Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. The Committee takes note of the Government’s reply received in August 2012. The Government recalls that it has been involved in reformulating its new national employment policy (NPNE) since 2006, which covers the period 2010–15, and aims to place employment issues at the heart of the economic and social development strategy. Elaborated on a tripartite basis, the NPNE has three specific objectives: to alleviate the pressure of unemployment in urban areas; to develop rural employment and slow down the rural exodus; and to improve the employability of a constantly growing labour force and the quality of employment. The Government points out that although work on reformulating the NPNE has ended, it has not yet entered into effect on account of the changes that have occurred since the elections. The Government also indicates that in order to correct the labour market imbalances that have widened despite its efforts, the Senegalese State has embarked upon two major programmes in the context of the implementation of the NPNE: the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), which constitutes the ILO’s contribution to the economic and social policy document (DPES); and the programme “Young employment promotion taking into account migration issues”, which is the outcome of a joint initiative of the United Nations system. As the NPNE has not yet entered into effect, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report on the progress made in the adoption and implementation of a national employment policy. The Committee hopes that the Government will be in a position to indicate in its next report the results achieved by the measures implemented in the context of the poverty reduction strategy to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment.

Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Government states that the employment market information system is slow to get under way due to its limited human and material resources. It reports nonetheless on a certain number of activities that have been carried out since 2008. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on any progress made in the context of these activities. In particular, the Government refers to the monitoring of employment that has featured in the DPES since 2008, the work on implementing a national employment and vocational qualifications observatory, and the coordination in drafting the African Operational Directory of Occupations and Jobs (ROAME). The Government also states that the National Agency for Statistics and Demography (ANSD) is planning, with the members of the National Statistics System, to introduce an annual national inquiry on employment and occupational qualifications from 2013 onwards. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the ANSD has decided to devote the 2010 issue of “The country’s economic and social situation” to an analysis of the lack of data on employment issues. According to this same publication, the potentially active population of young persons aged 15 years and over increased from 5,678,497 in 2002 to 7,299,215 in 2010, accounting for 202,000 new jobseekers on average each year. The unemployment rate varies between 10 and 14 per cent according to the sources and remains very high among young persons aged 15 to 34 years. However, the visible underemployment rate, which was 22 per cent in 2006, was allegedly 15.2 per cent in 2010, whereas the overall activity rate is estimated to be 50 per cent. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on employment trends, in particular on developments in unemployment and underemployment.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the design and formulation of policies. In reply to its previous comments, the Government states that the Higher Employment Council, in accordance with Decree No. 1406 of December 2009, was officially inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 15 September 2011. According to the Government, the social partners are involved in the elaboration and implementation of the national employment policy (PNE). They are members of the Higher Employment Council and took an active part in the adoption of the PNE, as well as in all stages of its implementation. The Committee hopes that the Higher Employment Council will soon resume its activities and that the Government will be able to provide information on these. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the way in which the experience and opinion of the social partners were taken into account in the implementation of the NPNE.

Part V of the report form. ILO technical assistance. The Government indicates that the cooperation with the ILO, when it was examining ways to devise a strategy to formalize the informal economy and update the draft NPNE, resulted in the holding of a forum on the strategy of formalization and funding for the elaboration of the NPNE, as well as support for its implementation. Furthermore, the Government states that the PNE, the programme “Youth employment promotion taking into account migration issues” and the DCWP were elaborated on a tripartite basis with the involvement of all the social partners and actors concerned. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing detailed information on initiatives that have benefited from cooperation with the ILO, in particular on the impact these might have on employment.