Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

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

1. The Committee takes note of the Government's report for the period ending June 1988. In its previous comments, the Committee noted with interest the adoption of a development programme, the "Programme for Structural Correction of the External Deficit and of Unemployment" (PCDED), which sets out, as a priority objective, in addition to reducing the external deficit, an active employment policy in the terms of the Convention. During its first phase (1987-90), the PCDED provides for an annual growth in employment of 1 per cent in order to compensate for the effects of economic restructuring and reduce the unemployment rate from 8.6 per cent in 1986 to around 7 per cent in 1990. The Committee is pleased to note that, according to the detailed information in the Government's report and more recent information published by the OECD (Economic Surveys, Portugal, July 1989), the recovery in economic activity has been accompanied by strong employment growth (2.5 per cent in 1987 and 1988) and a considerable decline (2.8 points) in the unemployment rate over two years (the unemployment rate dropped from 8.6 per cent in 1986 to 7.1 per cent in 1987, and to 5.8 per cent in 1988). The Committee notes with interest the considerable improvement in the overall labour market situation, which has taken place in the context of a structural adjustment policy and an active labour market policy which are geared towards the objectives and methods of application of the Convention as defined particularly in Articles 1 and 2.

The Committee hopes that the Government will pursue its efforts, in co-operation with the social partners, to promote, within the framework of a co-ordinated economic and social policy, full, productive and freely chosen employment in the meaning of the Convention, and to find solutions to the problems which, the Government stresses in its report, are among its main concerns: unemployment of young people, long-term unemployment, the return flow of migrant workers, low productivity in small- and medium-sized enterprises and the problems of retraining their staff, the effects of the steep climb in inflation on wages, investment and growth.

2. In this connection, the Committee notes with interest that the Government envisages promoting an employment policy having a special impact on those groups of persons that experience the most serious difficulties in the labour market. The report provides detailed information on the action of the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) and the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Employment (CIME) within specific job-creation programmes and vocational training activities. The information shows the varying impact of the actions undertaken: certain programmes, which aimed to promote permanent employment (local employment initiatives, support for self-employment, support for former trainees from training centres), attracted approximately 3,700 persons, whereas other programmes, designed to employ young people for a given period, involved 28,800 persons. The Committee would be grateful if, in its next report, the Government would include more detailed information on the results of the various actions undertaken by the competent authorities to meet the needs of all categories of persons who frequently encounter difficulties in finding lasting employment. In this connection, it may be useful to refer to the suggestions included in Part III of the Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169).

3. Article 3. In its previous observation, the Committee noted with interest the emphasis placed upon consultation and co-operation with the social partners, as an essential part of a strategy whose aims (modernisation of the economy and reduction of unemployment) may give rise to disputes. The Government provides little new information on this matter in its report. The Committee would be grateful if it would provide particulars of consultations on employment policies held with representatives of the persons affected, with particular reference to the terms and scope of agreements concluded by the social partners in the Standing Council for Social Consultation, and to the employment measures taken within the framework of the Tripartite Advisory Council of the Institute of Vocational Training and Employment (IFPE).

4. The Committee is also addressing a direct request to the Government concerning a number of other points.