Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1992, published 79th ILC session (1992)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Paraguay (Ratification: 1969)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report. The Government states that, since the move towards a democratic system, a national economic and social development plan for the biennium 1989-90 has been formulated. The Committee notes with interest that the primary objective in relation to employment and human resources is that of "maintaining the growth rate of the absorption of the labour force, seeking to bring the national economy to a situation of full employment". The other objectives concern the relationship between the formal and informal sectors, achieving a progressive increase in real wages, increasing the level of technical, managerial and vocational skills of the workforce, improving worker-management relations, strengthening the machinery for the collection and interpretation of labour market data and achieving greater coordination between labour institutions. The Government adds in its report that, in order to achieve these objectives, various measures are being taken in both the public and private sectors and that these involve the revision of various laws such as the legislation respecting investments, the Labour Code, the tax legislation and much other legislation that is related directly or indirectly to employment. There has been strong employment growth in the informal sector, and even if this employment is not reflected in current statistics it is one of the major reasons for the decrease in the unemployment figures, although it has given rise to greater underemployment (estimated at around 40 per cent) in informal work that brings in little remuneration. In view of the predominance of young people in the population, which is growing and becoming very significantly concentrated in urban areas, the Government accords special importance to the development of youth employment, in connection with which it is expecting technical assistance from the Office. Furthermore, as laid down in Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention, measures have been taken to coordinate vocational training measures with prospective employment opportunities and to collect and analyse information on the labour market as a basis for the adoption of employment policy measures. The Committee hopes that in its next report the Government will indicate the extent to which the objectives set out in the national economic and social development plan of 1989-90 (45,000 new jobs per year) have been achieved and that it will also be able to supply information on the measures that have been adopted under the "policy guidelines for employment and human resources" as set out in the plan. Please indicate any difficulties that have been encountered in pursuing an active policy designed to achieve full employment.

2. With reference to the comments that the Committee has been making for a number of years on the application of Article 3, the Government states in its report that the representatives of workers and employers participate fully in the councils on which they sit, but that employment policy measures are not covered in full in such bodies (such as the Social Welfare Institute, the National Service for Vocational Advancement, the National Workers' Bank, the National Council on Minimum Wages, and the Permanent Board of Conciliation and Arbitration). The Government adds that, since the new authorities took power, there has been greater openness and interest both by the national authorities and the other social partners who are active in the field of employment. The Committee trusts that the Government will be able to supply information in its next report on the progress that has been achieved in relation to the consultations concerning employment policies that are to be held with representatives of the persons affected (representatives of employers' and workers' organisations and representatives of other sectors of the economically active population, such as those working in the rural sector and the informal sector). The Committee points out, in relation to the objective of the consultations, that Article 3 of the Convention provides that such consultations shall be held "with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support" for the policies in question.

3. In a direct request, the Committee is requesting information on certain aspects of the application of the Convention (the impact of the activities of the National Service for Vocational Advancement and of current public works, as well as statistical data on the labour market and the situation of certain categories of workers, together with information on the employment of young persons and programmes to support micro-enterprises).