Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Jamaica (Ratification: 1975)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

        The Committee notes the Government’s statement that part-time work increased by more than full-time work, but without any apparent net gains to the labour market. The Committee would appreciate receiving further information on the Government’s strategy for ensuring that the flexibility and casualization of jobs help fulfil the objectives of full, productive and freely chosen work.

        The Government reports that programmes for youth include training, education, work ethic instruction, apprenticeships, encouraging own-account employment and supporting youth-run cooperatives. The Committee understands that the National Youth Policy is now under review and requests further information on the outcome, particularly on how youth policy is considered within the Government’s wider framework of economic and social policy, as required under Article 2. The Government also has set up a micro- and small-enterprise (MSE) coordinating bureau within the Ministry of Industry to overcome problems of regulatory constraints on entrepreneurs and to increase the rate of creation of small enterprises via increased access to credit, training and technical assistance. The Committee would appreciate receiving a copy of any evaluations of the MSE programme and its impact on unemployment, as requested in Part VI of the report form.

        The Committee notes that the main component of the Government’s employment strategy, the National Industrial Policy (NIP), is implemented through the tripartite Industrial Advisory Councils (IAC). The Committee would appreciate continuing to receive information on how the IAC consults representatives of other sectors of the economically active population, such as those in the rural and informal sectors, and how the IAC participate in the review of NIP policies within a framework of coordinated economic and social policy, as specified in Article 3, in conjunction with Article 2.

        The Committee notes that although women comprise 46 per cent of the labour force, they hold 42 per cent of jobs, and represent 65 per cent of the unemployed. It also notes the Government’s efforts to overcome this problem, as there is a high participation rate of women in training programmes, and much of the growth in employment is due to women obtaining jobs. The Committee would appreciate continuing to receive information on progress made in this respect, as requested in the report form under Article 1.

        Lastly, the Committee requests that the Government include copies of the following in its next report, if possible: the Economic and Social Survey of Jamaica, the National Industrial Policy, and the report on implementation of the National Poverty Eradication Programme.