Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - India (Ratification: 1959)

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Articles 1–3 and 7 of the Convention and Part IV of the report form. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. Measures for particular categories of applicants for employment. Statistics. The Government indicates that 1,005 Employment Exchanges operate across India. Thirty-eight of those contain special cells for differently abled persons and 42 Special Employment Exchanges are established to only serve this group of persons. Furthermore, 76 of the Exchanges are dedicated University Employment Information and Guidance Bureaux, 14 serve professionals and executive only and five are specifically dedicated for women. Between the last report and May 2023, 29.42 million men and 16.3 million women were reported in the Live Register with 520,000, respectively 120,000 having been placed. The Committee notes that in December 2021, from the around 44,070,000 registered jobseekers, including 15,830,000 women, 5,840,000 belonged to minority communities, 35,020,000 were educated of which 15,560,000 were women, and of which 6,100,000 belonged to the Scheduled Caste and 2,230,000 to the Scheduled Tribe – the latter two, as defined in the Constitution of India, being considered as the most socio-economic disadvantaged. Among the overall registered jobseekers, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Backward Class, that is castes classified by the Government as educationally or socially backward, numbered 7,030,000, 2,536,000 and 1,1430,000. At the same time, 700,000 differently abled jobseekers were registered. The Committee notes that the Decent Work Country Programme for India (2023–2027) foresees as output 2.1.1 under Strategic Priority 2 to increase, inter alia through ILO technical support, institutional capacity at the national and subnational levels to foster employment growth particularly in employment-intensive sectors and also with a focus on green jobs, digital economy, rural economy, care economy, and vulnerable workers. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to establish and locate sufficient employment offices to serve the employers and workers in each of the geographical areas and what provision is made for review of the network of Employment Exchanges and revision, where necessary, to meet the changing requirements of the economy and the working population. (Article 3). The Committee further requests the Government to give further particulars concerning the arrangements made to give effect to Article 7, including the occupations, industries and special categories of applicants for which specialized arrangements have been made. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide statistical information for all regions, disaggregated by state and region, on the number of public employment offices established, the number of applications for employment received, the number of vacancies notified, and the number of female and male workers placed in employment by the Employment Exchanges.

Article 8. Special arrangements for juveniles. The Committee notes that out of the total of jobseekers in December 2021, around 2,802,000 were youth up to 29 years of age, which constitutes 63.6 pc of the total. The Government indicates that a key role of Employment Exchanges, of which 409 accommodate special Vocational Guidance Units, is to motivate and guide unemployed youth for taking up self-employment ventures due to the decrease in jobs in wage labour – 22 Employment Exchanges contain Special Cells for the Promotion of Self-Employment. Furthermore, the Government refers to the Directorate-General of Employment established the National Career Services (NCS) Portal, a free online employment one-stop-shop exchange module developed to connect job opportunities with the youth and facilitates the registration of jobseekers, job providers, skill providers, career counsellors and provides vocational guidance, information on skill development courses as well as internships. In May 2023, 31,900,000 jobseekers were registered in the NCS Portal and 13,900,000 vacancies were published. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the special arrangements for juveniles initiated and developed within the framework of the Employment Exchanges and other employment and vocational guidance services.

Articles 4–6 and 9–11. Arrangements for the co-operation of representatives of employers and workers in the organisation and operation of the Employment Exchanges and in the development of employment service policy. Other functions discharged by the Exchanges in connection with the aims of Article 5. Staff of the Employment Exchanges. National and local arrangements made in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations to encourage full voluntary use of the Employment Exchanges. Effective co-operationbetween the Employment Exchanges and private employment agencies not conducted with a view to profit. The Committee requests the Governmentto give particulars of the arrangements made through advisory committees for the cooperation of employer and worker representatives in the organization and operation of the Employment Exchangesand in the development of employment service policy and to indicate the number of advisory committees established nationally, regionally and locally (if applicable), how they are constituted, and the procedure adopted for the appointment of employer and worker representatives. (Articles 4 and 5) It further requests the Government to describe any other functions discharged by the Employment Exchanges in connection with the aims of Article 6. The Government is also asked to give particulars concerning the status and conditions of service of the employment service staff and general information concerning the methods of recruitment and selection of this staff, to indicate the arrangements made to ensure the training of employment service staff for the performance of their duties, including both: (a) arrangements for their initial training at the time of appointment to the service; and (b) arrangements for subsequent training. (Article 9) Please also indicate the arrangements made nationally and locally in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations to encourage full voluntary use of the Employment Exchanges (Article 10). Finally, the Government is asked to give particulars concerning the arrangements made to ensure effective cooperation between the Employment Exchanges and private employment agencies not conducted with a view to profit. (Article 11).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1998, published 87th ILC session (1999)

The Committee notes the indications given by the Government's report in relation to its previous observation. It would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply, in its future detailed reports, information on any developments and progress concerning qualitative improvements in the services offered by the employment exchanges, in relation to the role of the tripartite committees on employment in promoting the use of employment exchanges by the private sector, and the arrangements made in cooperation with employers' and workers' organizations to encourage full voluntary use of employment service facilities (Article 10 of the Convention and Part IV of the report form).

Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 82nd ILC session (1995)

Article 10 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to give particulars, when appropriate, concerning qualitative improvements in the services offered by the employment exchanges as a result of their modernization, in relation to the role of the tripartite committees on employment in promoting the use of employment exchanges by the private sector. The Government indicates that, though efforts are being made to modernize and upgrade the employment exchange operations with a view to providing qualitatively better services to the jobseekers as well as the employers, it is too early to indicate qualitative improvements in the services available to the private sector. It also states that it is proposed to undertake a research study to find out the impact of computerization.

As noted previously, it was expected that qualitative improvements in the services offered by the employment exchanges would result in a substantial increase in the voluntary utilization of the employment service. However, statistical information supplied by the Government shows a downward trend in the performance of the employment exchanges over the period covered by the two last reports, and even more marked since the time of the "Mathew Report".

The Committee would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply, in its future reports, information on any developments and progress in these spheres, indicating in particular the arrangements made in cooperation with employers' and workers' organizations to encourage full voluntary use of employment service facilities.

Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

The Committee takes note with interest of the information provided by the Government in reply to its earlier comments. It notes, in particular, the information on the implementation of the recommendations of the Report of the Committee on the National Employment Service (the "Mathew Report") and on the measures that have been taken or are envisaged on the basis of these recommendations. It also notes the information concerning the application of Articles 2 and 3 (general organisation and extension of the networks of employment offices), 6 (functions of the Employment Service) and 8 (special arrangements for juveniles) of the Convention.

As regards Article 10, the Government indicates that tripartite committees on employment at the national, state and local levels are expected to play an important role in promoting the use of employment exchanges by the private sector and that with modernisation of employment services there will be qualitative improvement in the services offered by the employment exchanges, which will result in a substantial increase in the voluntary utilisation of the employment service by the private and public sectors. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would describe in more detail the role of these tripartite committees in promoting the use of employment exchanges by the private sector and would give particulars, when appropriate, concerning qualitative improvements in their services as a result of such modernisation.

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

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following matters raised in its previous direct request:

Article 3 of the Convention. The Committee noted with interest the development of the network of employment offices, the numbers of which have increased from 584 in June 1981 to 802 in May 1985. It also noted that the question of the extension of rural employment offices was linked up with the strategy to promote self-employment during the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1980-85). Please provide any available information on the results of the Plan in this field and, more generally, on new developments in the organisation of a network of employment offices, indicating, if possible, the extent to which the needs of employers and workers in rural areas are satisfied.

Article 6. 1. Please provide information on the implementation by the State Governments of the recommendations of the Mathew Report accepted by the Government concerning, firstly, the possibility given to employment offices to verify the vocational qualifications of jobseekers and, secondly, the improvement of public relations and the public image of the employment service.

2. Please provide information on the action intended to encourage the self-employment of young persons, and particularly of young university graduates, and on the extent to which such action has had a favourable influence on the employment situation of this category of the population.

Article 8. In addition to the measures referred to above (under Article 6, point 2) the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide detailed information on the special measures intended more generally for juveniles, which, in order to implement this Article of the Convention, shall be taken and developed within the framework of the employment and vocational guidance services.

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

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

1. The Committee took note with interest of the Government's report and the information provided in reply to its earlier comments. With regard, in the first place, in a general manner, to the implementation of the recommendations of the Report of the Committee on the National Employment Service (the "Mathew Report"), the Committee noted that of the 56 recommendations initially formulated, 35 have been implemented in various forms and to various degrees, or transmitted to State Governments and to Union Territory Administrations for implementation. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would indicate in more detail in its next report the recommendations that have been implemented and the measures that have been taken or are envisaged based on the recommendations, in relation to the relevant provisions of the Convention. 2. The Committee noted that the Government had decided not to follow up the recommendation of the Mathew Report concerning the setting up of a Department of Manpower and Planning and a Manpower Service Committee which would have been placed under the control of the national authorities. It would be grateful if the Government would supply additional information on the way in which Article 2 of the Convention is implemented, with reference to the analysis in the Mathew Report (Chapter 11, paragraph 11.8) on the consequences of the transfer of resources and responsibilities to the States. The Committee pointed out that Article 2 of the Convention stresses the value of the principle of organisation upon which the employment service shall be established on a national basis and under the direction of a national authority; however, this principle is naturally not an obstacle to the decentralisation of administrative responsibilities in the operation of the service. 3. Finally, the Committee took note of the Government's position concerning the question of compulsory use being made of the employment service. However, recalling the earlier statement by the Government concerning the limited use of the employment service by the private sector, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide information on the measures taken or envisaged, when necessary, to encourage full use of the employment service on a voluntary basis, in accordance with the provisions of Article 10.

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The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the very near future.