Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Azerbaijan (Ratification: 1992)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes that the Government provides in its report employment data indicating that there were 4,521,200 workers in 2013, out of which 37.1 per cent were employed in agriculture. The country’s workforce was measured at 4,793,800 as at 1 July 2014, of which 4,556,500 were employed in various sectors of the country’s economy. According to the State Statistics Committee, unemployment was measured at 5.6 per cent in 2010, 5.2 per cent in 2012, and 5 per cent at the end of 2013 through 1 July 2014. With respect to employment services, of the 46,667 persons who applied to the State Employment Service in 2013, 29,930 were placed in employment and 4,329 attended vocational training courses. In the first half of 2014, of the 23,804 persons who applied to the State Employment Service, 13,742 were placed in employment and 1,782 attended vocational training courses. The Government indicates that facilitating the employment of young persons and upgrading the level of training to adapt it to the country’s current needs for a young, flexible and competitive workforce constitute one of the pillars of employment policy. The Government states that youth unemployment is an urgent problem for both the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the European Union, adding that employers are frequently unwilling to wait until new graduates obtain the experience to attain the required level of qualification and prefer to hire specialized workers whose skills and capabilities have been tried. The Committee notes that, in 2013, youth unemployment was measured at 9.9 per cent for young people in the 15–29 age group and 13.5 per cent for the 15–24 age group. It further notes the programmes developed to promote employment opportunities for young people, such as Azerbaijani Youth 2011–15. Moreover, a pilot project supporting the employment of young labour market entrants with a higher education background is currently implemented in cooperation with the ILO. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of an active employment policy, including the specific employment measures targeting young people, and on their results. Please also continue to provide statistical data on the situation and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment.

Vulnerable workers. The Government indicates that, out of the 525 persons with disabilities that applied to the State Employment Service in 2013, 243 were provided with employment and 105 were provided with vocational training. In the first half of 2014, 332 persons with disabilities applied to the employment service and 141 were placed in employment and 80 were provided with vocational training. The Committee notes the information on job placements provided with regard to refugees and the employment services provided to forcibly displaced persons. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide details of the policies and programmes established for the integration of vulnerable workers in the open labour market and on their impact in terms of creating productive and lasting employment opportunities.

Article 2. Compilation and use of employment data. The Government indicates that the creation of a national system of information on the labour market and employment is in progress. It also reports on the progress made in regards to the project implemented in cooperation with the World Bank to install a computer network linking the regional offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to ensure information exchange and data uploads to the central system of the Ministry. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the progress made with respect to the creation of the national system of labour market and employment information, and on the manner in which employment data is compiled and used for deciding on and reviewing employment policy measures.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates that cooperation with the social partners is pivotal to full and effective employment and strengthening the social partnership principles is a priority of the state programme for the employment strategy implementation 2011–15. It further indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has prepared and presented to the competent bodies for consideration a request on the creation and operation of a tripartite committee on social and economic issues which would report to the Cabinet of Ministers. The Committee notes the General Collective Agreement 2014–15 adopted by the Government, the National Confederation of Employers’ Organizations of Azerbaijan and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the manner in which the representatives of the social partners are consulted in relation to the formulation and implementation of employment policies. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to hold consultations with the most vulnerable categories of the population, in particular with the representatives of workers in rural areas and in the informal economy, with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views when developing employment policy programmes and measures.