Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Georgia (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy in coordination with poverty reduction. The Committee notes the Government’s report received in September 2011 including information in reply to its previous direct request. The Government indicates that generating sustainable employment growth and alleviating poverty fall into its main priorities. According to the National Statistics Office of Georgia, the unemployment is still high but has decreased slightly over the last year dropping from 16.9 per cent in 2009 to 16.3 per cent in 2010, which amounts to a total of 316,000 unemployed persons. The share of the population below the poverty line increased from 8.4 in 2008 to 9.9 in 2009 and remained stable in 2010. The Government further asserts that special employment programmes were carried out by municipalities across the country, including the capital Tbilisi, in order to enhance employment. Several activities were hence conducted, including registration of jobseekers in a comprehensive and regularly updated database as well as consultation with businesses and stakeholders so as to reduce mismatches between supply and demand for jobs. About 50,000 jobseekers are currently registered, 500 of whom were employed as a result. The USAID programme 2008–11 also trained more than 5,500 persons in 2011, 67 per cent of whom were subsequently employed. Additionally, the Government reports the launching of the United Nations Development Assistance Framework 2011–15 (UNDAF), which aims at reducing poverty by creating employment and income generation opportunities. The Committee requests the Government to include in its next report further information on measures taken to implement an active employment policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment as well as disaggregated statistics on the nature and trends of employment. Please also indicate the outcomes of the UNDAF in terms of both employment generation and poverty alleviation.

Vocational training and education. The Government indicates that research carried out by the World Bank in 2008 showed that an unqualified workforce was the main factor of unemployment. A survey published in 2011 also revealed that education is deemed the most important reform to be conducted by the country. Accordingly, reforms in general and higher education were made so as to develop it, such as introducing a teacher qualification examination and investing substantial funds in school infrastructures. As for vocational education, several projects were implemented in collaboration between state institutions, private sector and international partners. The project “support for the vocational education and training sector of Georgia” was implemented in collaboration with the European Union. It is intended to enhance the vocational and training system (VET) in accordance with priorities set in the national VET strategy 2009–12 approved by the Government in 2009, with a view to creating a new vocational education system that would be compatible with European educational standards. The Committee observes that several reforms were consequently undertaken, the latest of which was conducted in September 2010 and led to the modernization of professional education centres. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the results of the reforms undertaken as well as an evaluation of the impact of the VET strategy in terms of fostering both vocational training and education.

Particular categories of workers. The Government states that the rate of women admitted into higher educational institutions has been increasing steadily over the years and reached 59 per cent in 2010; even in the technical fields where men are traditionally more represented, the number of women admitted also increased significantly. The Committee notes that 62 per cent of total state grants were provided to women in 2010, and that the law on gender equality was also enacted in 2010 with a view to developing a comprehensive framework for gender equality. The Committee further notes that in order to ensure an effective education for the most vulnerable part of the population, 10 per cent of state education grants are annually allocated to students affiliated to vulnerable groups such as those from a poor social background, migrants and persons with disabilities. The Parliament also approved legal amendments aimed at encouraging minorities to attend higher education by offering them preferable conditions. The Committee invites the Government to provide further information on the steps taken to encourage and support the employment level of particular groups of workers such as women, young persons and workers with disabilities, as well as an evaluation of the results thereof obtained.

Regional development. The Government refers to the creation in 2009 of the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, which is responsible for implementing the regional development policy as well the local self-government reform in Georgia. The Committee notes the adoption of a comprehensive strategy on regional development for Georgia for 2011–17 in collaboration with the European Union, within the scope of the regional development sector policy support programme. The strategy aims to define the vision and the way for the optimal exploitation of development potential of the regions in Georgia by, inter alia, developing a mechanism for the efficient management of the infrastructure systems responsible for providing various public services, improving professional development of the human resources employed in the municipal development sphere and infrastructure systems management and developing regional environmental policy to support sustainable employment in the regions. The Committee further notes the different projects that were set up within the framework of both the Economic Stimulus Package and the Joint Need Assessment (JNA), which led to the construction of roads, schools, water supply infrastructures and houses through employment intensive work. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on the employment outcomes of the comprehensive strategy on regional development of Georgia as well as on the projects implemented within the framework of the Economic Stimulus Package together with the JNA to promote employment in rural areas. Please also indicate the results of the activities conducted by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure in terms of enhancing both regional and local development and employment.

Collection and analysis of statistics. The Committee notes that the data collected by the Statistical Office (Saqstat) are thoroughly used in order to formulate the Government’s employment policy. Accordingly, the Parliament adopted a law on official statistics in 2009 pursuant to which the Saqstat became an independent legal entity of public law that seeks to coordinate the statistical work carried out by its regional offices and other governmental agencies. According to the new law, the Saqstat is to receive all statistical data from administration authorities and the citizens are now constrained to participate in the Census. The Committee wishes to continue to receive information on the progress made to obtain accurate labour market data and how it is being used to formulate and review employment policies.

Participation of the social partners. The Government recalls that, in 2009, a tripartite roundtable was held in Tbilisi between the ILO delegation, representatives of the Government, the Georgian Trade Union Confederation (GTUC) and the Georgian Employers Association (GEA) that led to the creation of a Tripartite Social Partnership Commission. Its statute was adopted in 2010 with a view to allowing the social partners to share their views on labour and social issues, notably concerning employment policies. The Committee also notes that the social partners were actively involved in the formulation of the vocational development strategy since seven social partnership thematic groups were set up in 2010 in order to prepare proposals on the strategy. The Committee further observes that a secretariat of the Tripartite Commission was also established to support effective cooperation between social partners in the sphere of labour issues and employment policies. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the consultation of the social partners in the Government employment policy-making process within the framework of the Tripartite Social Partnership Commission.