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

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

Implementation of an active employment policy. Involvement of the social partners. The Committee takes note of the observations of four Malagasy trade union federations belonging to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) (FISEMA, FMM, SEKRIMA and USAM), submitted to the Government in September 2012. The four trade union federations refer to the lack of dialogue before decisions are taken; they cite the abandoning of the Action Plan for Madagascar (MAP), the repeal of the National Employment Policy, the National Employment Support Programme (PNSE) and the Employment Programme implemented with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and the adoption of Decree No. 2012-558 dated May 2012 concerning the reorganization of the Malagasy Observatory of Employment. In its 2011 observation, the Committee also noted that the closure of several enterprises had had adverse effects on employment. In this context, the Committee once again expresses its concern about the effective pursuit of “an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment”, “as a major goal” “within the framework of a co-ordinated economic and social policy” (Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention). It hopes that the Government will be in a position to send information in a report in 2013 that will allow an assessment of how the main axes of the economic policy, in areas such as monetary, budget, trade or regional development policies, contribute “within the framework of a co ordinated economic and social policy” to the pursuit of the employment objectives laid down in the Convention. The Committee trusts that the Government will provide information on the measures taken to create lasting employment, reduce underemployment (reported to affect some 25 per cent of the active population) and combat poverty, specifying the measures taken to promote employment among the most vulnerable categories (women, young people and rural workers).

Coordinating education and training policy with employment policy. In its last report, the Government indicated that the Decree establishing the Malagasy Employment Promotion Office (OMPE) had been repealed in 2009 and that the employment programmes implemented with support from the UNDP had also been suspended since the onset of the crisis. Furthermore, the 2010 periodic household survey would seem to suggest that the level of education is a discriminating factor in job seeking, with unemployment tending to increase with the number of years of study. The Committee invites the Government once again to include information in its next report on the action taken to ensure the coordination of education and vocational training policies with employment policies. It also asks the Government to give an account of the results obtained in terms of access for young graduates to lasting employment.

Collection and use of employment data. The Committee understands that work was recently carried out by the Malagasy National Statistics Institute (INSTAT) on employment and the informal sector. The Committee invites the Government to send in its next report the results of the household surveys conducted by INSTAT. It accordingly invites the Government to give an account of the progress made in obtaining reliable data so as to formulate and implement an employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of policies. The Committee notes that the four trade union federations expressed their concern about the Government’s unilateral conduct. They state that dialogue between the Government and the social partners on employment has almost broken down, as the work of the National Monitoring Committee for the Promotion of Employment and Poverty Reduction has been put on hold. The Committee again draws attention to the importance of giving full effect to Article 3 of the Convention, particularly in a context of massive and persistent underemployment. It hopes that the next report will contain detailed information on the consultations held with representatives of the social partners on the subjects covered by the Convention. Furthermore, it asks the Government to provide information on the consultations held with the most vulnerable categories of the population, particularly with the representatives of workers in rural areas and the informal economy, in order to obtain their cooperation in the formulation and implementation of employment policy programmes and measures.