Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre las agencias de empleo privadas, 1997 (núm. 181) - Uruguay (Ratificación : 2004)

Articles 2 and 3. Number and activities of private employment agencies. The Committee notes that Decree No. 137/016 provides that private employment agencies that undertake activities listed in the Decree must be entered in a registry administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security National Directorate of Employment (DINAE). Given that the Decree has been in force since 2016, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the number of Private Employment Agencies that have been registered and authorized to operate in the country and the types of activities they undertake. The Committee also requests information on the number of workers included in the activities of the private employment agencies, listing the branch and category of worker.

Article 7(3) and Article 8. Exceptions. Migrant workers. The Committee notes with interest that section 2 of approved Decree No. 137/016 provides for its application to all private employment agencies, to all categories of workers and to all branches of economic activity, and also provides for investigation mechanisms in the event of non-compliance, and the imposition of penalties, including for cases involving migrant workers. The Committee observes that, in application of Article 8 of the Convention, section 18 of the new Decree provides that migrant workers recruited or placed by private employment agencies enjoy adequate protection to prevent them being subject to abuse and establishes sanctions that may be imposed on the agency, including closure or the cancellation of its licence to operate. The Government indicates that penalty procedures are governed by Decree No. 680/997 and its protocol, and are undertaken by the DINAE and the Inspectorate-General of Labour and Social Security. The Committee requests the Government to provide more details on the manner in which this provision has been implemented since the adoption of the Decree in 2016, indicating the specific measures taken to give effect to section 18 of Decree 137/016, the sanctions imposed and whether bilateral agreements have been concluded to prevent abuses and fraudulent practices in the recruitment, placing and employment of migrant workers. The Committee also requests the Government to report on consultations with the most representative employers’ and workers’ organizations as regards the adoption of necessary and appropriate measures to provide protection for migrant workers recruited or placed by private employment agencies.

Section 20 and 21 of the Decree provides that the Inspectorate-General of Labour and Social Security is responsible for imposing the penalties provided under the Decree and in national law requesting, where appropriate, collaboration with the employers’ and workers’ most representative organizations, while section 20 indicates that non-compliance may be sanctioned with suspension or cancellation of the licence to operate, depending on the gravity or repetition of the offense or violation. The Committee recalls that in its earlier comments, it requested the Government to provide the text of any court decisions interpreting the national legislation concerning the rights of workers in relation to company decentralization, and that the Government indicated that there was at present no jurisprudence in that regard. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of inspections of private employment agencies conducted, and their outcomes, as well as disaggregated statistics on the number and type of penalties imposed for non-compliance. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide the texts of court decisions concerning the application of regulations concerning private employment agencies. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the most representative organizations of employers and workers are involved in the interventions of the Inspectorate-General.

Article 13. Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. Compilation and dissemination of information. The Committee notes with interest the use of digitalization in the registry of private employment agencies, using the “Vía Trabajo” platform, which should help identify the agencies as a means of improving coordination and cooperation with technical employment centres. Moreover, digitalization of the registry will feed information into the labour market forecasting system, to identify employment demand and supply, and the occupational training needs of the DINAE; this is part of a thematic axis of the Integrated Employment Promotion Plan (PIPE) currently being implemented. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on whether the digitalization of the registry has had an impact and, if so, how it affects the manner in which the public employment service and the private employment agencies collaborate.