Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Czechia (Ratification: 1993)

The Committee notes the observations of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS), incorporated into the Government’s report.

Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. The Committee welcomes the detailed information provided by the Government on the organization, structure and functioning of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, as well as on the number of job placements made by the employment service during the reporting period. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Labour Office includes the General Directorate, 14 regional offices and the office for the capital city of Prague. The regional offices carry out employment service tasks attributed to them under the Employment Act, which include consistent monitoring and evaluation of the labour market situation in their respective regions, adopting measures to influence labour supply and demand, and coordinating the implementation of active labour market policy measures. These measures include the provision to employers of financial support for jobs, focused particularly on disadvantaged jobseekers. This group includes the long-term unemployed, young people, older persons and persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that of the 527 labour offices, 231 offices provided employment services in 2014. In this regard, the Committee notes that, in June 2014, the Government increased the number of Labour Office employees by 600, in a first wave of personnel reinforcement. In April 2015, the Government added another 300 employees to the Labour Office staff. The Committee recalls that, in its previous observations, ČMKOS expressed concern that changes to the organizational structure and management of labour offices in the country had negatively affected the public employment services in terms of scope and quality. In its most recent observations, ČMKOS considers it important to include information on practice based on the restrictive reforms in the area of labour and social affairs made in previous years, which have had a negative impact on families with children, elderly people and their families. In response, the Government indicates that it is working within the framework of social dialogue on the continual development of the economic and social rights of workers, to strengthen rights that might have been weakened based on past decisions. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact and effectiveness of the activities of the Labour Office, in particular following the changes made to the organization of the employment service. It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of public employment offices established, the number of employment applications received, the number of vacancies notified and the number of persons placed in employment by these offices.

Articles 4 and 5. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ representatives. The Government indicates that the social partners are involved in consultations regarding the development of services and employment policy within plenary meetings and meetings of working teams of the Council of Economic and Social Agreement, the supreme tripartite national body. The Committee further notes from the report that Advisory Boards, composed of the representatives of major entities and institutions having an influence in the area of employment and the labour market, ensure cooperation on the labour market between the Labour Office, employers’ and workers’ organizations, cooperative bodies, metropolitan and municipal authorities and other actors. The Advisory Boards make proposals and recommendations in relation to the active labour market policy, the provision of employment services, support for the creation of new jobs, and evaluate the overall labour market situation. The Committee requests the Government to provide further details of the outcome of the consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations, including within the Council of Economic and Social Agreement and the Advisory Boards, concerning the organization and operation of the employment service and in the development and implementation of employment service policy at national and regional levels.

Article 8. Special arrangements for young persons. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government describes the principal measures taken to meet the employment needs of young persons, including the Youth Guarantee Programme, the key programme addressing unemployment and inactivity of young persons under 25. The programme aims to lower the unemployment rate of young people aged from 15 to 24 years to 12.3 per cent and reduce the unemployment rate of those with low qualifications to 18.8 per cent by 2020. Moreover, under the programme, the Government guarantees that every young person under the age of 25 will receive a high-quality job offer, further education, professional training and/or an apprenticeship within four months after becoming unemployed, completing formal education, or dropping out of the formal education system. The Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan is the basic document implementing measures to support the employment of young people. The Labour Office, its regional branches and contact points are the main organizers of the Youth Guarantee Programme, and cooperate with labour market actors at the regional and local levels, including employers, schools and educational facilities, regional authorities and other actors. In the context of the Youth Guarantee, the Committee welcomes the assessment of the European Commission in 2016 that, while the unemployment rate for youth (15–24) has fallen within the last two years, reaching 12.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2015; however, large differences between educational groups remain. On this basis, the Commission noted that the outreach capacities of the public employment services would be crucial to increase the labour market participation of vulnerable groups, particularly for Roma and the young unemployed. The Government indicates that the educational system should provide students with qualifications that correspond to labour market requirements, particularly in specializations that have the potential to generate further job opportunities and further development. The Government seeks to support activities facilitating the transition from the education system to the labour market, such as internships, as well as activities to identify future qualification requirements. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the employment and other measures taken, including the Youth Guarantee, to facilitate the transition of young persons into the labour market and promote full, inclusive and productive employment for youth, particularly those belonging to vulnerable groups, including those from the Roma community, youth with disabilities and low-skilled youth.