Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1993, published 80th ILC session (1993)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Belarus (Ratification: 1968)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report and the appended texts of the Act of 30 May 1991 respecting the employment of the population and the Tripartite Agreement of 8 May 1992. The Government indicates that its employment policy is in the context of a transition towards a market economy, involving breaking off former economic ties. As a result of a drop in production and trade, the imbalance between labour supply and demand increased in the first half of 1992. Lay-offs in the public sector as a result of the economic reform are the main cause of the increase in unemployment which particularly affects secondary and higher education graduates and women (who account respectively for 73.9 per cent and 83.4 per cent of the unemployed).

2. The Committee notes with interest the basic principles of the employment policy set out in the Act of 30 May 1991. It notes in particular that the purpose of the policy is to ensure equal opportunity in employment and to guarantee the free choice of jobs, in accordance with the provisions of Article 1, paragraph 2(c), of the Convention. The Committee also notes that under the Act, employment measures must be coordinated with the other objectives of economic and social policy. In this connection, it would be grateful if the Government would indicate in its next report the manner in which account is taken of the objective of full, productive and freely chosen employment in the preparation and implementation of the reforms for the transition towards a market economy. Please indicate in particular how measures in the areas of prices, incomes, wages and foreign trade policies are coordinated with employment policy.

3. The Government indicates that a public employment service was established in July 1991 to assist in finding jobs for the unemployed and workers made redundant and to ensure that they receive social coverage. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information which is as detailed as possible on the number and nature of cases dealt with by the employment services. It points out that the standards on employment services (Convention No. 88 and Recommendation No. 83) contain precepts which could be useful in determining the measures to be taken to achieve "the best possible organization of the employment market as an integral part of a national programme for the achievement and maintenance of full employment and the development and use of productive resources". The Committee also hopes that the Government will be able to provide detailed statistics in its next report on the level and trends of employment, underemployment and unemployment, and the length of periods of unemployment, both for the country as a whole and by region, in the various sectors of economic activity and for the various categories of the population such as young people, women, older workers and the disabled. Please provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to collect and analyse relevant statistical data (Article 2 of the Convention).

4. The Committee notes with interest that the employment services are concentrating on measures for vocational guidance and retraining for the unemployed. It notes that the retraining, financed largely by the Employment Fund, enabled 50 per cent of the beneficiaries to find employment in the first half of 1992. Please continue to provide information on training activities for jobseekers and the results obtained in terms of the vocational integration of the persons concerned. The Committee appreciates the detailed information on the establishment of a comprehensive system of vocational training adapted to market economy conditions. It asks the Government in its future reports to provide information on the status of its projects in this area, taking account of the provisions of Convention No. 142 and the Committee's comments on the application of that Convention.

5. The Committee notes the principles of cooperation in the promotion of employment and the development of the labour market agreed upon by the Council of Ministers, the employers' associations and the Trade Union Federation, set out in the Agreement of 8 May 1992. It also notes that the Act of 30 May 1991 provides for the participation of trade unions and employers' associations in the preparation, implementation and monitoring of measures to ensure employment, in cooperation with the bodies of the state administration. However, the Committee observes that while section 11 of the above-mentioned Act entitles trade unions to participate in the formulation of employment policy and the relevant legislation, no similar entitlement is expressly established for employers' organizations. Moreover, the participation of employers' organizations in the regular consultations on employment problems is not provided for in the Act. The Committee, in this connection, recalls that under Article 3 of the Convention, representatives of the persons affected and in particular representatives of employers and workers must be consulted concerning employment policies "with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies". It would be grateful if in its next report the Government would describe the practical procedures for the consultation of the representatives of all persons affected.