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

Labour Administration Convention, 1978 (No. 150) - Central African Republic (Ratification: 2006)

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 3 of the Convention. Activities in the field of national labour policy that may be regulated by having recourse to direct negotiations between the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that trade unions may conclude agreements concerning their occupations.The Committee asks the Government to provide examples of collective agreements concluded by trade unions.

Article 4. Structure and operation of the labour administration system. The Government indicates that the main labour administration institution is the Ministry of the Public Service, Labour, Social Security and the Vocational Integration of Young Persons, which is composed of: the Cabinet; the General Directorate of Labour and Social Insurance (DGTPS); the Directorate of Studies and External Relations; the Directorate of Employment and Vocational Training; and the Directorate of Occupational Medicine. Two other general directorates under the supervision of the Ministry are also part of the system: the General Directorate of the National Social Security Fund and the Central African Agency for Vocational Training and Employment (ACFPE). These two bodies have tripartite executive boards.The Committee requests that the Government specify the labour administration bodies that exist at regional and local levels, as well as the measures taken to ensure that their functions and responsibilities are properly coordinated. It also asks that the Government provide, if possible, an up-to-date organizational chart of the labour inspection system.

Article 5. Tripartite consultation, cooperation and negotiation. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee once again requests that the Government provide information on the operation in practice of the Standing National Labour Council, with an indication of its composition and responsibilities, the procedures for holding meetings, and the issues that it has examined. It would be grateful if the Government would provide extracts from reports on its work, as well as any document indicating the action taken as a result of the consultations held in the Council and the opinions issued, where appropriate. The Committee further asks the Government to indicate whether measures have been taken to ensure consultation, cooperation and negotiation between the public authorities and employers’ and workers’ organizations, or employers’ and workers’ representatives, at the regional and local levels, as well as in various economic sectors.

Article 6. Functions of the labour administration system. 1. Employment policy. Referring to its previous comments on the progress achieved in the formulation of a national employment policy, the Committee notes that, according to the Government, the first National Decent Work Forum organized by the Government with financial support from development partners was held in 2011 and that a national employment policy, taking into account recommendations from the Forum, would be determined following the Forum.In this regard, the Committee requests that the Government refer to the comments made under the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122).

2. Studies, research and statistics. According to the Government, the General Directorate of Labour and Social Insurance and the ACFPE are the bodies competent to monitor the situation of employed, unemployed and underemployed persons. The Government also indicates that an initiative is continuing to develop statistics on employment and unemployment with ILO support.The Committee encourages the Government to submit a formal request to the ILO for technical assistance, and invites it to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect. It also once again requests that the Government provide information on the preparation and findings of studies on the promotion of employment for ethnic minority groups and for female adolescents in Bangui, the draft versions of which it mentioned in its previous report.

3. Provision of technical advice. According to the Government, the regional inspection services provide technical advice on labour disputes. Technical advice is also provided by the DGTPS, through its departments, and particularly by the Directorate for Studies on Enterprise Accords and Collective Agreements.The Committee asks the Government to supply information on the technical advice provided by the labour inspectorate and by the relevant departments of the DGTPS.

Article 10. Status and conditions of service of the labour administration staff. 1. Status and remuneration of labour administration staff. The Government indicates that the situation concerning the remuneration of labour administration staff, whose pay has been frozen for financial reasons, has not changed, and that there is no specific pay scale other than the risk allowances granted to labour inspectors and supervisors. The Government also notes that statute on the conditions of service for labour inspectors has not yet been adopted, but that the current authorities have stated their willingness to adopt this statute.The Committee asks the Government to take the necessary measures to adopt the statute governing labour administration officials, which determine the conditions for recruitment, remuneration and promotion related to the effective performance of their duties and protect them from any improper external influence.

2. Training of labour administration staff. The Government states that in 2013, a number of managerial staff attended training sessions organized by the African Regional Centre for Labour Administration (CRADAT) and the ILO International Training Centre (ITC–ILO) in Turin.The Committee asks the Government to continue providing information on the training activities provided for labour administration staff, with an indication of the types of training (workshop, seminar, etc.), its duration and the topics covered, as well as the number and categories of labour administration staff who participate, and the impact of such activities in terms of their objectives. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to build the capacity of the labour administration staff and requests that it continue to provide information on the training activities undertaken for this purpose and on their impact.

3. Financial and material resources available to labour administration staff for the effective performance of their duties. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the application of the Convention is coming up against several difficulties, primarily due to the inadequate proportion of the national budget allocated to the labour administration system, and particularly to the Ministry of Labour. The situation described in the 2008 report of the DGTPS has worsened, as the premises of the Directorate have been looted and vandalized, and the few computers available have been taken. The DGTPS’s 2012 action plan reports that it requires staff, equipment and vehicles.The Committee once again asks the Government to take all the necessary measures, including through recourse to ILO technical assistance, to seek through international financial cooperation the funds necessary to strengthen the labour administration system.