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

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Measures to promote employment. The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending May 2011 in reply to its 2010 observation. It also notes the comments submitted by the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (CDTU) in September 2011. The Government indicates that at the end of 2010, the registered unemployment rate stood at 0.7 per cent of the total economically active population. The priority objectives of the State Employment Promotion Programme for 2009–10 were enhancing the efficient use and improving the quality of labour resources, promoting the employment of unemployed persons and vulnerable categories of workers, encouraging job creation, stimulating self-employment, reducing the imbalance between demand and supply of the labour force, and providing social protection to persons who have temporarily lost their jobs. As a result of the implementation of the State Employment Promotion Programme for 2009–10, 204,100 persons, including 135,600 unemployed persons, were assisted for placement in permanent jobs and 181,800 persons were placed in newly created jobs. As of the first half of 2011, 4,663,000 persons were employed. The CDTU indicates that almost 90 per cent of workers in Belarus are employed under fixed term contracts. It reiterates that the existing legal framework, by extending the possibility of concluding fixed-term contracts, hinders the workers’ right to free choice of employment and is contrary to the Convention. The Committee notes that Decree No. 164 of 31 March 2010 was adopted, which establishes that the employer is entitled to conclude an employment contract for an indefinite term with an employee who has not violated the labour discipline and who has worked for the employer for no less than five years. In the CDTU’s view, Decree No. 164 does not solve the problem of short-term contracts in the country. After five years that a worker has been employed, the applicable national legislation does not envisage the automatic transformation of her/his short-term contract into a contract of indefinite duration. This means that the employer may either decide to conclude a contract of indefinite duration, or to sign a new contract with the worker, or also to dismiss her/him. Referring to its previous comments on Convention No. 122, the Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report information on the measures adopted to generate decent jobs with adequate protection, specifying how it has been possible to satisfy the employment needs of the workers whose fixed-term employment contract has ended. It also invites the Government to include in its next report an evaluation of the effectiveness and relevance of the employment policies and measures implemented in terms of the promotion of full and productive employment for the unemployed and other categories of vulnerable workers.

Equitable regional development. The Government indicates that the State Employment Promotion Programme for 2009–10 included measures to promote employment in 25 small towns affected by higher levels of unemployment. In 2010, as a result of the Programme implementation, 54,200 persons were placed in permanent jobs, including 34,900 unemployed persons; 31,300 persons were placed in newly created jobs, of which 1,600 in subsidized jobs. As of January 2011, the number of unemployed persons in small towns decreased by 18 per cent, i.e. by 1,366 persons, and the number of vacancies increased by 37.7 per cent. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to address high levels of unemployment in small and medium-sized towns, as well as the results of such measures.

Vulnerable categories of workers. The Government indicates that in 2010 the local executive and governing authorities reserved a total of 25,600 jobs for vulnerable categories of workers, which included 1,900 persons with disabilities, 6,100 young persons and 2,600 persons released from correctional institutions. As a result of the implementation of the State Employment Promotion Programme for 2009–10, 21,800 persons who were unable to compete on equal terms in the labour market were placed in permanent jobs; 1,700 persons (more than 50 per cent of which were women) were placed in temporary jobs under the Youth Work Experience Programme; 2,400 persons with disabilities were placed in jobs; 10,700 women, 16,500 young persons and 482 persons with disabilities participated in vocational training, retraining and upgrading courses. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the active measures adopted to promote employment for vulnerable categories of workers, as well as on the impact of these measures.

Education and vocational training policies. The Government indicates that the State Programme for the Development of Vocational and Technical, Secondary and Higher Education for 2011–15 was adopted, which defines the estimated figures for the vocational training of the regular workforce up to 2016. The Committee notes the Government’s information on new professions, occupational profiles and specializations introduced at the levels of higher education, technical vocational education and retraining. The Government indicates that the Decision of the Council of Ministers No. 954 of 15 July 2011 approved, inter alia, the regulations on lifelong professional education of managers and specialists, lifelong vocational training of workers, and training courses of extended duration for adults. The Committee requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken in the framework of education and training policies and on their impact on the employability and competitiveness of the labour force, as well as the involvement of the social partners in this process.

Article 3. Participation of social partners. The Government indicates that, following the decision of the tripartite National Council on Labour and Social Issues (NCLSI), the General Agreement for 2011–13 was elaborated by the Government, the national employers’ organizations and the trade unions. A tripartite working group was established for this purpose, which was composed, inter alia, of the representatives of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FPB) and the CDTU. The General Agreement was signed on 30 December 2010. In its section dedicated to the development of the labour market and employment promotion, the Agreement emphasizes the need to continue to create jobs and to prioritize active labour market measures, especially for the most vulnerable categories of workers. The Committee invites the Government to provide information in its next report on how consultations with the social partners have been used in the formulation and implementation of the employment policy.