Observación (CEACR) - Adopción: 1992, Publicación: 79ª reunión CIT (1992)

Convenio sobre la política del empleo, 1964 (núm. 122) - Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte (Ratificación : 1966)

1. With reference to its previous observation, the Committee has examined the Government's detailed report for the period ending June 1990, which was received in February 1991, and communications from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) dated 21 December 1990 and 20 December 1991, a copy of which was addressed to the Government. It notes that the Government has not acted on the invitation to transmit its own observations on the points raised by the TUC.

2. The Government's report indicates that employment increased vigorously over most of the period under consideration and that the unemployment rate continued to fall, from 8 per cent in June 1988 to 5.4 per cent in March 1990. The drop in unemployment was smaller in Northern Ireland, where the unemployment rate stood at 13.6 per cent in June 1990. The favourable trend in employment, however, began to be reversed towards the end of the period of report. The information supplied by the TUC, confirmed by OECD surveys and reports, indicates that in 1991 the recession in economic activity was accompanied by an appreciable decline in total employment and a swift increase in unemployment. According to the TUC, more than 850,000 jobs were thus lost between March 1990 and December 1991. Moreover the real extent of unemployment is said to have been largely underestimated by government statistics; according to the TUC's calculations, at least 480,000 persons, of whom a majority are women, are not registered owing in particular to restrictions on unemployment insurance benefits. The TUC expreses its concern at the prospects of a continued increase in unemployment affecting all sectors and all regions, and at the increasing length of periods of unemployment. Its estimate of approximately 2.5 million unemployed by the end of 1991, or some 9 per cent of the economically active population, corresponds to the figures published by the Government and available to the Office.

3. In this context of profound deterioration in the employment situation, the TUC declares itself deeply concerned about the continuing failure to apply the Convention effectively. It mentions its attachment to the principles of the Convention, and regrets that an impact of those principles on the economic and industrial policies of the Government is still not discernible. Far from making full employment a central aim of economic policy, the Government appears to be content to see the return of mass unemployment; it shows no sign of pursuing an active policy to promote full employment. The Government, for its part, considers that the favourable results achieved in terms of employment during the period of report can be credited to a sound economic and financial policy that gives priority to bringing down the level of inflation and improving supply conditions. Consequently its economic policy continues to be aimed mainly at reducing inflation to a low level and creating a favourable climate for investment by undertakings as prerequisites for job creation. The Government maintains, however, that employment prospects also depend on factors beyond its control, such as the level of wage settlements and the state of the world economy. In its latest communication, however, the TUC does not fail to point out that, in the same international economic context, Britain lost 700,000 jobs in the year to June 1991, whereas nearly 1 million jobs were created in the other 11 EEC countries.

4. The Government also refers in its report to labour market policy measures for the placement and training of the unemployed. It states that it is the priority of the Employment Service to ensure that the unemployed, especially the long-term unemployed, do not lose touch with the labour market and are encouraged to use every possible means, including training, of getting back to work. According to the TUC, however, the Government has failed to take the active labour market policy measures required by the Convention, such as improvements in employment services, adult training measures and promotion of the employment of women and disadvantaged groups. In particular the Community Programme has been discontinued and the schemes introduced to replace it have in many cases proved inadequate. More generally, the volume of spending on measures to help unemployed adults is declining significantly and the resources allocated to active labour market policy measures have fallen proportionately far short of those alotted to them by several comparable European countries.

5. The Government emphasises that the interested parties are fully involved at the national, sectoral and local level in the formulation and implementation of employment policies, and that it takes care to conduct broad consultations with the social partners before introducing new legislation in these fields. The TUC, in contrast, considers that, by diminishing the role of tripartite bodies in which questions of employment and training can be discussed, the Government is failing to apply Article 3 of the Convention. In this connection it refers to the abolition of the tripartite Training Commission and the reduction in the frequency of meetings of the National Economic Development Council (NEDC), and states that its proposals for serious discussion of employment policies have been repeatedly rejected by the Government.

6. The Committee notes with regret the persistence of difficulties in establishing direct dialogue and of a profound difference of appreciation between the Government and the TUC concerning the employment policies and their conformity to the provisions of the Convention. With regard to the choice and hierarchy of the Government's economic policy objectives and the deterioration that has taken place in the employment situation since its last comments, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would specify in its next report how, pursuant to Article 2 of the Convention, it keeps under review the measures and policies adopted according to the results achieved in pursuit of the objectives specified in Article 1. It recalls that, in the terms of that Article, an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment should be pursued "as a major goal". Such a policy should aim at ensuring that there is every opportunity for each worker to qualify for a job for which he is well suited, irrespective in particular of sex, race or colour. In view of the trends observed, the Committee can only ask once again for additional information showing that the policy pursued will not have the effect of lowering the level of the Government's commitment with regard to its basic obligations under the Convention. The Government continues to bear the primary responsibility in this matter, as the Conference Committee has already had occasion to point out. With regard in particular to the requirements concerning consultation and cooperation with employers' and workers' organisations in the formulation and implementation of employment policies, the Committee hopes that the Government's report will feature new elements relating to consultation with the persons affected calculated to alleviate the Committee's serious concern with regard to the effective application of Article 3 of the Convention. As regards certain questions of vocational guidance and training, it again refers to its comments under Convention No. 142. Lastly, it repeats its recommendation that the next report should be communicated to the organisations of employers and workers and should be transmitted by the due date in order to facilitate the necessary tripartite dialogue as well as the Committee's own examination.