Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Unemployment Convention, 1919 (No. 2) - Guyana (Ratification: 1966)

Articles 1–3 of the Convention. Measures to combat unemployment. Employment agencies. Unemployment insurance. The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period 2014–15, received in September 2017. The Committee notes that there have been no steps towards the communication of all available information to the ILO in satisfaction of the timescale stated in Article 1. However, the Government indicates that the relevant data is being compiled on a monthly basis by the Central Recruitment and Manpower Agency (CRMA). The Government indicates that the basic operating procedures of the CRMA include: establishing a database on vacancies by category in both the public and private sectors; registering the employment preferences of jobseekers; referring jobseekers to potential employers in accordance with such preferences; and monitoring retention and attrition rates through visits to employers. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that during the 2014–15 period, the CRMA registered 3,433 unemployed persons. It received 3,205 vacancy notices, referred 3,746 jobseekers to fill vacant positions, with 3,097 jobseekers being placed into suitable jobs. The Government adds that the CRMA carried out 768 visits to employers and prospective employers during this period. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there is no known and registered private employment agency operating in Guyana. With regard to the National Training Programme for Youth Empowerment (NTPYE), the Government indicates that 1,170 persons graduated from the programme in 2015, but that a survey has yet to be carried out to determine the number of graduates employed following their graduation. The Government reports that there is no system of unemployment insurance in the country. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated statistics relating to trends in unemployment, disaggregated by sex and age, as well as detailed information on the impact of the measures adopted to reduce unemployment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide data on the number of applications for employment received, the number of vacancies notified and the number of persons placed in employment by the CRMA (Article 1 of the Convention). It would also welcome receiving data on the number of NTYPE graduates who obtained employment following their participation in the programme, disaggregated by sex, age and type of training. Referring to the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, the Committee once again invites the Government and the social partners to consider the possibility of ratifying one or more of these more recent instruments concerning matters covered by the Convention: the Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88), the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), and the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181). The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to establish a system of insurance against unemployment (Article 3).