Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

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

Implementation of an active employment policy. Participation of the social partners. The Committee takes note of the Government’s detailed report and of the replies it received in September 2012 to the 2011 direct request. With its report, the Government attached an executive summary of the national employment plan that the Ministry of Justice and Labour had submitted to the Technical Planning Secretariat of the Office of the President of the Republic for analysis and approval. Data in the report shows that around 60 per cent of the population of working age made up the economically active population (EAP) and that there was a considerable difference between the rate of activity for men (72.8 per cent) and for women (48.9 per cent). From 2010 to 2011, the EAP increased by 121,203 workers. Unemployment in 2011 stood at 5.6 per cent, compared to 5.7 per cent in 2010 and 6.4 per cent in 2009. Women suffered more from unemployment than men and children between the ages of ten and 14 years tended to enter the labour market early. These children accounted for 12.4 per cent of the economic activity in the country and included some very young children, there being a notable difference between boys (almost 17 per cent) and girls (7.8 per cent). Some 22 per cent of the manpower employed in 2011 suffered from underemployment, most of them being salaried workers engaged for fewer than 30 hours a week and earning less than the legal minimum wage in force. Almost five out of every ten people employed earned an income by selling their goods and services. Most of the workers were engaged in small businesses. Domestic employment accounted for 6.6 per cent of the employed population. The Government indicates that the decline of the employment rate since 2010 could be attributable to the gradual formalization of the labour market. The Committee understands that, in addition to the extent of informal and precarious employment, the main trend that needs to be reversed to improve the labour market situation is that of the number of people employed in the services sector. The Committee again requests the Government in its next report to indicate whether a national employment policy has been adopted and how the experience and views of the social partners were taken into account in the formulation and implementation of the employment policy measures (Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention). The Committee also invites the Government to include information on the progress made in improving the quality of job placement and vocational guidance services and in extending the network of employment offices to the whole country. The Committee invites the Government to include up-to-date data on the situation, level and trend of employment, unemployment and underemployment in both the urban and the rural areas of the country. Please also include specific information on the employment measures taken to address the issue of entry into the labour market of very young children.

Coordination of employment policy with economic and social policy. In response to an earlier request on the results of the Economic and Social Strategic Plan (PEES) 2008–13, the Government states that it has established bases for designing its employment policies, plans and projects. The establishment has also been proposed of a General Directorate of Employment to facilitate the adoption of the state policy on the employment of young people, the Ñamba’apo Paraguay temporary employment programme and the programme for young entrepreneurs. The Committee takes note of the Government’s intention for the future is to maintain progress in strengthening the institutions that already exist and create a Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information that would allow it to examine the manner in which the Government has succeeded in extending and enhancing the scope of the plans and programmes that have been drawn up and whether it has duly taken into account the objectives of full and productive employment called for in the Convention.

Youth employment. Following on from its earlier comments, the Government provides information on the initiatives taken by the National Round Table for the Generation of Youth Employment under whose auspices the national youth employment policy and plan were adopted. The Committee notes that Presidential Decree No. 8620 of 19 March 2012 approved the youth employment policy and authorized the implementation of the National Youth Employment Plan 2011–20, whose objective is to adopt measures to enable young people to build themselves a future in decent work. The Committee takes note of the observations of the National Confederation of Workers (CNT) and the Central Confederation of Workers–Authentic (CUT–A), which were transmitted to the Government in May 2013, voicing the trade unions’ concern with the bill’s contents. The Committee also notes that the Youth Employment Act No. 4951 was adopted on 20 June 2013. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information on the projects’ impact on the long-term insertion in the labour market of the young people who took part in them. Specifically, the Committee would like to examine up-to-date information on the impact that the Programme for Young Entrepreneurs and the Ventanilla Única have had in enabling young people to find decent and productive work. The Committee also invites the Government to include in its next report information on the application of the Youth Employment Act in practice and on the extent to which the new contractual arrangements have contributed to creating productive employment for their beneficiaries.

Promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises and promotion of employment. The Committee notes the observations of the CNT and CUT–A expressing their concerns about Act No. 4457, promulgated on 16 May 2012, which established a set of regulations to promote the creation, development and competitiveness of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and to integrate them into the formal goods and services production structure. According to the two confederations, Act No. 4457 leaves around 60 per cent of the employed population without any kind of protection in their jobs and in some instances allows the guarantees conferred by the general labour legislation not to be applied. In its examination of the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189), the Committee has expressed that any measure to promote full employment and the creation of productive and sustainable jobs, notably in small and medium-sized enterprises, should be adopted only after consultation with the social partners, in circumstances that are socially acceptable to all the interested parties and in full compliance with ratified international instruments. The Committee has also referred to the conclusions concerning the promotion of sustainable enterprises adopted in June 1997 in which the Conference urged all enterprises, irrespective of size, to apply workplace practices based on full respect for fundamental principles and rights at work and international labour standards (General Survey concerning employment instruments, 2010, paragraphs 398–399). The Committee requests the Government in its next report to include detailed information on the impact that Act No. 4457 has had on the creation of productive and sustainable jobs. The Committee invites the Government to indicate how the legislation in force ensures adequate labour protection for workers in micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises and permits the gradual integration of informal economy workers into the formal labour market.

Coordination of training policy with employment opportunities. The Government reiterates that it is pursuing its efforts to facilitate social dialogue and coordination of the institutions responsible for formal education and for vocational training. The Committee takes note of the proposal to create a General Training and Employment Council and that a proposed legislation to regulate technical and vocational education is being examined. In its previous comments the Committee took note of the Government’s intention to combine the National Vocational Promotion Service (SNPP) with the National Vocational Training System (SINAFOCAL) so as to avoid duplication and ensure coordination with the Ministry of Education and Culture. The Committee once again invites the Government in its report to include up-to-date information on the coordination of education and vocational training policies with employment policies, and especially on how the supply of training is coordinated with the demand for knowledge and skills and the needs of the labour market.