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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Peru (Ratification: 1967)

The Committee notes the observations of the Coordination of Trade Union Federations of Peru (CCSP) and the National Confederation of Private Business Institutions (CONFIEP), received on 1 September 2022, and the Government’s responses to these observations, received on 29 October 2022.

Articles 1 to 3 of the Convention. Active employment policy. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates that Presidential Decree No. 013-2021-TR approved the National Decent Work Policy (PED) in June 2021. The Government explains that the Ministry of Labour and Employment Promotion (MTPE) has been implementing the PED, which is intended to address the deficit of decent work in the country. Its objective is that by 2030 one in five Peruvians will have a decent job, labour informality will be lower than 60 per cent of the working economically active population and the unemployment rate will remain at 5 per cent. The Government indicates that the PED is multisectoral in its nature and includes six priority objectives, 27 components and 55 services, responsibility for which is shared with other sectors and the social partners. The priority objectives (OP) of the PED are as follows: (OP.01) increasing the vocational skills of the working age population; (OP.02) strengthening the matching of labour supply and demand; (OP.03) increasing the generation of formal employment in production units; (OP.04) broadening the access of men and women workers to social protection, social rights and benefits; (OP.05) increasing equality in employment for the potential labour force; and (OP.06) creating an appropriate social and institutional environment in the country. The Government adds that the MTPE has been issuing reports on the progress of the PED. With reference to the participation of the social partners, the Government indicates that the participation of workers’ and employers’ organizations during the process of the formulation of the PED involved, through the Technical Secretariat of the National Labour and Employment Promotion Council (ST-CNTPE), participation in consultation workshops on proposals for the PED with a view to obtaining observations and comments.

The Committee notes the detailed statistical information provided by the Government on the structure of the labour market. The Committee notes in particular that 5.7 per cent of the total economically active population is unemployed, and that the working economically active population has an underemployment rate of 47.4 per cent, while the female working economically active population is traditionally lower in size than that of men.

In its observations, the CCSP, while considering that the Government has recently approved important labour reforms, makes various comments on them. The CCSP’s principal observations on the PED include that: (i) it places emphasis on the problem of supply (low human capital, skills, occupational mismatches) and does not address the problem of demand (lack of an internal market, sluggish installed capacity); (ii) it does not set out a budgetary framework for its implementation and follow up, even though the MTPE is one of the sectors with the lowest allocations in the General Budget of the Republic; and (iii) it does not address the issue of public employment, leaving outside its scope some 1.5 million public employees. In response, the Government indicates that: (i) the PED focuses on the access of workers to decent jobs, and in this sense gives priority to workers, or in other words labour supply, although, through the components and services in OP.03, it seeks to address the barriers to formalization and the low productivity of production units; (ii) the PED envisages the implementation of its services and operational activities, which have to be coordinated with the operational plans of MTPE bodies and the respective ministries, and activities are being carried out which enable the PED to be articulated with the programme budgetary lines of the MTPE and related ministries for their effective implementation; and (iii) public employment fulfils the characteristics of decent work. The Government adds that the PED was formulated and designed jointly with the ministries involved, and each ministry is, therefore, responsible within the framework of its own areas of competence and functions, and the MTPE takes the lead in the policy as its areas of competence and functions are closest to the objectives set out in the PED.

The CONFIEP considers in its observations that the public employment policies that the Government has been adopting have had very little impact as the informality rate is continuing to rise, reaching 76.1 per cent in September 2022. The CONFIEP notes that several working groups have been established between the MTPE and the trade union federations for the promotion of labour, employment and social protection policies, but that employers’ representatives are not included in them. The CONFIEP adds that the Sectoral Labour Formalization Strategy is approved periodically, but that the related action is not in compliance with the rules issued by the Government in 2022, for example in the case of the following actions: the modification of the outsourcing of services (Presidential Decree No. 001-2022-TR); the increase in the minimum living remuneration (Presidential Decree No. 003-2022-TR); and the modifications to the Act on collective labour relations (Presidential Decree No. 014-2022-TR). In response, the Government indicates that the PED combines three variables: decent work, labour informality and unemployment, which are inter-related; accordingly, in order to achieve the objective of decent work proposed for 2030, it is necessary for the implementation of the PED to involve the articulation of the respective sectors and for the services outlined in the policy to be provided jointly. The Government adds that a fundamental aspect for the achievement of the situation envisaged in 2030 is the existence of sustained economic growth in the country which generates growth in formal employment through increased productivity and the growth of production units. The Government adds that the components of OP.03 of the PED include the provision of various services which seek to address the barriers to labour formalization and the low productivity of production units, such as the financing of agricultural production units, advisory services for the formalization of enterprises, the dissemination of innovative financial instruments and advice on their use, capacity-building and specialized technical assistance for enterprise management. With reference to the increase in the minimum living remuneration, the Government indicates that the PED considers access to a just income as a fundamental element of decent work, and it is one of the five characteristics of the decent work index, which is the central indicator of the PED. Finally, the Government indicates that the MTPE has been working on the establishment of a multisectoral coordination body to follow up the implementation of the PED, in which the participation is envisaged of workers’ and employers’ organizations, among others, thereby strengthening tripartite social dialogue.

The Committee notes the conclusions of the evaluation report on the National Decent Work Policy for the period 2021–23 (MTPE, June 2024), which indicates that, with the exception of the indicators for OP.03 and OP.04, the other indicators are on average below the baseline established in 2019. The report indicates that this implies the need to double the rise in the indicators in future and increase by 2.7 times the rise in OP indicators during the period 2024–30 in order to achieve the goals set out in the PED by 2030.

The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted following the evaluation of the indicators related to the implementation of the PED and to continue providing detailed and updated information on the measures adopted or envisaged to achieve the objectives of the Convention, including detailed information on the implementation of the National Decent Work Policy, and particularly on the manner in which they help people obtain full, productive and sustainable employment. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures envisaged or adopted to promote the formalization of work and their impact. The Committee further requests the Government to continue providing updated statistical data on labour market trends, and particularly on the active population, employment and unemployment rates, in both the formal and informal economy, disaggregated by sex and age and, where possible, by urban and rural areas. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the consultations held with the social partners in relation to the subjects covered by the Convention within the framework of the implementation of the PED.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Government refers to Legislative Decree No. 1409, which establishes an alternative form of limited liability company with a view to the formalization and dynamism of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), known as simplified closed limited liability companies (SACS). The Committee notes the statistical data on the number and types of enterprises created. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided information on the number of jobs created by these enterprises, nor on the measures taken or envisaged to facilitate the access to credit of MSMEs. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide detailed and up-to-date information on the measures adopted or envisaged to facilitate the creation of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the country, and particularly measures intended to promote their formalization and access to credit. The Committee also reiterates its request to the Government to provide statistical data on the number and type of enterprises created and the number of jobs created by those enterprises. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189), which provides guidance on promoting the creation of employment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through various key measures designed to create a conducive environment for SMEs, leading to sustainable economic development and the creation of decent and productive employment opportunities.

Coordination of education and technical and vocational training measures with employment policy. Among the education and technical training measures adopted, the Government refers to the following: guidance on the pursuit of the 2021 educational year in educational institutions and basic education programmes within the context of the COVID-19 health emergency; the Learn at Home programme for students and their families at all educational levels and systems in the country, and the Somos Promo programme, adopted within the context of the health emergency, with the objective of promoting an appropriate outcome for basic education students engaged in the Learn at Home programme. The Government adds that in 2021 three models were implemented of secondary education services in rural areas: (i) the secondary education service model with student boarding, which was provided in 76 educational institutions in eight regions; (ii) the Alternate Secondary Education Service Model (SA), which was followed by 6,715 students in 2021 in 78 rural alternate training centres in 15 regions; and (iii) the secondary education tutorial service model, which is a semi-virtual education service that provides access, physical courses and an appropriate conclusion to secondary education for students in rural communities. The Government adds that in 2021 the National 18 Grant Programme continued to be provided, providing access for persons with a high academic potential who are in the process of social inclusion. Similarly, through the MTPE virtual platform vocational training module, under the responsibility of the General Directorate for Standardization, Vocational Training and the Certification of Labour Skills, training in employability skills was provided for 34,477 persons. The Committee notes that the information provided by the Government does not include detailed information on the measures adopted for the coordination of education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities, nor does it include detailed statistical data. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to provide detailed up-to-date information on the measures adopted or envisaged, in collaboration with the social partners and the representatives of the various sectors for the coordination of education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities. It also once again requests the Government to provide statistical data, disaggregated by sex and age, on the impact of these measures on employment creation.

Cooperatives. With reference to the measures adopted for the development of cooperatives, the Government refers to: Act No. 31335 of 2021 on the strengthening of the association of agricultural producers in agrarian cooperatives, the objective of which is to develop the framework of rules to allow the organizational strengthening, promotion and development of agricultural cooperatives; and Act No. 30822 of 2018 amending General Act No. 26702 on the financial system, insurance system and organizational structure of the Office of the Supervisor of Banks and Insurances, which has the aim of strengthening the cooperative system by seeking to overcome one of the weaknesses of the financial system, namely the existence of unsupervised informal enterprises which compete directly with micro-finance institutions. With reference to the programmes adopted to promote cooperatives, the Government refers to: (i) the programme for the promotion of associative entrepreneurial structures through which the advantages and benefits of the cooperative model can be disseminated and their articulation and coordination with other sectors strengthened, including with public entities, private institutions and/or international cooperation; (ii) the programme for the strengthening of cooperative management and governance, of which the objective is to position cooperatives as an enterprise model that is capable of promoting economic and social development at the national level; and (iii) the programme on the formalization of cooperatives, which has the objective of undertaking awareness-raising and assistance for the establishment of cooperatives and the transformation of associations into cooperatives by seeking to promote the creation of sustainable and market-oriented cooperatives. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, when the report was prepared, the General Bill on cooperatives had received the approval of the members of the Council of Ministers and would be submitted to the Congress of the Republic for the process of approval and publication. In the light of the above, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the adoption of the new General Act on cooperatives, a public policy for cooperatives and rules for the supervision of cooperatives, and to provide copies when they have been adopted. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing detailed and up-to-date information on the impact of the measures adopted or envisaged to promote the establishment of cooperatives and the creation of productive employment by cooperatives.

Vulnerable categories of workers. The Government indicates that OP.05 of the PED is intended to increase equality in employment and includes the following components: (i) the implementation of effective tools to combat sexual harassment at work and discrimination among workers on grounds of gender, ethnic and racial origin, disability, age and other reasons; (ii) the adoption of incentives and measures for the recruitment of groups which are subject to discrimination or vulnerability in their access to employment; (iii) the provision of facilities for the labour-market integration of vulnerable groups or persons with emphasis on care services; and (iv) strengthening the skills of vulnerable groups to improve their employability. The Government indicates that various measures will be adopted within this framework, as described below.

Women. Within the framework of the PED, the MTPE approved the Wiñay Warmi programme through Presidential Decree No.007-2022-TR, which focusses on women through the coordination of sectoral services provided at the national, regional and local levels with a view to developing synergies throughout the country for the achievement of the objectives of the programme and raising the public profile of action that contributes to the economic empowerment of women. The Wiñay Warmi programme brings together 40 services in eight sectors in 85 districts in the 20 Departments in the country. The Government adds that Ministerial Decision No. 161-2022-TR, of 19 June 2022, approved the technical operational measures to commence the implementation of the Wiñay Warmi programme. The Committee notes with concern the Government’s indication that the Entrepreneurship Capacity-building Plan for Women Gold Panners (Pallaqueras) or their Children in the provinces of San Antonio de Putina, Sandia and Carabaya (Puno), approved by Ministerial Decision No. 136-2016-TR, was not implemented due to the absence of the corresponding budget as a result of the failure to extend the inter-institutional collaboration agreement for the sectoral project on the promotion of employment and vocational skills to improve the employability of vulnerable groups through one-stop employment promotion services (VUPEs). The Committee further notes that the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination, in its concluding observations on the ninth periodic report of Peru, welcomed the efforts that are being made by Peru to promote the integration of women into the labour market, including through the adoption of the National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (2021–25), while also noting with concern that: (a) women facing intersecting forms of discrimination, including indigenous and Afro-Peruvian and other Afrodescendant women, lesbian, bisexual and transgender women and intersex persons and women with disabilities, have limited access to employment opportunities; (b) delays in the adoption of the Bill on the creation of a national care system and the slow progress in the implementation of measures to ensure and monitor the protection of the social and labour rights of domestic workers; and (c) the limited effectiveness of the free hotline to respond to cases of sexual harassment at work (document CEDAW/C/PER/CO/9, 1 March 2022, paragraph 35).

Persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that the General Directorate for Employment Promotion, through Ministerial Decision No. 239-2021-TR, of 3 December 2021, established among the services provided by employment centres a service on reasonable accommodations for the benefit of persons with disabilities. Moreover, on 22 September 2021, the MTPE established for individuals, enterprises and the public in general the Reasonable Accommodations Bank, which is a virtual tool offering a collection of 60 cases of good practices on work-related accommodations for persons with disabilities. The Government also refers to the holding of national dialogue days to promote the employment of persons with disabilities for the purpose of reviewing, discussing and proposing measures to facilitate the implementation of national policies and ensure the labour market integration of persons with disabilities, in accordance with Ministerial Decision No. 265-2021-TR of 29 December 2021. The Government also refers to the creation of the temporary Multisectoral Working Group to propose measures to promote compliance with the employment quota for persons with disabilities, in accordance with section 49 of General Act No. 29973 on persons with disabilities, approved by Ministerial Decision No. 083-2022-TR. The Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRDP), in its concluding observations of 29 November 2023 on the combined second and third periodic reports of Peru, while noting with appreciation the efforts of Peru to increase job placement for persons with disabilities, remained concerned about, among other matters: (a) the low employment rate of persons with disabilities, and particularly women with disabilities and persons with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, and the failure in practice to comply with employment quotas; (b) the significant wage gap between persons with disabilities and others, which is made wider still when disability is accompanied by additional causes of vulnerability, such as being a women or living in a rural area; (c) the greater likelihood of persons with disabilities working in the informal economy and being excluded from social protection; (d) the lack of inclusiveness and accessibility in educational and vocational training programmes, the lack of vocational programmes where needed and the lack of information on reasonable accommodations for employment; (e) the Government’s decisions to discontinue the programme of supported employment for persons with intellectual disabilities and persons with autism; and (f) the high level of poverty among persons with disabilities and the lack of specific measures to support them and improve their economic situation (document CRPD/C/PER/CO/2-3, paragraphs 54 and 56).

Child labour. The Committee notes that the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of 5 April 2023 on the sixth periodic report of Peru: (i) expressed concern at information indicating that the practices of trafficking in persons and forced labour persist, especially in the extractive industries, in areas with significant mining activities and in informal and small-scale mining; and (ii) while noting the important measures taken by Peru to protect children’s rights and prevent child labour, expressed concern that the rate of child labour in the country remains high and has even increased in recent years (CCPR/C/PER/CO/6, paragraphs 32 and 42).

Indigenous workers and older workers. The Committee notes with concern that once again the Government has not provided information in its report on the measures adopted or envisaged to improve the employability of older workers and indigenous populations. Taking into account the information available on vulnerable groups, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and up-to-date information on the measures adopted or envisaged, within the framework of the active employment policy, for the various categories of vulnerable persons and workers, including women, older workers, indigenous workers, persons with disabilities and in relation to child labour. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated and detailed information on the measures adopted or envisaged to improve the employability of vulnerable persons and to provide information on their impact. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the adoption of alternative measures in the light of the failure to implement the entrepreneurial capacity-building plan for women gold panners and their children.

Youth employment. The Government indicates that Presidential Decree No. 019-2020-TR, of 22 October 2020, approved the merger through the absorption of the National Programme for the Promotion of Work Opportunities “Impulsa Perú” into the National Youth Employment Programme “Jóvenes Productivos”, with the latter taking on the title of National Employability Programme (PNE). The objective of the PNE is to improve the employability of persons aged 15 years and over who are extremely poor, poor or vulnerable in social and labour terms through vocational skills training, capacity-building for self-employment and the certification of vocational skills Employment centres provide an integrated series of employment promotion services which seek to increase and improve opportunities for jobseekers. The Government adds that the services of the greatest relevance for young persons are: the Labour Exchange, a free service with the objective of helping jobseekers to have access in an appropriate, adequate and efficient manner to job vacancies and enterprises to find the personnel that they need through the online service “Empleos Perú”; the jobseeking advisory service, which is a free service for jobseekers through which they are offered effective strategies and techniques to search for jobs; the Single Labour Certificate (CUL), which consists of a free digitally signed electronic document with relevant information for recruitment; the Vocational Guidance and Information Service (SOVIO), the objective of which is to prepare young persons to make an appropriate choice of their professional career in accordance with their profile, and to obtain information on the performance of the labour market and existing training options. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided detailed information on the impact of the measures adopted to promote youth employment. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to provide detailed and up-to-date information on the measures adopted for the creation of productive and sustainable employment opportunities for young persons, and particularly those adopted with a view to promoting the formal employment of young persons, as well as detailed information, disaggregated by sex and age, on the impact of these measures.