Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Senegal (Ratification: 1966)

The Committee took note of the Government's report which contains information in reply to each of the questions set out in its direct request of 1989 and repeated in 1992. It notes, however, that the report received in 1992 is a copy of the one for the period ending in June 1990. The Committee trusts that the Government's next report will be submitted in the prescribed time-limit, that it will cover the period specified and that it will contain additional information on the following points.

1. The Committee notes that the Government recognizes the importance of collecting and analysing statistical data on the volume and distribution of the workforce, the nature and extent of unemployment and underemployment and trends in these areas. It indicates that the Manpower Service is responsible for compiling statistics on employment and conducting surveys with a view to gaining greater knowledge of the employment market and the mechanisms of job supply and demand. The Committee observes however that the report contains no figures showing trends in employment, underemployment and unemployment and their relationship, in particular, to the implementation of the structural adjustment programme. It would be grateful if the Government would provide all available statistics with its next report and, if any, the results of surveys carried out in the context of international technical cooperation projects.

2. The Government indicates that the national agreement for the promotion of employment concluded in 1987 by the Government and the employers has not produced the results anticipated. However, it does not give full particulars of the objectives of the various programmes. Please describe in as much detail as possible the results obtained as concerns young people who have obtained lasting employment upon completion of the courses. The Committee notes that the Government attributes the employers' limited interest in implementing the national agreement to difficulties in enterprises. It also notes that the operation of the joint committee has been affected by restructuring in the administrations concerned. Please provide information on the measures taken to associate employers and their organizations more closely with programmes to promote the employment of young people.

3. The Committee notes the information concerning the projects financed by the National Employment Fund and the Special Fund, whose objectives include retraining for graduates and the redeployment of workers who have lost their jobs in the public sector. Please provide all available information on the impact of these projects in terms of the number of jobs created and the vocational integration of the persons concerned.

4. The Government also refers to programmes for the promotion of employment in the urban and rural informal sector, which include measures to make credit available for small-scale initiatives and to encourage their organization in economic interest groupings. It also refers to the National Plan of Action for Women. Please provide detailed information on the implementation of each programme, the difficulties encountered and the results obtained.

5. The Committee has been informed of the relevant ILO technical cooperation activities. It notes that the Office is to be the executing agency for a project to assist in the definition and implementation of a national employment policy, in the context of the Vth UNDP programme in Senegal. The Committee notes that the project's objectives include the adoption of a National Employment Programme (1992-95), the establishment of appropriate machinery for implementation and evaluation, the adaptation and coordination of the programmes for vocational integration, reintegration and job creation being implemented under the National Employment Programme. It is confident that the project will enable the Convention to be better applied and asks the Government to indicate to what extent it will have contributed to the formulation and application, in consultation with representatives of the persons affected, of an active employment promotion policy in accordance with Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention.