Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Libya (Ratification: 1971)

Article 2. Employment trends. Labour market information. The Government indicates that the Information and Documentation Centre (IDC) of the Ministry of Labour and Rehabilitation launched a system for collecting data on the country’s labour force and job seekers. According to that information, there are 1,827,692 workers, of which 1,657,049 are male and female of 26 years and above and 170,643 are male and female of 18 to 25 years. The Government indicates that, according to the IDC, the number of job seekers registered was 205,000. The Government adds that the Ministry’s centres and institutes seek to develop annual plans to rehabilitate them professionally and vocationally and that the Libyan-Korean Centre, affiliated with the Ministry of Labour, trains graduates and job seekers in several areas. The Government informs that several trainees have been provided with job opportunities in production corporations such as the National Oil Corporation, and some have been employed in the private sector. The Government indicates that, in addition to implementing the Multi-Functional Libyan Survey Project (MFLSP) for 2017–18, the survey results will help develop a labour policy with the participation of social partners. The Committee also notes the Libya Economic Monitor of the World Bank (Spring 2023), which points out that it is estimated that around two-thirds of the Libyan population (4.2 million out of 6.7 million) are of working age, i.e., between 15 and 64 years old, and that Libya’s demographic pyramid shows a prominent youth bulge, with recent data extrapolations show that 27 per cent of the population is aged between 16 and 30. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the nature or impact of measures taken to continue improving the labour market information system. It also reiterates its request that the Government indicate the manner in which the labour market information obtained is used, in collaboration with the social partners, for the formulation, implementation, evaluation and modification of active labour market measures. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide updated statistics, disaggregated by sex and age, concerning the size and distribution of the labour force, the type and extent of employment, unemployment and visible underemployment.

Promotion of SMEs. The Government states that the National Programme for Small and Medium Enterprises (NPSMEs) was established to develop a culture of innovation in society and create a favourable environment. The Government indicates it launched the pilot Reconciliation Programme to Fund Small and Medium Projects (RPFSMP) through the Economic Development Fund, which provides financial loans to entrepreneurs and is aimed at providing work opportunities for youth and reducing unemployment. The Government indicates that under this framework, commercial banks will commit to paying up to 60 per cent of the project’s overall cost, provided that the funds which support projects contribute 30 per cent of the total value of the project and that the project’s beneficiaries pay 10 per cent of the remaining cost. The Government adds that ten business incubators were opened in Libyan universities to help and support graduates in collaboration with the Libyan National Oil Corporation, opening centres in field areas, training young people, and helping them finance their projects. The Government also points out that, in collaboration with international organisations, several boot camps were organised in the city of Tunis, to which young entrepreneurs were invited to receive training and help in establishing their projects, as well as organising competitions for entrepreneurs. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the nature and the impact of the measures taken to create an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises, particularly for small and medium-size enterprises, as well as other entrepreneurship opportunities that can contribute to income-generation opportunities and generate employment.

The Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the ILO’s Recommendation on job creation in small and medium-sized enterprises (No. 189), 1998. This ILO standard is indeed crucial in the context of the country’s economic recovery and growth since SMEs drive economic diversification, create jobs, and foster inclusive development by integrating marginalized groups into the economy. They promote innovation and entrepreneurship, contributing to a dynamic and resilient economy. Additionally, SMEs enhance social stability by improving livelihoods and reducing economic disparities. Moreover, capacity building and skills development associated with SME growth further boost workforce productivity and competitiveness.

Employment of women. The Government states that the Presidential Council of the National Reconciliation Government places high importance on the right to work of women and persons with special needs. The Government indicates that the Council issued Resolution No. 210 for 2016 on the establishment of a support and empowerment unit for women working in State institutions, whose aim is to implement policies and programmes to empower women to obtain their political, economic and social rights and remove obstacles which limit their labour rights. The Government refers to publication No. 2 of 2018 of the Presidential Council, to Law No. 5 of 1987 on Persons With Disabilities and its Regulations, and to Law No. 12 of 2010 on Labour relations, and indicates that all ministries, institutions, authorities, public companies and similar institutions are required to allocate at least 5 per cent of jobs to persons with disabilities. The Committee notes from information published in the Gender Data Portal from the World Bank that vulnerable employment among women in Libya has remained nearly the same since 1991. The Committee also notes that the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, has reported the existence in Libya of a climate of impunity for rape and other sexual violence against migrant and refugee women and girls, and that they are subjected to systematic and large-scale violations of their fundamental human rights, including sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, trafficking in persons, forced labour and exploitation, and abuse by private employers (document A/HRC/53/36/Add.2, dated 4 May 2023, paragraph 64). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the nature of the measures taken to increase the participation of women in the labour market, including in managerial and decision-making positions in both the public and private sectors. It also requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the impact of such measures, including updated statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex and economic sector or occupation.

Persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that a special programme for persons with disabilities was established by the Ministry of Martyrs and the Wounded in collaboration with the NPSMEs under the name “Support me”. The programme aims to improve institutional capacities to empower persons with visual and mobility disabilities to obtain decent job opportunities and support them through communication and information technology. The programme includes the following actions: identify needs and capacity building; support and train non-governmental organisations and training and employment service providers; raise the awareness of companies as to the benefits of employing persons with disabilities and promote entrepreneurship for persons with disabilities wishing to start their businesses; empower persons with disabilities through providing them with competencies in the skills of communication and information technology, and to learn through the internet; encourage technological innovation to meet the needs of persons with disabilities and facilitate their daily living conditions, training and their employment. The Committee notes the statistical data on the education of persons with disabilities, including information on the total number of persons with disabilities (70,721), the number of schools for the development of mental capabilities (3), the number of centres for the deaf and the hearing impaired (5), the number of schools for the deaf and the hearing impaired (14), the number of schools for integration (192), the number of students in each type of institutions, and the number of persons with disabilities pursuing high studies and university degrees (3,879). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information, including statistics disaggregated by sex and age, on the nature and the impact of measures adopted or envisaged to promote the employment of workers with disabilities on the open labour market, and in particular measures aiming to increase the numbers and proportion of women with disabilities in employment.

COVID-19 pandemic. Socioeconomic impacts. Response and recovery measures. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided the information requested under this item and therefore reiterates its request to the Government to provide updated information in its next report on the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the nature and impact of concrete measures taken to address it on the achievement of the objective of full, productive, and freely chosen employment.