this connection, it refers the Government to its comments on the application of Convention No. 142. More generally, the Committee would be grateful if in its next report the Government would supplement the information on the objectives and scope of each of the labour market policy programmes with an evaluation of the results they have made possible in terms of the effective and lasting integration of the programmes' participants into employment.

5. With reference to Article 2 of the Convention, which lays down the obligation to "decide on and keep under review, within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy", the measures to be adopted in order to attain the objectives of full, productive and freely chosen employment, the Committee notes the substantial increase in public expenditure on employment policy measures as a component of the Government's growth strategy. None the less, the strategy is still based on macroeconomic policies which give priority to curbing inflation, even at the risk of increasing unemployment, as is pointed out by the TUC which quotes the Chancellor of the Exchequer in this respect. The Committee hopes that the results obtained in fighting inflation, lowering interest rates, and reinforcing economic competitiveness, referred to in a statement of 21 January 1993 by the Employment Secretary communicated by the Government, will ensure that the employment policy measures are successful and contribute effectively to improving the employment situation which is still a matter of concern in the short term, according to the forecast of both the OECD and the Government.

6. The Committee remains deeply concerned at the serious difficulties encountered in establishing the tripartite consultations on employment policy measures required by Article 3. In this connection, the TUC states that tripartite dialogue about monetary policy or collective dismissals, for example, has been refused; it particularly deplores the abolition of the National Economic Development Council (NEDC) which was the only remaining tripartite body in which issues of employment policy could be pursued. The TUC stresses that the confrontational approach has not remedied the long-standing national economic weaknesses, and considers that consultation of the social partners would demonstrate the Government's determination to pursue the objectives of the Convention. In a spirit of social partnership, it is committed to finding ways of achieving consensus on employment policy. The Committee also notes the Government's general assurances concerning the consultation of employers' and workers' organizations, particularly in the area of training. The Government also indicates that it is conducting consultations on a series of complex technical subjects, but it is not clear whether such consultations effectively meet the requirements of Article 3 in terms of their content and the persons involved. The Committee cannot overstress the importance of giving effect to this essential Article of the Convention which provides that the representatives of persons affected, and in particular the representatives of employers and workers, must be consulted on employment policy matters "with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies". It trusts that the Government will shortly be able to report positive developments in this respect. With regard to the specific question of the effective consultation procedures to be pursued in preparing reports on the application of the Convention, the Committee refers the Government to its observation under Convention No. 144.