Cas individuel (CAS) - Discussion : 2001, Publication : 89ème session CIT (2001)

Convention (n° 122) sur la politique de l'emploi, 1964 - Portugal (Ratification: 1981)

A Government representative welcomed the opportunity to provide additional information on a number of aspects of the labour market and employment policy in his country. In the first place, he referred to the questions on which the Committee of Experts had requested additional information. With regard to the general level of education and training of the active population, the Committee of Experts had requested more information on the measures adopted to improve these aspects and match the supply and demand of employment. The Government's report had indicated that the skills level of the population as a whole was low, and particularly among adults. The school attendance rate of young persons was around average for the European Union. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of young persons only completed more than the nine years of compulsory schooling. There were also a considerable number of young persons who did not complete their compulsory schooling and entered the labour market prematurely.

Since 1997, the European Union had given high priority to employment policy, which had been strengthened during the Portuguese presidency of the Union. In the first half of 2000, the European Council had made commitments relating to global strategies for the achievement of full employment and social cohesion, which emphasized the importance of continued training and the role of the social partners in modernizing the organization of work, in continuing training and in the promotion of employment. The European employment strategy was based on these political undertakings adopted at the highest level.

The Director-General of the ILO, in his Report entitled Reducing the decent work deficit this year, had indicated that the European employment strategy provided a good example of the manner in which a global employment strategy could successfully be launched.

In relation to this strategy, Portugal had developed a National Employment Plan, which had been revised for 2001, and which took into account certain of the recommendations adopted by the European Union following the implementation of the plan the previous year. In particular, the recommendations which had been taken into account included those of continuing training, the problem of young persons leaving school early, the quality of education and training and the contribution of the social partners to the modernization of the organization of work and the adaptation of industrial relations and continuing training.

He added that the Government and the social partners had welcomed these recommendations and had, at the beginning of the year, concluded an agreement on employment policy, the labour market, education and training, which had included training measures for young persons and adults in the National Employment Plan for 2001. The latter Plan included measures to improve employability, particularly for the categories experiencing the greatest difficulties in entering the labour market, such as young persons, women and the long-term unemployed. The Plan also contained many measures on the education and training of children and young persons, including: (a) the strengthening of pre-school education; (b) the continuation of the existing programme to combat exclusion from school and social exclusion in basic education, including alternative programmes for children and young persons with behavioural and learning difficulties; (c) a system to ensure young persons under 18 years of age entering or attempting to enter the labour market would complete the ninth year of basic schooling, if they had not yet done so, or would participate in vocational training, consisting of at least 1,000 hours. In the case of young persons in work, 40 per cent of the hours of full-time work would be devoted to training, in which case subsidies would be provided to enterprises in compensation for the wages paid for training time; (d) the establishment in the short term of a system providing that young persons who left school at the age of 15, in view of the fact that Portuguese legislation established the minimum age for admission to employment at 16 years, would have access to a tenth year of professional training in cases in which they had finished their ninth year at school and did not intend to complete their studies, with the tenth year of training to be generalized in future to all young persons who had completed their ninth year of schooling and did not intend to continue their studies; (e) the familiarization of young persons with new information and communication technologies, with all schools being connected to the Internet this year; and (f) the existence of skills teaching and courses to facilitate the transition to work for young persons completing secondary or higher education.

With regard to the promotion of education and training for the adult active population, he referred, among the measures adopted, to the developments in the adult education system, both through extramural education and continuing training, including for the most underprivileged groups. He indicated that, as from the next year, at least 10 per cent of the workers in each enterprise would participate in continuing training, which would mean that by 2003 all workers would have completed a minimum of 20 hours of certified training, and that by 2006 this figure would have reached 35 hours. The objective was to generalize access to information and communication technologies throughout the population and for at least half of continuing training to cover this subject.

With regard to the second point raised by the Committee of Experts, he indicated that due to lack of time, he would merely refer to the report which would be sent to the Committee of Experts.

With regard to the structure of employment by skills levels and unemployment rates by educational attainment, the Committee of Experts had requested information on the results of the Government's policy on these issues, and particularly on strategies for the implementation of new information and communication technologies. He indicated that this information would be sent in the next report. By way of illustration, he said that an inter-ministerial programme on innovation in new technologies had recently been undertaken for the implementation of information and communication technologies in public services and enterprises. On the subject of the improvement of conditions of work in relation to occupational safety and health, he informed the Committee that the Government and the social partners had concluded an agreement this year on conditions of work, occupational safety and health and combating employment accidents. This agreement envisaged state support for the training and recruitment of occupational safety and health technicians, physicians and nurses. He added that the greatest possibilities for creating new jobs lay in the services sector. He expressed the hope that new skilled jobs, notably in pre-school teaching, as well as in tourism and the development of cultural policy.

Turning to the manner in which the National Employment Plan addressed the relationship between social protection and employment policy, the improvement of social dialogue, the development of partnership and the reduction in inequalities between men and women, he indicated that the Government's next report would also contain full information on these matters. He also emphasized that the issue of social protection influenced employment policy. He described three examples of recent measures: (a) the creation of a minimum income for families and persons on a low income, in exchange for which beneficiaries undertook to participate in training and accept suitable jobs with a view to their entry into the labour market; (b) the maintenance of unemployment benefits at a lower rate for the unemployed who took up part-time work; and (c) exemption from social security contributions for three years, without any reduction in the protection of the workers concerned, for employers who recruited young persons for their first job and the long-term unemployed.

Turning to social dialogue, initiatives had been taken in that area and two agreements had been concluded concerning employment, the labour market, education, training, occupational safety and health and measures to combat employment accidents. These agreements had been signed by all the trade union and employers' confederations which participated in social dialogue at the highest level. Negotiations had continued on the organization of work, productivity, wages and improvements to social protection. The National Employment Plan also focused on policies for equality of opportunities and measures to reconcile working and family life. He indicated that the Government would provide information on their results in future reports.

He said that the National Employment Plan was part of the inter-ministerial initiative to promote employment at the regional and national levels. The Plan was supplemented by regional plans adapting the measures to the specific features of the regions. Although Portugal was a country with a small territory, there were currently five regional plans, with a sixth envisaged during the course of the year.

Finally, with reference to methods for the evaluation of employment policy measures, their outcome and follow-up, he indicated that the implementation of the National Employment Plan was evaluated at the level of the European Community, which made it possible to identify any problems in the field of employment policy and to recommend to Member States the necessary measures to be adopted in subsequent years. At the national level, he stated that the implementation of the Plan envisaged its evaluation every six months by a permanent social dialogue commission on which the social partners were represented. One of the recent agreements on social dialogue included two measures to strengthen the relevant machinery: the existing Employment and Vocational Training Observatory, which was tripartite in composition, would be transferred to the authority of the Permanent Social Dialogue Commission, in which social dialogue agreements were negotiated and would strengthen the role of the Commission in evaluation and monitoring of the National Employment Plan; and a National Advisory Council for Vocational Training, also of tripartite composition, would be established and would undertake a global evaluation of vocational training, the structures which provided training and its follow-up. This body would also come under the Permanent Social Dialogue Commission.

He hoped that the information that he had provided clarified the aspects raised by the Committee of Experts concerning employment policy. He added that he had not provided statistical data, which would have been difficult without the necessary modern information technology in the room. Statistical data would be provided in the next report on the Convention. He expressed his willingness to provide the Committee with information on other aspects.

The Employer members thanked the Government representative for the information provided. They indicated that Convention No. 122 was a promotional Convention which had more to do with economic and labour market policies than with legal issues. For the benefit of the Committee of Experts, the Employer members prefaced their comments by indicating that they considered that there was a slight difference between the situation as described in the report and the information provided to the Committee by the Government. They hoped that this could be clarified in the future.

Portugal had ratified Convention No. 122 in 1981 and the Committee of Experts had made observations regarding Portugal's application of the Convention at least six times, primarily with regard to Article 1 of the Convention, whose objective of full employment was to be achieved through sustained economic growth. This goal remained valid today. The Government appeared to indicate that some progress had been made in this area and the Employer members noted that the Committee of Experts had also pointed to positive trends, such as employment growth, increased participation and a fall in unemployment for many categories of workers, as well as an improvement in the general state of the economy. It was clear, however, that changes in the structure of employment in terms of what constituted full, productive and freely chosen employment needed to be understood. These structural changes included new forms of flexible employment, a higher turnover of jobs and a growing trend towards shorter hours and flexible working time. The Employer members considered that part-time and temporary work was not a bad thing. These types of employment permitted low unemployment rates and low inflation to occur at the same time, while meeting the needs of the workforce in terms of accommodating the skill levels and lifestyle preferences of workers.

As was the case in most economies, there was a mismatch in the Portuguese labour market between the requirements of available jobs and the skills of available workers. The Government had indicated that the problem was the low level of education and training in the country, while the central trade union had indicated that the problem was underemployment. In the absence of a factual finding and in view of the Committee of Experts' request for additional information, the Employer members were puzzled that the Committee of Experts seemed to give credence to the unions' views. In fact, the Government had indicated that the overall skills base was skewing production towards low productivity and labour-intensive technologies. It was clear that the Government needed to supply additional information, but it was also clear that Portugal's path to full, productive and freely chosen employment involved measures such as a reduction of interest rates and fiscal deficits, as well as investment incentives to create more high-wage industries and full-time employment. The Government needed to develop investment policies that created higher wage jobs and skill development policies that included adapting training and education systems to improve the supply response to skill needs. The Government had talked of improvements to the education system and the development of a certified training system, but it also needed to be able to ascertain what skills would be needed on the labour market in the future, since there was often a lag between the skills needed and the jobs available.

With regard to the Committee of Experts' point concerning the National Action Plan for Employment, the Employer members considered that the Government had responded to some points, but not all. The Plan sought to improve the linkages between social protection and employment policies, social dialogue, partnerships with local development organizations and the promotion of gender equality. The Employer members considered that the Government's strategy lacked measures to improve the economic environment and competitiveness through tax policies, labour market flexibility and the reduction of costs. They therefore requested the Government to indicate the manner in which these factors had been taken into account.

With respect to Article 1 of the Convention, the Employer members nevertheless commended the Government's multidisciplinary approach in engaging a cross-section of agencies to promote national and regional employment strategies. Turning to Article 2 of the Convention, the Employer members noted that the Government had changed its statistical indicators from expenditures to actual results, and noted that this was a positive move. Up-to-date statistical data was essential for effective and timely adjustment of labour market policies. In conclusion, the Employer members considered that the Government was on the right track. Nevertheless, it needed to take those measures that led to economic growth, the creation of higher wage jobs and the upgrading of workers' skills.

The Worker members noted that this was the first time that Portugal had appeared before the Conference Committee and that the Government's regular compliance with its reporting obligations had allowed the Committee of Experts to make comments in a sustained manner since 1990, allowing the Conference Committee in turn to note the interesting developments made in regard to the application of this Convention, and to appreciate the efforts made by the Government in this respect. This year, the Committee of Experts had drawn attention to the application of Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. While appreciating the Government's efforts and noting the positive influence of the economic situation, it had to be noted that the active employment policy had resulted for the large part in a rapid increase in the number of fixed-term contracts. This was not an isolated phenomenon and reflected present trends in the labour market, whereby the only value of employment was its immediate economic utility. This made it subject to the extreme demands of profitability. Well-known examples included the so-called "hamburger jobs", widespread in an increasing number of sectors in the United States and elsewhere, the use of contracts which were more than just flexible (which were in effect non-contracts) and, in view of the requirement for permanent availability, were akin to a modern version of slavery.

There had been a period in the past when this practice had been justified as a temporary measure, especially to allow disadvantaged younger workers to have access to employment. Today, and as the Worker members had always emphasized, the perverse risk of such a policy was that it not only affected young persons, but entire sectors of the active population. The generalized increase in flexible contracts had resulted in a growing precariousness of employment and especially in the social status of the workers involved, who were often women. Indeed, precarious work immediately made one think of precarious income and working hours, which were out of the control of workers and their families, as well as precarious social protection in terms of social security.

So-called "flexible" work was more aptly defined as "precarious" work, which had become a new scourge to modern society creating a duality in the labour market with, on the one hand, workers who often had to take on two jobs in order to survive, sometimes working for 15 or more hours per day, and, on the other hand, workers with stable and well-remunerated jobs. The Director-General's Report to the Conference examined the question of reducing the decent work deficit and emphasized in particular that "Access to work is the surest way out of poverty, ...". The trend towards more precarious employment was diametrically opposed to the legitimate aspiration to overcome poverty and gain access to dignity through employment. Moreover, it was necessary to measure the impact of precarity and its social and economic cost. Greater flexibility had resulted in society as a whole, and particularly workers, paying for the deficit in social protection, all in the name of so-called economic efficiency. The Worker members emphasized, as stated in the General Report of the Committee of Experts, the importance of the debate concerning Convention No. 122, which allowed fundamental questions to be addressed and new methods and policies in the field of employment to be identified. This debate should also allow the Committee to see the perverse effects of certain developments. Just as the trade unions in Portugal had stated in their observations to the Committee of Experts, the Worker members emphasized the importance of the question of the growing precariousness of labour which, on the one hand, appeared to be in contradiction with the terms of Article 1 of the Convention to promote "full, productive and freely chosen employment" and, on the other hand, did not correspond with the objectives of decent work as defined by the ILO in its current policy.

The Worker members requested the Government, in addition to the policies announced in the field of employment and vocational training policies, to provide information on the measures that it intended to take to combat precarious employment in the light of current labour market developments and to evaluate the impact of the policies, pursued.

The Worker member of Portugal referred to the relationship between employment promotion and social protection, which was of great importance for the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers. He added that the tripartite agreement concluded between the Government, employers and trade unions constituted a positive development for the labour market through the creation of structures to improve education and training. These measures made up for existing shortcomings. With reference to the revised National Employment Plan for 2001, his organization welcomed the improvements in relation to social protection. He considered that all of these agreements constituted considerable progress, even though frustrating deficiencies still existed. They were therefore only a first step. He emphasized that, when speaking of employment, the discussion should not be confined to standards-related policies, but should also take into account social issues such as protection in the workplace and working conditions, which were all essential factors in the life of workers. From this point of view, the situation in his country had worsened. One in every four workers was in precarious employment, with men over the age of 50, women and large numbers of young persons being principally affected. Many people were engaged in clandestine work, which provided no protection. He said that the Portuguese GDP of 2.2 per cent was the lowest in Europe, which meant that economic growth was not high enough to increase employment. In conclusion, he added that the CGTP was working intensively to achieve stable and well-paid employment and that its efforts in that field would continue.

The Worker member of France agreed with the statements made by the Worker members. He noted that Convention No. 122 was a very important Convention for workers, since paid employment was the only way for a worker to ensure decent living conditions for himself and his family. He indicated that the framework agreement concluded between the employers' and workers' organizations of the European Union regarding part-time work explicitly recognized that fixed-term, full-time and freely chosen contracts were the normal form of work. In relation to this, he noted that the Portuguese Government itself had recognized that, as emphasized by the CGTP, precarious employment was only growing when compared to permanent employment, and that it particularly affected women, young workers and part-time workers. This situation could be considered a form of discrimination in employment against these various categories of men and women workers.

He emphasized that Portugal was not a country where the rate of unemployment was particularly high. It was even fairly low when compared to other countries in the European Union. Nevertheless, the quality of jobs and the recognition of knowledge and skills were also important components of employment policy, if it was wished to motivate an increasingly skilled, but underutilized and underpaid, workforce. This situation did not encourage the improvement of skills, which Portuguese society and the economy desperately needed. It would only encourage young workers, notably the best qualified, to go to other countries in search of better recognition of their skills, thereby denying Portugal the indispensable human capital necessary for its development. Moreover, governments, as well as employers' and workers' organizations, had signed last February a tripartite agreement on education, training and employment. The objective, as the Government representative of Portugal had emphasized, was to develop a programme of action. He considered that bringing young persons and all workers in general up to the required level of training was a long-term task which required the necessary means. The recognition of qualifications and skills, and the quality of employment also needed to be taken into consideration in evaluating employment policy. Employment services should be fully and continuously involved in employment policy, taking into account all the parameters emphasized by the CGTP.

The National Action Plan for Employment in Portugal had been adopted within the context of the "Luxembourg" process, following which all the Member States of the European Union had agreed to adopt the National Action Plan with, among other objectives, the aim of harmonizing the different employment policies and exchanging information on good practices. It was necessary to encourage and to hope that laudable intentions of governments would soon be put into effect. He concluded by emphasizing that the majority of the governments of the European Union faced similar problems, some of them even more serious than those experienced by Portugal, and that these could be examined by the Committee.

The Government representative welcomed the statements made by the Worker and Employer members. He stated that he wished to make three observations. First, he confirmed the fact that his Government had sent the requested information within the appropriate deadlines. Second, with regard to the observations made by the Employer members, he indicated that his Government was aware that economic policy was an essential condition for sustainable employment. He noted that in his previous statement he had limited himself to referring to the aspects raised by the Committee of Experts and that he had not commented on Portugal's economic policy, since he considered that it was not appropriate to address it during the discussion. Third, he considered that precarious employment was an important issue but had considered that he should only respond to the issues raised by the Committee of Experts, which had made no reference whatsoever to precarity. He added that the Committee had not shared the criticisms made by the Central Union of Portuguese Workers (CGTP) on this issue; he added that figures and statistics would not be appropriate on this occasion.

Regarding workers and employment relations, he said that it would be necessary to undertake a critical evaluation of the difference between fixed-term and part-time contracts. He pointed out that the latter were not necessarily precarious. He added that it was important to take into account the difference between practice and the law. Portuguese law covered both short- and long-term contracts. This was in conformity with European Union guidelines and ILO standards. In relation to fixed-term contracts, he considered that Portuguese legislation addressed three forms of protection contained in the Termination of Employment Recommendation, 1982 (No. 166). He acknowledged that, in reality, transgressions existed, and that, according to the analysis made by the Government and the social partners, it was one of the aspects that made it necessary to promote the quality of employment. For this purpose, it would be necessary to strengthen monitoring to prevent abusive and illegal practices related to fixed-term contracts. Efforts should be continued to bring practice into conformity with reality.

He reiterated that part-time contracts were not necessarily precarious, but were voluntarily concluded between individuals in accordance with the current economic situation. He expressed his disagreement with the CGTP's view that individuals who accepted any form of working conditions did so to avoid unemployment. He did not deny that this could be true in certain situations, but added that part-time contracts were in conformity with Portuguese and European Union law, even if they were not widely used in Portugal, and despite the country having the lowest rates of part-time work in Europe. He stated that, at the level of the European Union, there were framework agreements on fixed-term contracts and part-time contracts, and that the Portuguese labour system was in conformity with the above system. He concluded by indicating that Portugal would send detailed information in due course.

The Worker members thanked the Government representative and urged the Government to provide information on the measures taken to evaluate trends related to precarious employment, and the measures that it proposed to take to rectify this harmful trend on the labour market.

The Employer members thanked the Government representative for his closing statement, highlighting that Convention No. 122 was about economics, not legal rules. They pointed out that, when this instrument was adopted by the ILO in 1964, the global economy had not yet arrived. Since that time, there had been unacceptable levels of unemployment and underemployment in labour markets in all regions. These problems had occurred against a background of rapid technological change and a growing integration of the world economy. As a consequence, the structure of work had changed and the job skills required no longer remained the same over a worker's lifetime. This new structure had led to higher personnel turnover, reduced working hours, flexible working hours and short-term contracts. This issue had been characterized by the Committee of Experts as one of precarious employment. However, the Employer members considered this to be a positive change, an opinion with which the Worker members disagreed. Nevertheless, given that the term "precarious employment" was perceived as a pejorative term, the Employer members requested that it not be used in the Committee's conclusions.

The Committee noted the information provided orally by the Government representative and the subsequent debate. The Committee requested the Government to continue making efforts, in consultation with the social partners, to improve the general level of training for employment and to improve the match between workers' skills and the jobs available. The Committee also noted the information provided on the changes in the structure of the labour market and the measures taken to promote employment and to improve the quality of certain categories of contracts. The Committee requested the Government to provide a detailed report for examination at the next session of the Committee of Experts to facilitate its assessment of developments in the situation.