Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1953)

Articles 1–5 of the Convention. Modernization of the employment service. Participation of the social partners. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report which indicates that the National Employment Plan, adopted in 2014, was developed through a process of tripartite consultation. Regarding the National Employment Plan, the Committee refers to its comments on the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122). The Committee notes that, according to the data provided by the Government, between August 2016 and April 2017, the public employment service received 37,989 applications for employment, advertised 7,596 vacancies and made 1,575 placements. With regard to the reinforcement of the National Employment Service (SENAE), the Government indicates that the number of regional employment offices has been increased and that the modernization of the Electronic Employment Exchange (BEE) has resulted in the registration of 19,324 jobseekers and 258 firms which register their vacancies. The Government adds that, in 2016, vocational guidance was provided to 53,252 jobseekers through 1,096 workshops held in locations including technical institutes, vocational training centres and schools. Regarding rural areas, the Committee notes the implementation since 2014 of the Ministry of Labour’s communication strategy, “Bringing communities closer”, in 11 communities, which in 2015 provided services for 4,197 unemployed people, mainly young people, working in collaboration with local partners. The Committee also notes the acquisition of a mobile employment unit to strengthen the SENAE, facilitating access for rural communities. The Government adds that 31 employment days were held in 2016 in which 2,563 vacancies were available and 8,205 people were interviewed. The Committee notes that the Ministry of Labour has developed a proposal to regularize the recruitment of foreign workers with a view to ensuring that the proportion of local and foreign workers is maintained at 80 and 20 per cent, respectively, as envisaged in the Dominican Labour Code. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report, including statistics disaggregated by gender, age and region on the impact of employment services and training programmes on obtaining lasting employment. Similarly, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information as a basis for assessing the manner in which the social partners are involved in the development and application of public employment service policies. The Committee also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken or envisaged to implement the National Employment Plan, and on the number of job applications received, job vacancies advertised and placements made by the offices.

Articles 7 and 8. The specific needs of persons with disabilities and young persons. The Committee notes with interest that, with a view to facilitating the integration of the most vulnerable young unemployed persons, the Government has implemented several training programmes in which 10,037 vulnerable young people have participated. The Government adds that, within the context of the “Training Programme for Young People in Different Occupations”, the workshop coordinated by the Ministry of Labour trained 602 unemployed young people aged from 18 to 26 years old, of whom 25 per cent had some kind of disability, in occupations such as carpentry, bricklaying, electrical work and handicrafts. Furthermore, with a view to contributing to the employment of the hearing impaired and those with moderate learning difficulties, since 2015 it has been implementing the “Special Projects Workshop”, which offers specialized training in artistic handicrafts to young persons with disabilities. The Government adds that in 2014 it established the “Entrepreneurship Unit” under the auspices of the General Labour Directorate. Beneficiaries of the Unit include 430 unemployed young people from different regions, aged between 20 and 35 and with the potential to be self-employed, from three vulnerable groups: persons with disabilities, single mother heads of household and young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET). The Government has also been applying a new training model for youth entrepreneurship, collaborating with local partners to establish regional support forums and local support for the initiatives of young entrepreneurs in three municipalities of the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information in its next report, including statistics disaggregated by gender and age, on the impact of training programmes on obtaining lasting employment, such as the Training Programme for Young People in Different Occupations and the Special Projects Workshop.