Demande directe (CEACR) - adoptée 2009, publiée 99ème session CIT (2010)

Granting of paid educational leave to all workers. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in September 2009 in reply to its 2004 observation. In its previous comments, the Committee had asked the Government to provide information on the measures taken, within the framework of a national policy on paid educational leave for workers in all sectors of the economy, to contribute, in association with employers’ and workers’ organizations and institutions, to the achievement of the objectives set out in Article 3 of the Convention, as well as on their coordination with the general policies enumerated in Article 4. In its report, the Government refers to the adoption of the National Employment Policy 2008, which sets out objectives in the area of human capital development, such as enhancing skills and competencies for workers in the formal and informal sector, and safeguarding the basic rights and interests of workers in accordance with international labour standards. The Government indicates that, in practice, paid educational leave is granted to all workers. In particular, it refers to public service workers who are afforded long- and short-term training to enhance their competence, performance and accountability in the context of the implementation of the Public Service Reform Programme – Phase II (2008–12). The Committee invites the Government to supply information in its next report on the measures taken within the framework of the National Employment Policy to contribute to the attainment of the objectives set out in Article 3 of the Convention, with specific reference to the coordination of those measures with the general policies concerning education and training and working hours (Article 4). Please also provide any reports, studies, surveys or statistical data allowing the Committee to assess the extent to which the Convention is applied in practice (Part V of the report form).

Article 8. Equal access to paid educational leave. With reference to previous comments, the Government confirms that paragraph 1.2 of section I of the Parastatal Service Regulations, First Edition, 1984, governing the terms and conditions applicable to attendance at in-service courses or higher education in East Africa, which required recommendation by the ruling party, is no longer applied in practice. Since the establishment of the multiparty system in 1992, efforts have been made to improve the education system and to provide training applicants with a wide range of choices. The Committee notes that pursuant to the Employment and Labour Relations Act No. 8 of 2004, the prohibition of discrimination against employees on various grounds, including political opinion, is also applicable to all aspects of training.