Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Belgium (Ratification: 1969)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Labour market trends and active employment policy. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in reply to the points raised in its 2010 direct request. The data included in the report received in November 2011 show that the average number of unemployed jobseekers receiving benefits remained stable in 2009 and 2010, resulting in a slight decrease in the unemployed in 2011 (the national average was 463,945 unemployed in 2009, 469,629 unemployed in 2010 and, according to the available data, the number of unemployed was 435,723 in June 2011). The unemployment rate also fell slightly over the period under consideration (9.3 per cent in 2009 and 2010, falling to 7.6 per cent in June 2011). In the sectors affected by the recession, temporary unemployment measures for wage-earners contributed to preserving employment in around 43,300 permanent jobs (according to the OECD data provided by the Government). The Government refers to the reform of the unemployment benefit system intended to shorten waiting periods, the provision of more rapid support for jobseekers, the raising of the age (from 50 to 52 years) up to which jobseekers are subject to the follow-up procedure and a longer and more specific support procedure for jobseekers who are not immediately able to be integrated into the labour market. In the national reform programme submitted in April 2011, the Government identified the obstacles to the achievement of the employment objectives in the areas of labour costs, training and skills, the participation of certain target groups in the labour market and action to combat discrimination in employment. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report an analysis of its labour market policy objectives and the measures taken, based on the results achieved. It hopes that the report will contain indications of the measures intended to raise the employment level of persons aged over 55 years and an evaluation of the effect on employment of the reduction of elements influencing labour costs. Please indicate the manner in which the reforms of the unemployment benefit system have contributed effectively to promoting the return to work of jobseekers.

Youth employment. The Government refers in its report to the subsidies introduced at the federal level to reduce wage costs for employers of “very young workers” (young persons recruited before their 19th birthday), young unemployed persons under 26 years of age without a secondary education diploma and low-wage workers (from 19 to 29 years of age). Over 34,000 young persons are reported to have found employment as a result of this measure up to January 2011. According to the data available to the ILO, the unemployment rate of young persons rose to 22.4 per cent in 2010 (around 96,000 young persons were unemployed, including 53,000 men and 43,000 women), while around 103,000 young persons were affected by unemployment in August 2011, with a fall in the number of men to 50,000 and an increase to 49,000 in the number of unemployed women. The Committee invites the Government to provide updated information on the employment trends for youth, as well as an evaluation of the active policy measures implemented with a view to minimizing the impact of unemployment on young persons and promoting their lasting integration into the labour market.

Article 1(2). Labour market policies. The report contains an overview of the employment initiatives taken by the Flemish Government and replies to the questions raised in the previous direct request. The Flemish Government calls for the development of an integrated vision of the labour market based on the strengthening of labour market activation policy, a reinforcement of skills and the stimulation of labour demand. Further to its recovery plan (“rebuilding confidence”), adopted in November 2008, the Flemish Government, in collaboration with the social partners, adopted the Employment and Investment Plan (WIP) in 2010. The Committee notes the measures intended to develop centres of excellence in collaboration with training institutions and strategic sectors. The Committee also notes the detailed information contained in the contribution provided by the Walloon region on the various measures to intervene in the labour market. The Walloon government expresses its intention of improving the system of assistance measures for employment promotion which have resulted in the employment of some 54,665 persons and concerned around 5,300 employers (according to the data available in June 2010). The vocational transition programme contributed to the return to employment in 2010 of around 5,800 workers with 700 employers. Individual support for jobseekers and the strengthening of the effectiveness of the public employment and training service are among the priorities of the Walloon government to improve the employment situation. The Committee also notes the principal future opportunities and the possibilities for specific action proposed by the German-speaking community to modernize employment policy instruments. In dialogue with the social partners, the placement of jobseekers has been improved through a reform of the Employment Office. A plan of action has been developed to improve the harmonization of employment and training measures. The Committee invites the Government to include indications in its next report to enable it to examine the impact in terms of the lasting integration on the labour market of the target groups through the measures adopted by the regional authorities for medium and long-term jobseekers, youth and immigrant workers.

Education and training policy. The Committee notes that, under the terms of the National Reform Plan of April 2011, the objective of investing 1.9 per cent of the wage mass of enterprises in the training of workers was not achieved. In 2009, enterprises devoted 1.59 per cent of their wage mass to worker training. Only 6.8 per cent of workers participated in training during a four-week reference period. In its previous direct request, the Committee observed that the social partners had been invited to prepare an analysis of the further training system and to make recommendations on the subject. The Committee once again invites the Government to provide updated information on the measures adopted to coordinate education and training policies with employment, and on their impact in terms of the long-term integration into the labour market of the most vulnerable categories of workers.