Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Portugal (Ratification: 1981)

Measures to alleviate the impact of the crisis. The Committee notes the report provided by the Government for the period ending in May 2012, including observations from the General Workers’ Union (UGT) and the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers–National Trade Unions (CGTP–IN). In reply to the previous comments, the Government indicates that the four most representative employers’ organizations and one of the two most representative trade union confederations accepted the changes to the Labour Code. Agreements between the Government and the social partners include the Tripartite Agreement for Competitiveness and Employment (2011) and the Commitment to Growth, Competitiveness and Employment (2012). In its previous observation, the Committee invited the Government to provide information allowing an assessment of the manner in which the reduction of labour costs has permitted the creation of productive and quality jobs. The Government indicates that the reduction of some labour costs due to the changes introduced by the revision of the Labour Code, and in particular as a result of the revision in 2012, are the result of legislation subsequent to the reporting period and it will only be possible to evaluate the respective effects later. The Government indicates that, in the reporting period, the principal component of the framework of government policies is the Economic Adjustment Programme, following an agreement with the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Committee notes that a joint EC, ECB and IMF mission met with the Government in the first half of 2013 to assess compliance with the terms and conditions set out in the Memorandum of Understanding. The mission concluded that the programme implementation is broadly on track, against the background of difficult economic conditions. According to the data of the Employment and Vocational Training Institute (IEFP), the number of unemployed persons registered with the employment centres at the end of the first quarter of 2012 rose to roughly 661,400 persons (51.2 per cent of whom were women). This number reflects an increase of 9.3 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 and 19.8 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2011. With respect to active employment measures (employment, vocational training, professional rehabilitation), the Government reports that 466,172 people were covered by measures implemented by the IEFP in 2010, 455,119 in 2011, and 146,561 from January to March 2012. The majority of individuals covered by the active employment measures implemented by the IEFP during the reporting period were women (roughly 60 per cent), and the largest percentage of individuals covered by these measures was from 25 to 34 years old (over 25 per cent of all individuals covered), followed by individuals from 35 to 44 years (roughly 23 per cent) and individuals up to 24 years old (also roughly 23 per cent). The Committee notes that the unemployment rate worsened significantly, rising from 12.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2011 to 15.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012. The Committee notes that the unemployment rate continued to rise after the reporting period. In June 2013, unemployment was higher than 17 per cent. The UGT states that it is important for employment policies to aim to promote jobs, but quality jobs, with new and improved working conditions. In this context, the UGT indicates that it has advocated that the Government and the social partners should pay more attention to active employment policies and reorient them so that they are able to more effectively and more efficiently address existing issues and weaknesses. The Committee further notes the observations of the CGTP–IN stating its view that the Government is not implementing the necessary measures to meet the objectives of the employment policy to which the Convention refers, especially with respect to full and freely chosen employment. The CGTP–IN indicates that the revision of the Labour Code will not solve the employment problem. Instead, the problem will worsen in that it contains measures that, besides cutting workers’ pay and hours, may cause unemployment to rise. The CGTP–IN further indicates that offers for available jobs are increasingly insecure even for permanent and poorly paid jobs, including for highly qualified individuals and the public employment services do not perform any quality analyses. In a context of austerity policies, in which joblessness is on the rise and social protection is on the decline, unemployed workers are increasingly forced to accept undignified and insecure jobs with low wages that are not on par with their qualifications. The Committee considers that the outcome of the Ninth European Regional Meeting (Oslo, 8–11 April 2013) is relevant to the application of the Convention in Portugal. It notes that the Oslo Declaration “Restoring confidence in jobs and growth” stated that fiscal consolidation, structural reform and competitiveness, on the one hand, and stimulus packages, investment in the real economy, quality jobs, increased credit for enterprises, on the other, should not be competing paradigms. The Committee expresses its concern at the deterioration of the employment situation since its previous observation made in 2011. The Committee therefore invites the Government to indicate in its next report the measures taken to review, with the participation of the social partners, the impact of the employment measures adopted to address the jobs crisis (Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention). The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the fact that the Office could contribute, through technical assistance, to address the employment situation in the context of the Convention.

Measures to promote employment among vulnerable categories of workers. The Committee notes the high unemployment figures for young persons. The Government reports that the annual average youth unemployment rate in 2011 was 30.1 per cent (28.7 per cent for women and 31.7 per cent for men). In the first quarter of 2012, the rate increased to 36.2 per cent (36.6 per cent for women and 35.8 per cent for men). The Government indicates that the measures intended for the most vulnerable workers covered 156,911 individuals from January 2010 to April 2012. The Committee asks the Government to include in its next report indications that will enable it to examine the quality of employment provided for young people and the measures taken to reduce youth unemployment. Please also include up-to-date information on the impact of the measures taken to facilitate the return to the labour market of those categories of workers most affected by the crisis.

Creation of jobs in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Government reports that the Programme to Support Entrepreneurship and the Creation of Self-Employment (PAECPE) includes measures to support the creation of businesses. Support for the creation of self-employment by beneficiaries of unemployment benefits, which involves paying unemployment benefits in advance for the purpose of creating self-employment, covered 2,588 people in 2010 and 2,819 in 2011. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to improve the business environment in order to promote the development of SMEs and create employment opportunities for the unemployed.

Education and training policies. The Government indicates that it has adopted several measures for linking programmes between the New Opportunity Centres, a network run by the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education Training (ANQEP), and the Employment and Vocational Training Institute (IEFP). Moreover, mechanisms were also defined to ensure the coordination of training policies with employment policies as follows: (i) implement mechanisms to adequately link the vocational training centres, the employment centres, companies and corporate associations and other economic development agents for the purpose of better matching the supply of vocational training with present and future job market requirements; and (ii) introduce indicators on the requirements of the labour market and the employability of trainees using the weighting criteria for financing the participating management centres. The Committee asks the Government to include in its next report up to date information on the measures taken to improve qualification standards and coordinate education and training policies with potential employment opportunities. The Committee hopes that the information sent by the Government will enable it to examine the manner in which efforts have been intensified, with the cooperation of the social partners, to ensure that vocational guidance and training systems meet the learning and vocational training needs of the most vulnerable groups in the country.