montage n° 4 - Ministère de l'énergie et des mines

Reforms REFORMSAdoption of the bill on promoting employmentAttracting investments to the HautsPlateaux and the SouthThe deputies of the National Popular Assembly (APN) have adopted, with amajority, a bill on promoting employment during a plenary session presidedover by Mr Mohamed Kenaïm, vice-president of the APN. The Minister ofEmployment and Social Security, Mr Tayeb Louh, presented this bill to theNational Popular Assembly on 21 June this year, it recalls.Energie & Mines44The Minister of Employment andSocial Security, Mr Tayeb Louh,confirmed that the law creatingencouragement measures for supportingand promoting employmenttargets the adoption of financialapproaches in terms of fightingagainst unemployment. Reviewing theobjectives of this law, the Ministerexplained that it particularly aims to“fight against the phenomenon ofnon-declaration of workers to theSocial Security authorities”.The bill adopted by the deputies of theAPN, he emphasised “also aims toencourage the national investments,to attract foreign investments, particularlyto the regions of the HautsPlateaux and the South and encourageemployers to upgrade their humanresources through training and,hence, preserving their jobs".The new law sets out other objectives:“better control of the job market,through recording job applications atthe employment agencies, in view ofbenefiting from the advantagescontained in this text”, statedMr Louh.The bill in question also attempts to"deal with the concerns of employersmainly consisting of relieving thesocial costs to reduce the cost of creatingnew jobs”.In this context, Mr Louh recalled thatthe fight against unemployment is oneof the main concerns, both for thegovernments and the social partnersand "for certain international organisationssuch as the InternationalLabour Organisation (ILO), theUnited Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP), but also for theNovember 2006African Union (AU), within the frameworkof the New partnership forAfrica's development (Nepad)"."Analysts agree on saying that unemploymentis one of the main challengesfacing companies, particularlyArab ones, given that 60% of the Arabpopulation is under the age of 25”,confirmed the Minister."Among the essential stages plannedin the world employment campaign,we should note the UN's recommendationon putting in place nationalprogrammes to take up the challengeof employing youths" recalled MrLouh. With regards employingyouths, the UN has set down fourpriorities to be included in the nationalprogrammes for promoting theemployment of youths including "thequalification for employment thanksto investment in education and vocationallearning” and “equal opportunitiesfor all youths in terms of integrationin the working world”, explainedthe head of the employment sector.The priorities include "the creation ofnew projects in favour of youths inview of facilitating and encouragingthe creation of jobs, so as to offeremployment opportunities”, specifiedthe Minister, adding that, startingwith these strategies, “several countries,including Africa, have put inplace a policy to promote employmentbased on several mechanisms, includingdirect support for employment”.Mr Louh : “The investmentsmade by the State have enabled2,400,000 jobs to be createdfrom 2001 and 2005”The Minister of Employment and Social Security, MrTayeb Louh, confirmed that the efforts made by the Statesince 2001 in terms of investments, through theEconomic Recovery Support Programme (PSRE) 2001-2004, have enabled 2,400,000 jobs to be created up tothe end of 2005. During a plenary session at theNational Popular Assembly (APN) dedicated to votingon the bill on encouragement measures aiming to supportand promote employment, the Minister explainedthat the efforts made by the State, within the frameworkof the Economic Recovery Support Programme 2001-2004, have concerned, as a priority, the constructionand public works, hydraulics and agricultural sectorswhich are large purveyors of jobs.Dealing with the Algerian experience, a "pioneer inAfrica", in terms of promoting and supporting employment,Mr Louh indicated that, in parallel to certainemployment schemes, “three new schemes have been putin place and provide assistance to the creation of jobsthrough the small companies and self-employment,almost 206,000 jobs up to the end of 2005”."These achievements, he said, have enabled the increasingannual demand to be absorbed in terms of employmentand the number of unemployed people to be reduced(thus falling from 2,611,000 in 2000, i.e. an unemploymentrate of 29.5%, to 1,475,000 unemployed in2005, which represents 15.3% of the working population".Mr Louh further emphasised that "the nationaleconomy's growth rate, which has steadily increasedsince 2000 with a peak of 6.9% in 2003, before stabilisingaround 5% in 2004 and 2005, incurs a return tosustainable growth”. The time has come, he pointed out“to make a qualitative revision of the employment strategyby a return to an economic approach for dealing withthe plague of unemployment, particularly throughencouraging investment and reducing the cost ofemployment”."This approach implies, he added, the implementation ofa sustainable employment policy adapted to the economicdemand in the production sector and responding tothe demand for employment".