Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ratification: 1969)

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Contribution of the National Employment Office to the promotion of employment. The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report received in June 2006, particularly the adoption of Act No. 015/2002 of 16 October 2002 on the new Labour Code and Decree No. 081/2002 of 3 July 2002 concerning the establishment, structure and functioning of the National Employment Office (ONEM). The Government states that the ONEM, whose essential task is to promote and implement a better organization of the employment market, in collaboration with the public and private organizations concerned (section 205 of the Labour Code), replaces the National Employment Service. The Department of Employment, on the other hand, has the essential task of contributing towards the conception, definition and implementation of employment policy (section 203 of the Labour Code). The Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report the manner in which the ONEM ensures that the free public employment service functions effectively, explaining how the ONEM participates in the implementation of the measures taken in the context of the poverty reduction strategy.

2. Article 3. Regional branches of the National Employment Office. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the ONEM, which provides free public services, is already operational, mainly in the city of Kinshasa, where it has opened a provincial department responsible for placement activities, other departments having been opened in Lubumbashi, Matadi and Mbuji-Mayi. It asks the Government to continue to supply information on the establishment of ONEM provincial offices in sufficient numbers to meet the needs of employers and workers in each of the geographical regions.

3. Articles 4 and 5. Consultation  and cooperation with the social partners. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government states that at the 29th Session of the National Employment Council on the revision of the Labour Code, the employers’ and workers’ organizations were in favour of splitting the National Employment Service into two separate services: namely, the Department of Employment and the ONEM. The Committee also notes section 12 of Decree No. 081/2002 of 3 July 2002, which states that the ONEM board, which is responsible in particular for adopting strategies to promote employment and for following up the implementation of employment programmes or projects, is composed of four employer delegates and four worker delegates. The Committee asks the Government to continue to supply information on discussions held with representatives of the employers and workers, particularly within the ONEM board and the National Labour Council, on the structure, functioning and development of policy of the Department of Employment and the ONEM.

4. Article 11. Private employment services. The Committee notes section 207 of the Labour Code, provides that an order of the Minister responsible for labour and social welfare, which is adopted after an opinion from the National Labour Council, provides the procedures for establishing and operating private employment services. The Committee asks the Government to keep it informed of any order adopted with regard to private employment services, stating, what measures if any have been adopted to ensure effective cooperation between these private services and the ONEM.

5. Parts IV and VI of the report form. Information on the practical application of the Convention. The Government states that the requested statistics are not yet available at the ONEM but, once these have been received from the ONEM, the Government will forward them to the ILO. The Committee hopes that the Government’s next report will contain statistics (number of existing public employment offices, number of applications for employment received, number of vacancies notified and number of persons placed in employment by such offices) enabling it to appreciate the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice.