Observation (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Portugal (Ratification: 1981)

1. The Committee notes the detailed information contained in the Government's report for the period ending May 1998. According to the Government, the active population increased by 0.6 per cent in 1996 and by 1.9 per cent in 1997. Youth employment increased by 2.8 per cent, full-time employment increased by 0.5 per cent, and long-term unemployment decreased by 2.1 per cent in 1997. However, part-time employment increased by 17.3 per cent in 1996 and 16.9 per cent in 1997, and self-employment has been consistently growing, most recently at rates of 4.5 per cent in 1996 and 3.6 per cent in 1997.

2. The Committee notes that the Government's strategy for promoting full employment involves modernizing enterprises and improving the social structure to reduce the impact of modernization on unemployment. To this end, the Government's priorities are to complete the third phase of EMU membership, which it has achieved; to consolidate public finances and fiscal reform; to reform the system of social development and protection; and to close the income gap with the rest of the European Union. One of the key components of this strategy is to boost training; currently, about 50 per cent of government expenditure on employment promotion is in the form of training.

3. For its part, the Central Union states that there has been a proliferation of involuntary self-employment, that only 15.7 per cent of formal sector workers have permanent contracts, and that youth have been particularly affected. Disparities between regions, ages, and sexes continue, and long-term unemployment remains a problem. The Central Union believes that the pending comments of the Committee of Experts on the level of unemployment remain valid, as it considers that the decrease in unemployment is due to fluctuations in the business cycle rather than the Government's policies. The Committee notes this information and requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of how the measures adopted for attaining the employment objectives are determined and reviewed regularly, within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy and in consultation with the social partners, in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Central Union also emphasizes that there is a great need for evaluations of the Government's policies and programmes, as such evaluations do not exist. The Committee again requests the Government to provide copies of any assessments of existing programmes, particularly concerning youth and long-term unemployment.