Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2004, published 93rd ILC session (2005)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

1. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its first report covering the period June 1992-July 2003. It recalls that each of the entities constituting Bosnia and Herzegovina, namely the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBH) and the Republika Srpska (RS), is autonomous with regard to labour and employment issues. It understands that employment agencies are organized at the level of entities and cantons in the FBH, while the RS Employment Agency is a centralized institution with six regional offices and a number of municipal offices. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report the number of public employment offices established, the number of applications for employment received, the number of vacancies notified and the number of persons placed in employment by the Agency for Employment and Placement of Bosnia and Herzegovina and by the employment agencies operating in the FBH and in the RS. Please indicate whether the network of employment offices is sufficient to serve employers and workers in each area of the country (Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention and Part IV of the report form).

2. Cooperation with the social partners. The Government states in its report that the employment services organized at the level of the constituent entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina cooperate with the organizations of workers and employers through the participation of their representatives who participate in the administrative bodies of these services. In the comments forwarded with the Government’s report, the Association of Employers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina observes that the organization of employers does not participate in the administrative bodies of the employment service. The employer’s organization recalls that the Steering Board of the Employment Board was appointed in accordance with the acts of 1990 and that the economy was State-controlled at that time. The chambers of commerce were represented on the Steering Board, but not freely elected representatives of employers. The Committee requests the respective authorities to provide information on the arrangements made through advisory committees for the cooperation of employer and worker representatives in the organization and operation of the employment services and in the development of employment service policy. It asks them to indicate the number of advisory committees established at the level of each entity and the procedure adopted for the appointment of employer and worker representatives (Articles 5 and 6).

3. Activities performed by the employment service. Please indicate the manner in which the employment service is organized and the activities that it performs at the level of each entity in order to carry out effectively the functions enumerated in Articles 6 and 7 of the Convention.

4. Special arrangements for young workers. Taking into account the large proportion of young workers engaged in the informal economy, the Committee would be grateful to receive information on any special arrangements initiated and developed within the framework of the employment and vocational guidance services for young persons.

5. Status and conditions of service of the staff of the employment service. Please provide information on the status, conditions of service, methods of recruitment and selection, and training of the staff of the employment service, as required by Article 9 of the Convention.

6. Please indicate whether measures have been taken, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to encourage the full use of employment service facilities by employers and workers on a voluntary basis (Article 10).

7. Measures to secure cooperation with private employment agencies. Please indicate whether private employment agencies operate in the country and, if so, the measures adopted or envisaged to secure effective cooperation between the public employment service and such private agencies (Article 11).