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

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Guatemala (Ratification: 1952)

Article 3 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to promoting employment. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has developed, in cooperation with other ministries, the National Decent Employment Policy 2017–32 – Inclusive, Sustained and Sustainable Economic Growth. The Government indicates that the approach and guiding principle of this policy is inclusion to achieve equality of opportunity in employment, in particular for the most vulnerable groups, namely young people, women, indigenous people, migrant workers and persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that the first area relating to job creation includes the introduction of a “Programme to Strengthen the Public Employment Service”. According to the statistics provided by the Government, in 2022: (1) 28,272 jobseekers benefited from personalized counselling to increase their employability; (2) 46,291 vacancies were advertised on the “Your Job” portal; (3) 34,846 people registered for the employment service; and (4) 7,323 found employment, mainly in the real estate, rental, wholesale and retail and repair sectors. As to human resources training, the Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government, 5,747 people benefited from short or certificate courses – 70 per cent of whom were women – in new technologies and innovation in order to exploit recent employment niches. Grants may also be awarded, for example, to acquire non-technical and/or cross-disciplinary skills and learn English. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the “My First Job” programme has been set up to promote and support the employment of young people aged 18 to 24 in cooperation with private enterprises. The Government states that 703 young people benefited from this programme in 2022. Lastly, the Committee notes that the National Employment Service is supported primarily by the “Your Job” electronic portal, which manages job supply and demand and directs jobseekers to the appropriate services responsible for improving their employability. This system proved to be of vital importance during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting employment crisis. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the functioning of the National Employment Service, in particular on the impact of the measures taken underthe National Decent Employment Policy 2017–32 on employment and labour intermediation.In particular, the Committee would be grateful if the Government could provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to modernize public employment services, strengthen institutional capacities, promote cooperation between the public and private sectors and improve the transparency and inclusiveness of the labour market.Moreover, the Committee requests the Government to also indicate whether any actions have been undertaken or envisaged to integrate active labour market policies and social assistance programmes to ensure resilience in the event of economic shocks.

Article 4. Cooperation between the social partners in the organization and functioning of the employment service. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that currently there are no advisory committees allowing cooperation between the representatives of employers and workers in the organization of the employment service. It notes the indication that the national employment policy is being updated in cooperation with civil society bodies, which keeps the National Employment Service fully occupied. The Committee recalls that consultation of the social partners is essential and provides an additional source of information for the development and effective implementation of employment policies. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take effective measures without delay to ensure the full cooperation of representatives of employers and workers in the organization and functioning of the employment service and in the development of a policy for the employment service.