Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1989, published 76th ILC session (1989)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - New Zealand (Ratification: 1965)

The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in reply to its previous comments. It particularly welcomes the summary of the principal labour market programmes and the statistical data provided. Concerning the overall economic and development policies pursued, the Committee notes, from the information supplied under Article 1 of the Convention, that there are no development plans that incorporate objectives or targets for the growth of employment in the economy as a whole. The Government's employment policies are based on the premise that sustainable new jobs are most likely to be created in the context of a growing and flexible economy. Macro-economic policies are designed to bring about lower inflation, interest and exchange rates. Micro-economic and structural reforms aim at removing unnecessary direct controls and restrictive practices that act as barriers to jobs, new investment, higher productivity.

The Committee notes that, over the period March 1986-March 1988, the number of employed people fell by 1.1 per cent, while the number of unemployed increased by 19.4 per cent. The overall unemployment rate increased from 4.2 per cent to 5.0 per cent of the labour force. Unemployment rates were particularly high (nearly 13.0 per cent in 1988) amongst the young Maori and Pacific Island Polynesian populations, and tended to be higher for non-metropolitan areas than for metropolitan areas. These trends in employment and unemployment do not appear to reflect the general tendencies of the OECD countries as reported in the last issue of the OECD Economic Outlook (December 1988).

The Government indicates in its report, that a number of reforms (e.g. deregulation, reduced fiscal deficits) led to job losses in the short term. Although the situation is expected to reverse itself in the medium to long term, the Government has given no more precise indication of the time-scale in which it expects its strategy to produce net positive effects on employment.

The Committee hopes the Government will continue to provide information on these and the other matters referred to in the report, including the development of employment in the urban as contrasting to the rural areas; the employment effects of the reduction of subsidies to employers for training; and the extent to which any specific employment goals are set by region or sector or population group and subsequently attained.