Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Honduras (Ratification: 1980)

The Committee takes note of the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the decision adopted by the Governing Body at its 338th Session (June 2020). The Committee is examining the application of the Convention on the basis of the supplementary information received from the Government this year, as well as the information at its disposal in 2019.

The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Workers (CGT) and the Workers’ Confederation of Honduras (CTH), communicated by the Government with its 2019 report, and those received on 5 October 2020. The Committee also notes the Government’s responses to these observations, received on 30 October 2020. The Committee further notes the observations of the Honduran National Business Council (COHEP), received on 2 September 2019 and 1 October 2020. Finally, the Committee notes the Government’s replies to these observations, received on 9 October 2019 and 6 November 2020.

COVID-19 pandemic. Socio-economic impact. Response and recovery measures. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its supplementary report on the measures and action adopted within the framework of the National Health Emergency declared by the Government on 10 February 2020 with a view to guaranteeing the stability of jobs and the productive sustainability of enterprises in the country. In particular, the Government provides several communications of the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security (STSS), published between March and August 2020, adopting measures such as: procedures to request the suspension of employment contracts under certain conditions, measures to be followed for reinstatement in employment, and the possibility to conclude written agreements between workers and employers to determine the days of the health emergency to be taken as annual leave. The Committee also notes the adoption on 3 April 2020 of Decree No. 33-2020, the Act to support the productive sector and workers in light of the effects of the pandemic with a view to the maintenance of employment and the sustainability of enterprises during the national health emergency. In this respect, Decree No. 33-2020 includes such measures as a solidarity contribution for the temporary preservation of jobs and incomes of workers in the private sector during the national emergency (sections 25, 26 and 27), guarantees concerning access to health care for all workers through the Honduras Social Security Institute (IHSS) (section 29) and the possibility to conclude agreements through social dialogue for the adoption of measures offering greater benefits (section 31). The Committee also notes the adoption on 13 March 2020 of Decree No. 31-2020, the Special Act on economic recovery and social protection in light of the effects of coronavirus, which includes support measures for entrepreneurship during the crisis (section 7). The Government also refers to the establishment, within the framework of the EURO+LABOR programme, of a system for the compilation and analysis of data which has focussed on investigating the socio-economic impact of the pandemic. Finally, the Committee notes that the COHEP reports the holding of tripartite meetings within the framework of the Decent Work Sectoral Round Table (MSED) throughout 2020, in which measures were agreed for the adaptation of the Honduras National Employment Policy (PNEH) and the Joint Action Framework (MAC) to the new situation faced by the country as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the context of the pandemic, the Committee recalls the broad guidance provided by international labour standards. In this respect, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205), which is a useful guide for the formulation and implementation, in consultation with the most representative organizations of employers and workers, of inclusive measures to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment opportunities and decent work as an effective response to the deep-rooted socio-economic effects of the crisis. The Committee invites the Government to provide updated information on the impact of the pandemic on the implementation of the national policies and programmes adopted with a view to guaranteeing the objectives of the Convention, especially in relation to the most vulnerable population groups.

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of a national employment policy. Consultations with the social partners. The Committee notes with interest the approval in May 2017, following consultation with the social partners within the framework of the Economic and Social Council (CES) of the Honduras National Employment Policy (PNEH). The general objective of the policy is to increase the productive capacity of Hondurans. The policy is articulated around the following strategic areas: competitiveness, employment generation (especially for women and youth), the development of “human capital”, and a conducive environment for enterprise creation and development. The policy includes action focussing on population groups facing the greatest difficulties in gaining access to quality employment, such as women, youth, persons with disabilities and people in rural areas. Following the development of the policy in the tripartite technical body called the Decent Work Sectoral Round Table (MSED), in November 2018 the Economic and Social Council approved the Joint Action Framework (MAC) as a strategic and operational instrument for the implementation of the National Employment Policy. On 20 November 2018, the Government signed with several employers’ and workers’ organizations the Tripartite Undertaking for Decent and Productive Work, thereby confirming its will to work together for the implementation of the National Employment Policy and the Joint Action Framework. The Government adds that the Economic and Social Council will play a central role in the monitoring and evaluation of the Joint Action Framework. The measures adopted are being coordinated with various Government policies, such as the Government Plan 2018-22, which envisages the adoption of measures to improve living standards, productivity and the generation of decent employment for all. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the measures adopted within the framework of the EURO+LABOR Programme to strengthen the Employment Service (SENAEH). The Government adds that, during the period covered by its 2019 report, seven local round tables were held in which local plans were developed for the promotion of employment and income. These round tables included the participation of employers’ associations, social organizations and public institutions with local representation. In its response to the COHEP’s observations, the Government provides detailed information on the employment generated between 2014 and 2019 through the various programmes implemented by the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security (STSS).

The Committee notes the observations of the COHEP indicating that the Government has not yet adopted measures for the implementation of the Joint Action Framework, which is still inactive. The CGT and the CTH indicate that, although the Government has adopted various employment creation programmes, they are not focussed on areas with the highest levels of precarity in terms of work, education and poverty. In this regard, the CGT and the CTH emphasize the high levels of unemployment and the importance of employment generation in rural areas. They also complain that the Government has engaged in mass dismissals in State enterprises. In its reply, the Government indicates that the loss of decent employment is a structural problem on the labour market related to the level of development of the country, which has not been conducive to ensuring that all the employment generated offers decent work. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures adopted for the generation of high quality, full, productive and freely chosen employment, including those adopted within the framework of the Honduras National Employment Policy (PNEH) and its Joint Action Framework (MAC), and the EURO+LABOR programme, and their impact, especially on the groups that are most vulnerable to decent work deficits (such as youth, women, persons with disabilities, indigenous communities and people in rural areas). In light of the observations of the COHEP, the Committee also requests the Government to adopt the necessary measures for the implementation of the Joint Action Framework (MAC). It further requests the Government to provide specific examples of the manner in which the views are taken into account of employers’ and workers’ organizations and of other groups affected by the design, implementation and evaluation of employment policies and programmes.

Article 2. Labour market trends. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that, according to the statistical data of the National Statistical Institute (INE), in 2018, the labour market participation rate was 76.25 per cent for men and 46 per cent for women. The Committee notes that, although the open unemployment rate was 5.7 per cent (4.5 per cent for men and 7.4 per cent for women), invisible underemployment (persons working over 40 hours a week with earnings below the minimum wage) was 48.6 per cent (37.2 per cent for women and 55.9 per cent for men) and visible unemployment (persons working fewer than 40 hours a week) was 14.2 per cent (20.8 per cent for women and 10 per cent for men). The Government indicates that, according to the “Diagnostic study of market systems in Honduras in 2018”, self-employment and informal employment accounted for 56.5 per cent of total employment in the country and is characterized by low wages and high instability. The Government adds that, in 2017 and 2018, the poverty level fell from 64.3 per cent to 61.9 per cent, and extreme poverty levels fell from 40.7 per cent to 38.7 per cent. Nevertheless, the Committee notes that the levels of poverty and extreme poverty in rural areas remained significantly high during the period covered by the report, at 70.3 and 58.9 per cent, respectively. In its response to COHEP’s observations, the Government indicates that measures have been adopted since 2017 to adapt the methods used by the INE for the measurement of the informal economy in the country to the concept of the informal economy (informal sector and informal employment) used by the ILO. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on labour market trends, and particularly on labour market trends prior to the pandemic, including on employment, unemployment and underemployment (visible and invisible) rates and informality, disaggregated by gender, age and rural and urban areas.

Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government reports the approval on 28 November 2018 of Decree No. 145-2018 issuing the Act on support for micro and small enterprises, the objective of which is to provide support for MSMEs through incentives, such as exemption from the payment of certain taxes, to promote economic growth and generate new employment opportunities. The Committee also notes that the National Employment Policy includes among its strategic areas the creation of a conducive environment for the creation and development of enterprises, with special emphasis on MSMEs, in view of their important contribution to employment creation. In this respect, the Joint Action Framework envisages, among other measures, the consolidation of a one-stop shop for the creation and operation of MSMEs and the establishment of Enterprise Development Centres to support them. With regard to the Bill for the social and labour inclusion of the self-employed and own-account workers, the Government indicates that on 9 April 2019 the Labour and Sectoral Affairs Commission issued its views on the Bill, which is currently awaiting submission to the Plenary of the Legislative Chamber. The COHEP indicates that the preliminary draft of the Bill was agreed to by the social partners in a meeting of the Economic and Social Council on 3 May 2016, and that in November 2019 the social partners gave their views on the Bill and on the preliminary Bill on organized integration, which envisages the establishment of the Welfare and Pensions Institute for Employers in the Informal Economy. The Committee also notes the detailed information provided by the COHEP on the various measures adopted by employers’ organizations to promote MSMEs, such as the programme for the special recognition of MSMEs, the holding of the international forum on family enterprises and the strategy of trading with micro-franchises. In its 2020 observations, the COHEP refers to the adoption of Executive Decree No. 034-2019 of 18 July 2019 establishing the National Entrepreneurship and Small Business Service (SENPRENDE) with the objective of developing policies, plans and programmes for the promotion of MSMEs, the development of entrepreneurship and enterprises in the social economy. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the impact of the measures adopted to support employment generation by MSMEs. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the situation with regard to the approval of the Act on the social and labour inclusion of the self-employed and own-account workers, and of the Act on organized integration, and to provide copies once they have been adopted.

Policy coordination. Education and vocational training. The Committee notes that the National Employment Policy includes among its priority areas the “development of human capital”. In this regard, the Joint Action Framework includes among its objectives: the adoption of measures to develop labour skills that correspond to labour market needs; the improvement of the capacity for labour integration and reintegration; the promotion of continuous learning: the establishment of an ordered, articulated and relevant vocational training system; and the maintenance of constant dialogue with the formal education system. The Joint Action Framework includes, among other measures: the design of a vocational training policy; the tripartite formulation of a National Policy Plan on Education and Labour; the development and implementation of a vocational skills programme based on dual training and apprenticeship; and the implementation of a training initiative for the labour market integration of vulnerable groups. The Government indicates that on 7 March 2017 the Advisory Prospective Analysis Committee was established with a view to the early identification of training needs through the prioritization of sectors, subsectors and potential development at the territorial level. The Advisory Committee is composed of public and private actors with competence in the fields of education and training, such as the Secretariat of Labour and Social Security (STSS), COHEP and the CGT, the Labour Market Observatory (OML) and the National Vocational Training Institute (INFOP). The Government also refers to the implementation of a process of the restructuring of the INFOP with the objective of promoting the employability of workers as a means of improving the quality of employment and productivity. In this regard, the COHEP reports that at the beginning of 2019 it called for the provisional closure of the INFOP and urged its enterprises not to pay the respective contributions established for the private sector. The COHEP explains that the purpose of these protests was to exert pressure for the adoption of its proposals for improvements to the INFOP. The COHEP considers that effective measures have not been adopted in practice to ensure the articulation between education, vocational training and employment policies. In reply to these observations, the Government provides information on the various types of action implemented through the Joint Action Framework with a view to promoting and improving the labour market integration of the people of Honduras. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures adopted to ensure the effective articulation of education, vocational training and employment policies and programmes, including those implemented within the context of the National Employment Policy and the Joint Action Framework, and on their impact. It also requests the Government to provide updated information on the situation with regard to the process of the restructuring of the National Vocational Training Institute (INFOP).

Women’s employment. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the National Employment Policy and the Joint Action Framework include programmes and measures intended to promote decent work for women. The Joint Action Framework establishes equality of opportunity for men and women as a cross-cutting action and also provides for the adoption of measures to generate alternative employment and incomes for women; the development and implementation of credit programmes for women entrepreneurs; the design of flexible training and labour skills certification procedures for women with children; and the tripartite development of legislation to support the labour market integration of women heads of household. However, the COHEP considers that measures have not been taken to promote the participation of women in the formal labour market over and above those already envisaged in the National Employment Policy and the Joint Action Framework, which have not yet been implemented. The COHEP refers to various activities undertaken by employers’ organizations in relation to the wage gap, including the publication of an enterprise survey and the proposal of the strategic agenda “Women in Enterprise Management in Honduras”. Finally, the COHEP indicates that 1 472 437 women are engaged in work, including those who work on their own account or as unpaid family workers. The COHEP adds that 56 per cent of them work in the informal economy. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures envisaged or adopted with a view to promoting the increased participation of women in the formal labour market and their access to high quality, decent and lasting employment, and the impact of the measures adopted.

Youth employment. The Committee notes that, according to the statistics of the National Statistical Institute (INE), 24.3 per cent of young persons between 12 and 30 years of age in 2018 were neither studying nor working. Similarly, according to the Joint Action Framework, the educational level of the labour force is low, which directly affects the labour market. In particular, the Government indicates that 55 per cent of young persons between the ages of 12 and 14 in 2017 who were working did not attend formal education, and that this percentage rose to 76 per cent among young persons between the ages of 15 and 19 years. The Government indicates that, in response to this situation, the Joint Action Framework includes programmes to promote retention in the education system combined with the levelling of educational attainment. With regard to young persons between the ages of 12 and 14 years, the Committee refers to its 2018 observation on the application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), in which it noted the various provisions of the Labour Code which allow work by persons under 14 years of age under certain conditions (section 32(2)) and exclude from the scope of the Labour Code and the Regulations on child labour (2001) agricultural and stockraising undertakings which do not continually employ more than ten workers (section 2(1)). In this regard, the Committee noted the Government’s indications concerning the preparation of a draft text to revise the Labour Code which contained provisions intended to bring the national legislation into conformity with the international Conventions ratified by Honduras. With reference to the measures intended to promote the labour market integration of young persons, the Committee notes that the various strategic areas and actions of the National Employment Policy and the Joint Action Framework include relevant measures. In particular, the Joint Action Framework envisages the implementation of measures to generate alternative employment and incomes for young persons and to improve their employability through appropriate training and skills. With a view to the achievement of these objectives, the Joint Action Framework envisages the implementation, among other strategies, of action to promote the hiring of unemployed youth and to improve the access of young persons to technical education and training focussed on scientific and technological innovation, the skills of young persons in rural areas and the preparation of a tripartite proposal by the Economic and Social Council for a Bill on youth employment. The Government adds that, in 2017 and 2018, a total of 106 156 jobs were created within the framework of the programme “Con Chamba vivis Mejor” (“Life is better when you’re in work”), intended principally for young persons, heads of household and persons with disabilities living in poverty. However, the Committee notes that both the CGT and the CTH, and the COHEP indicate that the statistical data provided by the Government on the number of jobs created by the programme is not accurate. The COHEP indicates that, according to the Continuous Household Survey of the National Statistical Institute, the number of jobs fell in 2017 by 1 679 683, for which reason it does not agree with the statistics provided by the Government. In contrast, the Government defends the accuracy of the statistics provided and indicates that the data used for the compilation of official statistics are from the INE Permanent Household Survey, which are also used for the publications of international organizations, such as the ILO and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted to facilitate the labour market integration of the young. It also requests the Government to indicate the situation with regard to the proposal for a Bill on youth employment, and to provide a copy once it has been adopted. It further requests the Government to continue providing statistical information, disaggregated by age and gender, on youth employment trends. Finally, the Committee refers to its 2018 observation on the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), and trusts that the Government will take its comments into account during the preparation of the draft text revising the Labour Code. It also expresses the firm hope that the revised version will be adopted in the near future.

National Hourly Employment Programme (PRONEH) and job creation. In reply to its previous comments, the Committee notes the detailed statistical data provided by the Government on the jobs created by the PRONEH between 2011 and May 2019. In particular, the Government indicates that, as of May 2019, a total of 26 674 persons had been hired within the framework of the PRONEH. Of the workers hired, 53.8 per cent were men and 46.2 per cent women. The Government adds that most of the workers were contracted for full days (72.7 per cent). The Government indicates that most of the contracts were recorded in the financial, real estate and business services sector (35 per cent) and the other community, social and personal services sector (38.3 per cent). The Government adds that workers engaged for a full day receive a wage that is higher than the current minimum wage. However, the COHEP indicates that few enterprises are continuing their participation in the PRONEH, with the exception of call centres and enterprises in the tourism sector. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information, disaggregated by age and gender, on the activities and impact of the PRONEH and on the extent to which its beneficiaries have found productive and sustainable jobs. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the skills training received by those workers, and any other data allowing a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the employment generated.

Impact of trade agreements. Employment and Economic Development Zones (ZEDEs). In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that, according to the data from the annual survey of the maquiladora sector undertaken by the Central Bank of Honduras, the number of persons working in goods for processing and related activities rose from 130 359 to 134 712 between 2015 and 2018 as a result of trade agreements. The Committee also notes the Government’s indications that the ZEDEs are still not operational. However, the Committee notes the observations of the CGT and the CTH denouncing the failure of the Government’s initiatives to attract foreign and national investment due to the persistence of significant obstacles, such as legal insecurity and citizenship. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by age and gender, on the impact that trade agreements have had on the generation of productive employment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide updated and detailed information on the measures adopted or envisaged to make the ZEDEs operational.