Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1977)

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. Consultations with the social partners. The Committee notes that the proposal on the national employment policy developed in 2011 and submitted to the National Economic and Social Policy Council has not been carried through. The Government indicates that the State recognizes the right to consultation of all actors involved in development programmes and projects, even though there is currently no national employment policy. The Government adds that each year the Bolivian Centre of Workers (COB) submits a list of claims containing the demands of workers organized at the national level, including on subjects relating to employment. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the activities of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security through the three units within the plurinational employment department: the employment exchange, the labour training and guidance unit and the employment support unit for persons with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to submit detailed information on progress made to develop and implement an active employment policy. The Committee invites the Government to include details on the participation of social partners in the development and implementation of an employment policy, and the manner in which the representatives of the most vulnerable categories of the population – in particular representatives of rural workers and of the informal economy – have participated in the development of employment policies and programmes.

Youth employment. The Government indicates that the “My First Decent Job” programme has been carried out in three stages, the first funded by the State, the second by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and the third by the World Bank. In December 2013, within the framework of the third stage which was implemented in early 2009, 611 young persons benefited from the programme, 212 of whom received a technical diploma awarded by the Ministry of Education. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the scope and impact of the measures adopted to promote youth employment, in particular for individuals in socially vulnerable conditions, and to encourage the long-term integration of young people into the labour market.

Informal economy and productive employment. The Committee notes the enactment of the Act to promote and develop the handicraft sector, of 8 January 2012, intended to facilitate access of the handicraft sector to funding, technical assistance, training and to markets, and to recover and pass on sector-specific skills. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted to enable informal economy workers to progressively transfer to the formal sector, including data on the impact of programmes on microcredit, training and the promotion of the handicraft sector.

Micro-enterprises. The Government indicates that, according to the database of the Bolivian National Chamber of Commerce, the majority of enterprises and those with the highest number of jobs were micro- and small enterprises. Over 64 per cent of workers in micro- and small enterprises work in the production and services sectors. Micro-enterprises account for 54.8 per cent of the active population, equivalent to over a million workers. The Committee notes the establishment of PRO-BOLIVIA, through Supreme Decree No. 29727 of October 2008, which is a body under the Ministry of Productive Development and Plural Economy with the primary objective of promoting the transformation of the national production matrix, thereby creating added value to primary production and to the transformation of production. The Committee also notes the signing by the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security of inter-institutional agreements with the National Confederation of Micro- and Small Enterprises (CONAMyPE) in November 2012 and with PRO-BOLIVIA in May 2013. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted to improve the productivity and competitiveness of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Cooperatives. The Committee notes that during 2013, 4,526 new jobs were created in 3,600 production cooperatives and 926 service cooperatives. Furthermore, the Government indicates that between 2006 and 2013 37,746 cooperatives were established, 68.52 per cent of these in the production sector and 31.48 per cent in services. The Committee notes that most of the cooperatives in the production sector belong to the mining industry, while most in the services sector are in transport. The Government emphasizes the enactment, in April 2013, of the new General Act on Cooperatives. The Committee invites the Government to continue providing information on the contribution of cooperatives to the promotion of productive employment.

Coordination of education and vocational training policy with employment policy. The Committee once again invites the Government to provide detailed information on the coordination of education and vocational training policy with employment policy, and particularly on how the training opportunities provided by training institutes (ICAPS) are coordinated with the demand of the labour market for knowledge and skills.