Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Dominican Republic (Ratification: 1953)

Articles 1 to 5 of the Convention. Modernization of the employment service. Participation of the social partners. The Committee refers to its comments in relation to the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), in which it takes note of the process of preparing a new National Employment Plan (PLANE) with the participation of the social partners. The objective of the new PLANE is to promote the creation of 600,000 new decent jobs for the 2021–24 period. The Committee notes that the PLANE project measures include technical and vocational training to promote the development of human talent and the employability of the population in situations of great vulnerability and the modernization of the Public Employment Service (SENAE). The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government on the number of people who benefited from the services of SENAE during the reporting period. In particular, the Government indicates that, between 2017 and July 2021, SENAE referred 19,767 people (11,772 men and 7,995 women) to job vacancies, of whom only 2,880 (1,771 men and 1,109 women) were confirmed to have been placed in formal jobs. The Government also indicates that 145,263 jobseekers registered with the “Empleateya” Employment Exchange, of whom 60 per cent were women. The Government adds that, with the technical assistance of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Employment Exchange is being improved, with a view to a more modern platform that will provide accurate data on supply and demand for jobs. The Government also indicates that during the reporting period a total of 3,273,315 people participated in training activities or courses provided through the National Institute for Vocational and Technical Training (INFOTEP) and that technical assistance and support was provided to 12,631 enterprises of all sizes (micro, small, medium and large). Lastly, the Government reports that in 2021 more than 52 employment days were held nationwide with a total of 6,873 vacancies, mostly in the service, hospitality and tourism sectors. The Government indicates that this service, organized by SENAE, is effective in placing 40 per cent of candidates. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information, including statistics disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the impact of the employment services and training programmes on the obtention of lasting employment. It also requests the Government to provide information that will allow it to examine how the social partners are involved in the preparation and application of public employment service policies. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to implement the new National Employment Plan (PLANE), including those related to the modernization of the Public Employment Service (SENAE), and the number of applications for employment received, vacancies notified and persons placed in employment by the offices.

Articles 7 and 8. Specific needs of persons with disabilities and young people. The Committee refers to its comments on Convention No. 122 in which it notes the implementation of various programmes to promote the employment of young people, such as the Primer empleo (initial employment) programme and the Escuela taller (workshop as school) programme. The Government indicates that 45 women and 47 men in a vulnerable situation took part in the latter in the first half of 2021 and 24 per cent of the participants were young people with disabilities. The Government adds that, with a view to promoting equality between men and women, it is ensured that half of those admitted to the programme are women and they are encouraged to engage in trades traditionally carried out by men, including electrical work, construction and plumbing. The Government also reports that the Ministry of Labour and the National Council on Disability (CONADIS) received the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) signature Gold Gender Equality Seal for the good practice of the Escuela taller (workshop as school) programme, which has incorporated an inclusive approach into its workshops, achieving the labour inclusion of young people through the learning of a trade that prepares them for employment and entrepreneurship. However, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that it does not have information on the impact of the programmes implemented since 2016 due to a lack of resources. In this respect, the Government indicates that in 2019 it engaged in dialogue with the non-profit organization Innovations for Poverty Action, with a view to establishing a permanent system for evaluating the impact of programmes. However, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting crisis, other programmes for the protection of jobs were prioritized. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the measures adopted to respond appropriately to the needs of certain categories of workers, particularly young people and persons with disabilities and other jobseekers in a situation of vulnerability. It also requests the Government to continue providing detailed and updated information on the activities undertaken as part of the Government initiatives to promote the employment of young people and persons with disabilities, including statistical information disaggregated by age and sex, and on the results of the employment services’ programmes for the placement of young people in lasting employment. Regarding the gathering of data on the impact of the various measures implemented, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any progress made in this area and recalls that it may avail itself of ILO technical assistance in this respect.

Article 11. Effective cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Committee notes that the Government refers to the adoption of measures with a view to establishing a national employment system that governs all the employment agencies in the country (public and private, for profit and non-profit), in order to obtain better statistics on the supply and demand for jobs. In this respect, the Government reports that these measures were adopted with the support of the Public Employment Service Unit of Colombia and the technical assistance of “Eurosocial+”, the European Union (EU) programme for social cohesion in Latin America. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and updated information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted to guarantee effective cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies in the country. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of private employment agencies, and the number of applications for employment received, vacancies notified and persons placed in employment by these agencies.