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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Croatia (Ratification: 1991)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Employment trends and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the replies provided in the Government’s report received in December 2011 to the points raised in the 2010 direct request. The Government indicates that in the last years, there was a drop in employment and an increase in unemployment rates. Between 2009 and 2010, the employment policy measures have been implemented under circumstances characterized by substantially reduced fiscal revenues and a growing expenditure on the account of passive labour market measures. The expenditure for unemployment benefits rose by 53 per cent in 2009 and by a further increase of 19.4 per cent in 2010. The Government further indicates that the National Employment Promotion Plan 2009–10 covered 13,088 registered unemployed persons, 49.4 per cent of which were women. Of the 13,088 persons covered, 2,139 were employed on the basis of employment subsidy schemes, 284 started their own businesses, and 5,037 were employed in the public works programme. In 2010, 767 young persons were covered by the scheme for subsidizing employment for youth with no work experience. The employment subsidies for the long-term unemployed and for persons over 50 years of age benefited 940 and 305 persons, respectively. The Government reports that the number of persons covered was low as the ratio between the number of beneficiaries of these measures and the average number of registered unemployed persons in 2010 was only 4.3 per cent. The impact of employment measures on mitigating the growth of regional unemployment imbalances was not sizeable. The Government indicates that the National Employment Promotion Plan 2011–12 was adopted in March 2011. It further indicates that the Croatian Employment Service has established an electronic recording and statistical monitoring system for evaluating these measures. The Committee notes that according to the Croatian Bureau of Statistics, in 2010 the labour force participation rate in Croatia was as low as 46.6 per cent (1,747,000 persons) and the employment rate stood at 41.1 per cent (1,541,000 persons). In the same year, registered unemployment stood at 11.8 per cent (206,000 persons). The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the impact of the measures implemented in the framework of the National Employment Promotion Plan 2011–12. It also requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the impact of the employment promotion measures targeting vulnerable categories of workers, including women, young persons, older workers and the long-term unemployed.

Education and training policies. The Government indicates that the focus should be on providing training to the unemployed. Labour market training is aimed at improving the employability of unemployed persons, especially vulnerable categories of workers such as the long-term unemployed with lower education levels, school drop-outs and low-skilled women. The Government reports that in the framework of the National Employment Promotion Plan 2009–10, 614 persons underwent subsidized on-the-job training, and 4,566 persons were included in labour market training. The Committee invites the Government to provide further information in its next report on measures taken to coordinate education and training measures with employment policy, as well as the involvement of the social partners in this process.

Business development. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government planned to implement various measures targeting business development in the 2008–11 period. Measures for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were to be implemented after the adoption of the Government Programme for the Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises 2008–12. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the effectiveness of measures implemented to support the establishment of SMEs and their impact in terms of establishing a conducive business environment and stimulating sustainable employment creation. It also invites the Government to include information concerning the policy approaches used by the Government to improve the success rate of young entrepreneurs and to involve the social partners in informing small businesses of key labour market concerns and opportunities.

Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Committee notes the Government’s information on the functioning of private employment agencies acting as intermediaries. These agencies are obliged to supply to the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship data recorded on employers and jobseekers. In 2010, a total of 323 employers in Croatia and 30 employers settled abroad used the services of private employment agencies to seek workers. Some 700 workers were hired through these agencies, of which 447 in Croatia and 253 abroad. The Committee refers to its 2010 direct request and invites the Government to provide information in its next report on measures taken to encourage the collaboration between the public employment service and private employment agencies, as well as on other measures taken to build institutions necessary for the realization of full employment.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and implementation of policies. The Government indicates that social partners participated at the national and regional levels in the preparation, implementation and monitoring of the results of the National Employment Promotion Plan 2009–10. Social partners are also members of the Commission for monitoring the Joint Assessment of the Employment Policy Priorities of the Republic of Croatia (JAP) in the framework of the EU Pre-accession Strategy. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report more detailed information on how consultations with the social partners and with other stakeholders have been used in practical terms in the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of employment policies and programmes.