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Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - El Salvador (RATIFICATION: 1995)

The Committee notes the observations of the National Business Association (ANEP), received on 1 September 2017 and supported by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE). The Committee also notes the observations of the National Confederation of Salvadoran Workers (CNTS), received on 25 September 2017. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Active policy intended to promote full employment. Consultations with the social partners. The Committee notes with interest the adoption in September 2017 of the National Policy for Decent Work 2017-2030 (PONED), the first public employment policy approved in the country, with the technical assistance of the ILO and the World Bank. The Government indicates that a broad process of consultation was conducted for the formulation of the policy between June 2016 and July 2017, in which various sectors of the population participated, including the social partners, young people, women, persons with disabilities, native populations and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (LGBTI). The overarching aim of the PONED is to create the conditions to offer further opportunities of decent work for women and men on an equal footing, through the integration of inter-institutional public and private sector action. The policy establishes the following priority populations: young people, women, persons with disabilities, older adults, native populations and persons with diverse sexual orientations or gender identities. The policy actions are organized into five themes: employment, employability, entrepreneurship, transition from the informal to the formal economy and equality of opportunities. Regarding the measures envisaged to facilitate the transition to the formal economy of economic units and workers in the informal economy, the Committee observes that the PONED provides for, inter alia, the development of a national strategy for the transition from the informal to the formal economy. The Government reports that the national employment system will be the driver of institutional coordination for the execution, monitoring and evaluation of the PONED. To this end, the national employment system will provide the necessary conditions and information for its implementation through action such as promotion of research, analysis, data generation and the dissemination of information for decision making and the monitoring and analysis of the impact of the actions taken as part of the policy. The Government also indicates that the main goal of the Five-Year Development Plan 2014-2019 is to reinvigorate the national economy in order to generate opportunities and prosperity for families, businesses and the country, establishing an equitable and inclusive model of economic growth that creates decent work. Lastly, the Committee notes the observations of ANEP and the IOE indicating that the most representative employers’ organizations have not had the opportunity to actively participate in the formulation of the active employment policy, given that, while the deadline to submit comments on the policy proposal was 24 August 2017, the proposal was not sent to the ANEP until 18 August, affording it little time to issue its opinions in that respect. On this matter, the CTNS, for its part, states that workers in the informal economy and rural workers (particularly those belonging to the federation of self-employed workers) were not included in the consultation processes. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the application and the impact of the PONED and the Five-Year Development Plan 2014-2019 on the creation of full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the status of the national strategy for the transition from the informal economy to the formal economy, and to provide a copy of the strategy once it has been adopted. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing detailed information on the manner in which it ensures that the social partners, as well as representatives of all the sectors of the economically active sectors affected – particularly representatives of rural workers and from the informal economy – can actively participate in the design, implementation, evaluation and review of national employment policies, as provided for in Article 3 of the Convention.

Article 2. Employment trends. Information on the labour market. The Government indicates that, according to statistical information from the Central Reserve Bank of El Salvador (BCR), between 2015 and 2016, the number of employed persons in the country increased from 2,667,032 to 2,727,017. In the same period, the unemployment rate remained at 7 per cent and underemployment increased slightly from 28.5 per cent to 28.7 per cent (30.9 among women and 26.7 among men). The Committee notes that, according to the PONED document, in 2016, some 57.4 per cent of persons employed in rural areas were in informal employment, and the informality rate for women (48.8 per cent) was higher than the informality rate for men (37.5 per cent). The Committee also notes that, according to this document, the employment section of the PONED provides for improvements to the quality and reliability of labour market information through the design and establishment of a national labour market information system, with a view to facilitating decision making with regard to policies for the creation of decent work and improved employability. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on labour market developments in the country, particularly on the rates of labour force participation, employment, unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by sex and age, and where possible, by urban or rural environment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on progress made on the design and establishment of a national labour market information system.

Impact of trade agreements. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the contribution of export oriented productive sectors to the creation of sustainable and quality employment. The Government indicates that it does not have information regarding employment directly created by export activities; nevertheless, it provides information on employment created indirectly by the sectors from which the largest number of exports are made in the country. In this regard, the Government reports that, in 2016, around 175,525 persons were working in the manufacturing sector (42 per cent of whom held formal employment), which accounts for 96 per cent of the country’s exports. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the contribution of export-oriented productive sectors to the creation of sustainable and quality employment, including statistical information disaggregated by sex and age. The Commission also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged with a view to facilitating the transition to formal employment in these sectors.

Education and vocational training. The Committee notes that one of the aims of the PONED is to improve the skills and qualifications of the Salvadoran workforce through formal education and technical and vocational training to meet the needs of the national production system. In this context, the PONED sets the objectives of: (i) designing and adopting a training model for jobs that meet the country’s production challenges; (ii) strengthening the coordination of the Technical Education and Vocational Training System (SETFP) with the needs of the productive sector, as well as with the country’s economic and education policy; and (iii) establishing mechanisms to promote the employability of disadvantaged groups. With a view to achieving these objectives, the PONED provides for the implementation of a series of priority actions, such as the establishment of a national framework for qualifications, the generation and dissemination of information on occupational trends, the current and future skills requirements of the labour market, and the implementation of technical training programmes. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the outcomes of the measures taken to ensure coherence between education, vocational training and employment policies, and particularly on the mechanisms established to improve the employability of disadvantaged groups.

Young people. The Committee observes that, according to the PONED document, in 2016, the labour market participation rate of young people aged 16 to 24 years was 48.5 per cent. The open unemployment rate was 14.2 per cent, three times higher than the unemployment rate for persons aged between 25 and 29 years (5.1 per cent). According to the same document, in 2016, some 26 per cent of young people aged between 15 and 24 years were not in employment or education. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the implementation of the youth employment and employability programme “Jóvenes con todo” by the National Youth Institute (INJUVE), which aims to promote access to the labour market or self-employment among vulnerable young people aged from 15 to 29 years by developing their skills and competencies. The programme targets young people who are not in regular schooling, are unemployed or under-employed, or are coming to the end of secondary education. The Government indicates that the priority for entry into the programme is given to persons with disabilities, mothers of children under the age of six years and LGBTI persons. Similarly, as part of the programme, support measures for entrepreneurship were implemented for young people in informal employment, such as the granting of credit. In this regard, the CNTS indicates that the minimum standards of labour rights are not applied to young people participating in the INJUVE entrepreneurship measures. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that, between 2016 and the first quarter of 2017, some 4,220 young persons participated in the programme, 58 per cent of whom were women. Of the participants, 1 per cent had a disability and 0.5 per cent belonged to the LGBTI community. Lastly, the Government indicates that a reform is planned of the Act establishing incentives for the creation of first jobs for young persons in the private sector. In light of the comments of the CNTS, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which it guarantees the labour rights of participants in the INJUVE entrepreneurship measures. Similarly, observing the low number of persons with disabilities and LGBTI persons in the youth employment and employability programme “Jóvenes con todo”, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged to encourage their participation in that programme. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information on the measures adopted or envisaged with a view to promoting the access of young people to the labour market or self employment, as well as their impact. The Committee further requests the Government to provide updated statistical information on youth employment trends, disaggregated by age and sex. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the status of the reform of the Act establishing incentives for the creation of first jobs for young persons in the private sector, and to send a copy once it has been adopted.

Women. The Committee observes that, according to the PONED document, the labour market participation rate of women remains around half that of men (47.3 per cent and 80.1 per cent, respectively) and 30.9 per cent of employed women are underemployed, compared with 26.7 per cent of employed men. The Committee also notes that, in its concluding observations of 3 March 2017, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) expressed concern at the gender segregation of labour, the low participation of women in the labour force, the concentration of women in the informal sector and the salary gap between women and men (see CEDAW/C/SLV/CO/8-9, paragraph 34(a)). In this respect, the Committee notes that one of the specific goals of the PONED is to promote equality of opportunities between men and women and eliminate barriers hindering access to employment and discriminatory practices. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the labour market measures adopted to increase women’s labour force participation rate and to combat vertical and horizontal occupational segregation, including updated statistical information, disaggregated by occupation, sector of activity and professional category.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that the Government, in response to its previous comments, indicates that, through an agreement concluded between the National Council for Persons with Disabilities (CONAIPD) and the Solidarity Fund for Family Microenterprises (FOSOFAMILIA), lines of credit were granted to entrepreneurs with disabilities with a view to providing them with the necessary support for their business projects. Between 2015 and June 2017, financial support was provided to 25 persons with disabilities. Similarly, under the National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, the Job Placement Commission was established to coordinate joint action taken by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare (MTPS) and the CONAIPD. The Government also refers to the launch of the “Campaign for Disability Registers to Promote Labour Market Integration”. Lastly, the Government reports that, between June 2014 and October 2016, a total of 1,062 persons with disabilities (750 men and 312 women) were placed through the National Employment System. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information on the measures adopted to promote job opportunities for persons with disabilities in the regular labour market. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of such measures, including statistical information on the total number of participants, disaggregated by age, sex, region and type of disability.

Micro- and small enterprises. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in response to its previous comments on the measures adopted to promote entrepreneurial development and to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of micro- and small enterprises. The Government refers to, inter alia, the increased numbers of Development Centres for Micro- and Small Enterprises (CDMYPE), of which there are now 33 across the country, and the establishment of the register of micro- and small enterprises, which facilitates access to business development opportunities and contributes to formalization procedures. In 2017, a survey of micro- and small enterprises was introduced with the aim of updating the data on micro- and small enterprises for the formulation of strategies better adapted to the situation of micro- and small enterprises in the country. The Government reports that, between June 2014 and May 2017, a total of 11,561 jobs were created in the economic units served by the National Commission for Micro and Small Enterprises (CONAMYPE). The Committee also notes the CNTS’ indication that the Special Act on own-account workers has still not been approved. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information on the impact of the measures implemented to promote the business development, competitiveness and sustainability of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the status of the adoption of the Special Act on own-account workers and to provide a copy once it has been adopted.