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

Convenio sobre la licencia pagada de estudios, 1974 (núm. 140) - Guinea (Ratificación : 1976)

Articles 2 and 6 of the Convention. Policy for the promotion of paid educational leave. Participation of the social partners. Application in practice. The Committee recalls that, for over 30 years, it has been requesting the Government to provide detailed information demonstrating that it has formulated and applied a policy promoting the granting of paid educational leave for the various training and education purposes set out in the Convention. Moreover, for more than 15 years, it has been requesting the Government to describe the manner in which the public authorities, employers’ and workers’ organizations and institutions providing education and training are associated with the formulation and application of the policy to promote paid educational leave. The Committee notes that in its report the Government refers once again to the provisions of the Labour Code on the funding for vocational training (sections 141.1 to 141.5), the vocational training course (section 144.2), and deeming periods of educational leave, which are fixed by the branch collective agreements or, if not possible, by the employer following consultation with the trade union representatives, to be time actually worked in the determination of leave (sections 222.9 and 222.14). The Government also indicates that it requested the technical assistance of the Office for the preparation of a draft new Labour Code. It reiterates that a draft new National Employment Policy is being finalized which includes, like the previous National Employment Policy, a basic education and vocational training development programme, and refers in this regard to the information communicated in its report on the application of the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142).

In light of the foregoing, the Committee notes with regret that the Government has still not provided information on the formulation and application in practice of a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave. With regard to the references to sections 141.1 to 141.5 and 144.2 of the Guinean Labour Code and to the vocational training development programme, the Committee wishes to highlight that paid educational leave is not only a means of vocational training for workers but must be able to be used for their broader aspirations of general, social and civic education, and trade union education (1991 General Survey on human resources development, paragraphs 325 and 357). As for the references to sections 222.9 and 222.14 of the Labour Code, these sections recognize the notion of “training leave” without, however, defining the terms and conditions of their application. The Committee therefore once again emphasizes that the main requirement under the Convention is for the Government to formulate, in consultation with the social partners, a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave for the purpose of training at any level, general, social and civic education, and trade union education (Articles 2 and 6 of the Convention), and recalls that the term “paid educational leave” means leave granted to a worker for educational purposes for a specified period during working hours, with adequate financial entitlements (Article 1 of the Convention). As the information provided by the Government does not allow for an evaluation of the effect given to the provisions of the Convention, the Committee trusts that the Government will provide, in its next report, detailed information demonstrating that it has formulated and applied, in accordance with Article 2 of the Convention, a policy designed to promote the granting of paid educational leave for the various purposes prescribed. It also urges the Government to indicate the manner in which the public authorities, employers’ and workers’ organizations and institutions providing education and training are associated with the formulation of this policy (Article 6 of the Convention). Lastly, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to communicate all reports, studies, surveys or statistical data allowing for an evaluation of the level of application of the Convention in practice.

[ The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2026 . ]