Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Montenegro (Ratification: 2006)

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention received in September 2008. The Government refers to section 26 of the Law on Employment which enumerates some active employment policy measures. According to the report, as well as the data of the Labour Force Survey carried out by the National Statistical Institute, in 2008, the employment rate was 50.7 per cent whereas the unemployment rate reached 16 per cent of the active population. The Committee notes that the National Strategy for Employment and Human Resource Development 2007–11 (National Strategy), as well as the National Action Plan for Employment 2008–09 (NAPE), included recommendations set out by the ILO and the Council of Europe in the Country Review of Employment Policy on Montenegro prepared in 2007. The National Strategy encompasses the following objectives: (i) stimulating employment growth and counteracting unemployment, especially among young workers and long-term unemployed; (ii) adjusting the education system to address labour market needs and promoting lifelong learning; (iii) strengthening social cohesion by promoting employment of women; and (iv) fighting poverty and preventing social exclusion through active labour market policies targeted to vulnerable workers. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the impact of the measures taken under the National Strategy and the NAPE in terms of employment generation.

2. Promotion of employment and vulnerable groups. The Committee notes that in 2008 only 43.8 per cent of working age women were economically active. The National Strategy also envisages measures aimed at reducing the rate of youth unemployment, which was 25.8 per cent in 2008, including the further development and improvement in the quality of professional orientation services, the strengthening of cooperation with employers in the area of job-brokering and career choice services, and the introduction of new active labour market policies providing opportunities to acquire practical training and work experience in enterprises to young workers. The National Strategy also emphasizes the need to improve access to active employment policy measures by workers belonging to ethnic groups present in the country (Roma, Ashkaelia and Egyptians). Furthermore, the Government indicates that a new legislation on persons with disabilities is envisaged to promote their employment. The Committee asks the Government to supply information in its next report on the impact of measures designed to encourage and support employment levels of vulnerable categories of workers. Please also provide relevant statistics on the employment situation of vulnerable groups, disaggregated by age and sex, as well as other data on the situation, level and terms of employment.

3. Article 2. Collection and use of employment data. The Committee invites the Government to report on measures taken to gather statistics concerning the size and distribution of the labour force, the nature and extent of unemployment and underemployment and trends thereof. The Committee also requests information on how such data is used in the Government’s employment policy-making process.

4. Article 3. Participation of social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Government indicates in its report that representatives of all the departments, along with employers and trade union representatives, are consulted during the adoption of employment policies. The Committee further notes that the National Strategy also refers to the adoption of Law No. 16 of 2007 on the Social Council. The Committee stresses the importance of the tripartite consultations required by the Convention to generate productive employment. It asks the Government to report in detail on the consultations held with the representatives of the social partners and the progress achieved regarding the requirement for consultation on the matters covered by the Convention, as established in Article 3.