Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Gabon (Ratification: 2009)

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

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of a national employment policy. Participation of the social partners. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide detailed information, including statistical information, on the impact of measures implemented under the employment action plan, as well as information on any measures taken or envisaged/planned to ensure effective consultations with representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Gabon’s new National Employment Policy (PNE), which was drafted in consultation with the social partners and with ILO technical assistance. The Government indicates that the preparation of the framework document for the PNE took place in three phases: the tripartite drafting process (2016), national technical approval (May 2017) and adoption by the Council of Ministers (2018). The PNE also includes an action plan adopted on the basis of a joint agreement between all stakeholders to formulate guidelines and strategies for taking concrete action to address effectively concerns relating to unemployment, poverty, precarity and social exclusion. In this regard, the Committee notes that the PNE comprises the following strategic components: increasing the labour absorption capacity of the national economy, supporting private sector and entrepreneurial development, increasing the employability of the labour force, and improving and modernizing labour market governance. With regard to the dissemination of the PNE, the Government also indicates that appropriate measures will be taken to inform partners in rural areas and in the informal economy of the Government’s new vision for employment. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Employment Department and the social partners are making every effort to implement the PNE Operational Action Plan with ILO technical support. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed and up-to-date information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted within the framework of the National Employment Policy (PNE) and on progress made in its implementation, as well as on all other active labour market measures adopted to create opportunities for decent, productive and lasting employment. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, including partners in rural areas and the informal economy, have been associated with the drafting, implementation and revision of the PNE. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the capacities required and allocate the necessary budgetary resources to ensure the successful implementation of the PNE.

Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on progress made with regard to the system of labour market data collection, and to provide the available data on the situation and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, including for women and young people. The Government refers to the adoption of Decree No. 0016/PR/MEEDD of 16 January 2013 creating the National Employment and Training Observatory (ONEF) with the aim of improving the quality of labour market statistics and the formulation of public policies. The Committee notes that the statistics provided by the Government on the situation and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, including for women and young people, date from the last national survey on employment and unemployment carried out in 2010. It also notes that between 2019 and 2022, the Government plans to carry out a National Survey on Employment and the Informal Sector in order to update employment data at the national level. The Committee requests the Government to send information on the progress made in the establishment of the National Employment and Training Observatory (ONEF). It also requests the Government to send detailed and updated information on the progress made in the implementation of the National Survey on Employment and the Informal Sector and to provide, where applicable, up-to-date statistical information disaggregated by age and sex on the situation, level and development of employment, unemployment and underemployment, both in urban and rural areas.

Coordination of employment policy with poverty reduction. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to continue providing detailed information on the measures taken to ensure that employment, which is a crucial factor in poverty reduction, is central to its macroeconomic and social policies, and also on the results of the “One young person = one trade” campaign and training programme. The Government indicates that the framework document for the PNE, which has its legal basis in Strategic Objective No. 21 of the Emerging Gabon Strategic Plan (PSGE), aims to promote access to employment and combat social exclusion. In this regard, the Committee notes that the 2018 PNE recognizes small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and small and medium-sized industries (SMIs) as poverty reduction drivers and provides for measures to improve their financing. In its report submitted under article 19 of the ILO Constitution, the Government refers to the Economic Recovery Plan (PRE) formulated and implemented within the framework of integrated development policies, which have as one of their principal objectives the reduction of poverty through employment creation. In this regard, specific policies were implemented in early 2018 to boost employment creation by 10,000 new jobs by the end of December 2018. The Committee notes that, according to the information provided by the Government in its report submitted under article 19 of the ILO Constitution, the initial results of these policies have been encouraging, with the identification of close to 12,000 jobs created in 2018. It also notes that other programmes, such as the Agricultural Development and Investment Project in Gabon (PRODIAG) and the promotion of self-employment, aim to reduce poverty. However, it notes that the Government has not provided any information on the results of the training programme “One young person = one trade”. The Committee requests the Government to send detailed information on the nature, impact and implementation of each of the national strategies that aim to reduce poverty, including the results of the training programme “One young person = one trade”, within the framework of the implementation of the new PNE.

Vulnerable groups. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to facilitate the integration of young people and women in the labour market. With regard to the employment of young people, the Government indicates that within the framework of assistance for vocational integration and reintegration (FIR), the National Employment Office (ONE) has mobilized its institutional and economic partners, principally SMEs and multinational enterprises, to promote the employability of young people through the implementation of two instruments, the first of which is the Youth Apprenticeship Contract (CAJ), which aims to increase the employability of young job applicants (aged 16 to 35) so that they can apply for offers of employment that require professional experience. The second of these instruments, established by Ordinance No. 000008/PR of 26 January 2018, is the Assisted Contract, which offers financial assistance or tax or social incentives to employers which implement a specific employment programme. With regard to the integration of women in the labour market, the Government indicates that women comprise 59.17 per cent of the unemployed. The Committee notes that, according to the latest statistics, the unemployment rate of women is almost twice that of men (the women’s unemployment rate is around 28.6 per cent compared to 14.4 per cent for men). It also notes that the PNE does not provide for special programmes that aim to promote women’s employment in the labour market. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature and impact of the “Youth Apprenticeship Contract” programme and the “Assisted Contract”, as well as on other active employment measures adopted or envisaged to promote the full, decent, productive and lasting employment of young people and women with the aim of reducing inequalities in the labour market. It also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the specific measures taken or envisaged to promote women’s participation in the labour market, including in occupations that are not traditionally exercised by women.

Promoting micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide information, including statistics, on the impact of the measures taken to promote the creation of sustainable employment by SMEs. The Government indicates that the promotion of SMEs and SMIs is a crucial strategy for the country’s economic and social development. In this regard, it refers to the establishment of a number of administrative bodies and support mechanisms, such as the creation of a Ministry for SMEs/SMIs, the restructuring of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the merging of various institutions within a new agency, ANPI-Gabon, one of whose responsibilities is to assist the Government in the implementation of its policy for investment, exports, enterprise creation and development. The Committee requests the Government to continue sending updated information on the nature and impact of the measures adopted and implemented to support entrepreneurship development and the creation of sustainable micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises. It also requests the Government to provide in its next report an assessment of the results of the measures implemented, both in terms of the number of enterprises created and the economic sectors involved, and their impact on employment creation in SMEs. In addition, the Government is requested to provide detailed information on the measures taken to promote cooperatives as a source of productive employment.

Coordination of education and training policy with employment policy. The Committee previously requested the Government to provide an assessment of the impact of the measures taken to ensure that the promotion of vocational training is better matched to employment prospects, particularly for young people. The Government indicates that one of the policies in the PNE is to help the national education and vocational training system respond to the three dimensions of employability, the first two of which involve the ability to adapt to an enterprise that requires skills and the capacity to create one’s own job through the skills acquired in a trade. It also indicates that the country has nine vocational training and development centres (CFPP) spread across seven of Gabon’s nine provinces. The Committee notes that these centres only have 1500 places available for more than 4000 candidates seeking training registered during the last entry competition. It also notes that the training courses available cover 26 trades in the industrial sector and eight in the tertiary sector. These training courses place workers, skilled workers and highly skilled workers on the employment market. The Government also indicates that many private vocational training structures supplement State action by creating training cycles that award the Vocational Training Certificate (CFP) and the as well Higher Technician Diploma (DTS). The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report information on the manner in which it ensures effective coordination between these vocational training programmes and its employment policy programmes, and to provide detailed information on the content of the vocational training programmes, as well as statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and type of training indicating the number of participants who obtained lasting employment following their training. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure coordination between the content of its vocational training programmes and existing and future labour market opportunities in response to current and future labour market needs.

COVID-19 and national employment policy. With regard to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Committee recalls the guidance provided in international labour standards. In this regard, the Committee wishes to draw the Government’s attention to the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205), which provides guidance on the drafting and implementation of effective responses to the deep-rooted socio-economic consequences of the pandemic. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report updated information on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the implementation of the policies and programmes adopted to promote full, productive, freely chosen and lasting employment.