Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Chad (Ratification: 2015)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that the next report will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Article 1 of the Convention. Adoption and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention. It notes in particular that the Government reports the adoption of the “National employment policy declaration” (DNPE) of 11 April 2002, established by Decree No. 176/PR/MFPTPEM/02. Subsequently, in 2014, the Government, with the support of the National Committee for the Formulation of National Employment Policy and in collaboration with the ILO, drew up a new “National employment and vocational training policy” (PNEFP). The goal of the PNEFP is to contribute to the growth of decent employment opportunities and thereby ensure strong economic growth. The Committee also understands that the Government has taken a decision to update and adopt a new version of the PNEFP. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report information on any progress made in the implementation of the “National employment and vocational training policy” (PNEFP) and on its impact in terms of full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee also requests the Government to keep the Office informed of developments regarding the new version of the PNEFP and to send a copy of it once it has been adopted.

Employment services. The Committee notes that, according to section 494 of the Labour Code of Chad (1996), the National Employment Promotion Office (ONAPE) has sole authorization to carry out job placement operations throughout Chad. In this regard, the PNEFP indicates that ONAPE has a monopoly over placement throughout the country, through its offices located in N’Djamena, Moundou, Sarh, Abéché, Bongor, Mongo, Moussoro and Doba. The Committee also notes that section 503 of the Labour Code imposes fines and imprisonment for any persons who violate the ONAPE placement monopoly, as defined in section 494 of the Code. In this regard, the Committee refers to paragraph 728 of its 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, in which it re-emphasized that public employment services and private agencies are both actors in the labour market and that their common aim is to contribute to a functioning labour market and the achievement of full employment. The Committee therefore encourages the Government to consider the possibility of ratifying the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181). The Committee reminds the Government that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this regard.

Article 2. Education and vocational training. Policy coordination. Employment trends. Information on the labour market. The Committee notes that the 2014 PNEFP 2014 refers to the inadequacy of training centres and indicates that the capacities of the vocational and technical training system are far too limited to meet national demand for training. It also indicates that obstacles to the development of technical instruction and vocational training in Chad are caused in particular by the absence of curricula geared to the labour market, the inadequacy of the training proposed, the absence of an effective coordination strategy, the lack of a mechanism to provide information on occupations and the lack of vocational guidance. In this regard, the Government indicates in its report that steps have been taken to improve education policies and training, particularly providing and renewing skills for trainers and increasing and diversifying the training available. Moreover, the Government indicates that new areas of training have been established in existing centres and occupational instruction programmes have been developed. Other training strategies have been designed and implemented to strengthen ongoing training in the public and private sectors and to enable persons excluded from other training systems to improve their employability. The Committee notes that, for this purpose, existing establishments have been rehabilitated to become functional and new training establishments have been created. It also notes that steps have been taken to develop a training partnership with enterprises and ensure that work-linked training is developed and operational. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the impact of measures taken, in consultation with the social partners and representatives of groups affected by the measures, to update and reinforce the coordination of technical instruction and vocational training programmes so that instruction and training courses are designed and implemented in such a way as to meet labour market demand. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the nature and scope of vocational guidance and training for young men and women, particularly those living in rural areas.

Employment for women. The Committee notes that the 2014 PNEFP highlights major inequalities between men and women, in both the education system and the labour market, which obstruct the full realization of the socio-economic potential of women in Chad. With regard to employment, the PNEFP indicates in particular that women employed in the oil industry account for only 8.2 per cent of senior and middle managers and 26.9 per cent of manual workers and junior employees. In addition, according to the PNEFP, vocational training proposed to women by the public training market is limited to traditionally “female” occupations, such as hairdressing, dressmaking and service sector jobs. Moreover, the PNEFP reports a very high illiteracy rate in the country, with a significant disparity between men and women (69 per cent and 86 per cent, respectively). In this regard, the Committee notes that articles 13 and 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of Chad, promulgated on 4 May 2018, grants women the same political rights as men and guarantees non-discrimination before the law. It also notes that the PNEFP underlines the need to take measures to improve access to vocational training systems and programmes for women. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on specific measures taken or contemplated to combat gender-based occupational segregation in its horizontal form (where women are concentrated in certain sectors) and vertical form (where women are concentrated at the lower levels), including measures taken to provide women with a wider choice of educational and vocational training possibilities, in sectors such as information technology and various types of engineering. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the nature and impact of technical and vocational training programmes in terms of wider employment possibilities for women, and also information on measures to improve the situation of rural women regarding access to education, training and employment, including basic education and training in setting up businesses.

Youth employment. The PNEFP indicates that, after agriculture, the urban economy (informal, semi-formal, urban craft sector, SMEs) is one of the areas of employment that offers more possibilities of socio-occupational and economic integration to young people in the cities who are not or no longer in school. It also refers to the high rate of youth unemployment, indicating that 60 per cent of job applications, for both sexes, are from young graduates between 25 and 35 years of age who form a massive presence in the formal labour market. In this regard, the Committee notes the statistics provided by the third series of “Surveys of consumers and the informal sector in Chad” (ECOSIT3) of June 2013, which indicate ever-increasing graduate unemployment and hence poor performance levels for youth employment. According to the results of ECOSIT3, the unemployment rate is 22 per cent and generally affects the 15-30 age group. In this regard, the Government indicates that it has implemented measures to promote possibilities for the creation of decent jobs for the young unemployed. However, the Committee notes that the Government does not provide any information on specific programmes aimed at promoting youth employment. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on all measures taken or contemplated to promote decent, productive and sustainable employment for young persons, particularly those belonging to disadvantaged groups (women, persons with disabilities and unskilled young people), and young persons working in agriculture or the informal economy, in order to reduce inequalities in the labour market. The Committee also requests the Government to provide up-to-date, detailed information on the impact of these measures on full employment for young persons, in particular young graduates. The Committee further requests the Government to provide statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex and economic sector, on trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment for young persons.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee refers to its comments relating to the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111), as regards the application of Act No. 007/PR/2007 of 9 May 2007 establishing protection for persons with disabilities. This Act contains provisions relating to socio-economic integration rights, according to which the State and regional authorities have the obligation to create conditions conducive to promoting employment for persons with disabilities in the public and private sectors and to ensure protection for these persons against all forms of exploitation and discrimination (section 15). The Act also provides for tax incentives for private companies employing “a reasonable proportion of persons with disabilities” (section 16). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or contemplated to give effect to section 15 of Act No. 007/PR/2007 establishing protection for persons with disabilities and to indicate whether enterprises have availed themselves of the arrangements established by section 16 of the aforementioned Act, clarifying the interpretation of the expression “a reasonable proportion of persons with disabilities”. It also requests the Government to provide up-to-date statistics, disaggregated by age and sex, indicating the number of persons with disabilities employed in the public and private sectors.

Rural development. The 2014 PNEFP underlines the need to develop employment and training capacity in the rural sector and indicates that one of the main challenges facing the Government is modernization of the rural sector. In this regard, the Government describes in its report the measures taken to reduce the costs of setting up businesses (SMEs) in rural areas and to reinforce the capacities of local authorities by providing them with resources to finance infrastructures to support the development of SMEs and by helping the communes to set up business kiosks for SMEs in the major cities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of initiatives taken to generate growth and create jobs in rural areas, particularly to promote self-employment and entrepreneurship for women and men. It also requests the Government to provide information on all measures taken or contemplated to promote the creation of microenterprises, cooperatives and other forms of associative enterprises to promote business development in rural areas. Referring to the Promotion of Cooperatives Recommendation, 2002 (No. 193), the Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken to promote decent and productive work through cooperatives.

Informal economy. The PNEFP indicates that the informal economy accounts for over 80 per cent of jobs in Chad and makes a major contribution to generating added value at the national level. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed, up-to-date information on the nature and impact of measures taken to organize the informal economy and integrate informal economy workers into the formal labour market, particularly young workers and women, taking into account the guidance of the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204).

Promotion of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The Government reports on overall and sectoral policies and also on labour market policies whose aim is to promote job creation by facilitating the establishment of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and medium-sized industries by means of fiscal, para-fiscal and administrative measures. In this regard, the Government indicates that tax incentives have been introduced for enterprises which create jobs. The Committee notes that these tax measures consist in particular of reducing the rate of company taxation to a sustainable level for SMEs, eliminating various para-fiscal and administrative deductions, in particular those collected by ministries and other administrations, and granting public aid to SMEs and enterprises in the “green economy” to create jobs. The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date information on the effectiveness of measures and programmes implemented to support SMEs and small and medium-sized industries and on their impact on the number and nature of enterprises established and the number of jobs created by such enterprises.

Labour market information system. Employment trends. The Government reports the strengthening and implementation of an effective information system at the national, regional and community levels for providing reliable, regular and relevant statistics, facilitating a mechanism for regular monitoring and appropriate analysis of the labour market. In this regard, the Government indicates that it intends, firstly, to set up a mechanism that enables national coordination of the activities of existing institutional structures such as the National Institute of Statistics and Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED), the Education, Training and Employment Observatory (OBSEFE), the National Employment Promotion Office (ONAPE) and the National Vocational Training Support Fund (FONAP) and, secondly, to create regional branches of the employment observatory to decentralize the labour market information system. In this regard, the Committee notes that statistical activities in Chad are regulated by Act No. 013/PR/99 of 15 June 1999, establishing the National System of Statistics (SSN) with INSEED as its central body. The Committee also notes that INSEED is currently carrying out the “Fourth survey of household living conditions and poverty in Chad” (ECOSIT4) for 2018–19, in order to obtain indicators for monitoring poverty and living conditions and to provide data for the evaluation of public policies, including employment policy. The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date statistical information on labour market trends in the country, particularly regarding the active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment rates, disaggregated by sex and age, and if possible by urban or rural area. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the progress of reforms relating to the national labour market information system. The Committee further requests the Government to provide in its next report information on the results of the “Fourth survey of household living conditions and poverty in Chad” (ECOSIT4) and to send a copy of the survey once it has been completed.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. Representatives of persons affected. The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information on the holding of consultations with the social partners, including in the rural sector and the informal economy, with regard to the formulation and implementation of employment policy. It also notes that the Government does not provide any information on consultations held with the representatives of persons affected by measures to be taken, particularly young persons, women, persons with disabilities, persons living with HIV and other disadvantaged groups. The Committee requests the Government to provide up-to-date, detailed information in its next report on consultations held with the social partners on the matters covered by the Convention, indicating in particular what has been the contribution of the social partners to the formulation and review of employment policies and programmes. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner it which it ensures that representatives of all sectors of the economically active population which are affected – in particular representatives of disadvantaged groups of rural workers and workers in the informal economy – can participate actively in the formulation, implementation, evaluation and review of national employment policies, as provided for by Article 3 of the Convention.

COVID-19. In the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Committee recalls the guidance provided by international labour standards. In this regard, the Committee would like to draw the Government’s attention to the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205), which provides guidelines for formulating and implementing effective responses to the profound socio-economic repercussions of the pandemic. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report up-to-date information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of policies and programmes adopted to promote full, productive, freely chosen and sustainable employment.