Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Montenegro (Ratification: 2006)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee welcomes the detailed information, including statistics, provided by the Government in its report. In particular, the Committee notes the Government’s adoption in December 2015 of the new National Strategy for Employment and Human Resources Development (2016–20). The Government indicates that the new National Strategy is a direct continuation of the previous strategic framework for 2012–15, which focused on increasing employment, improving knowledge, skills and competencies, poverty reduction and promoting social inclusion. The Strategy placed special emphasis on the integration of long-term unemployed persons, unemployed youth and unemployed women, and on increasing self-employment and encouraging entrepreneurship, especially in underdeveloped areas of Montenegro. With respect to the National Strategy (2012–15), the Government states that the global economic crisis has had a significant negative impact on the country’s economy, affecting its ability to achieve the Strategy’s goals. The Government nevertheless indicates that the overall evaluation of the Strategy’s implementation is positive, noting that despite negative external shocks experienced due to the crisis, the employment rate for the age group between 15 and 64 increased from 47 per cent in 2012 to 50.4 per cent in 2014. In particular, the employment rate for women aged 15–64 increased from 41.6 per cent to 45.3 per cent during the same time period. The Committee notes that fiscal constraints due to the economic crisis resulted in a reduction in the funds available for the implementation of the Strategy through active labour market policies, which fell from €3.575 million in 2012 to €2.856 million in 2014. The Government states that, while recent economic growth has led to improvements in the labour market since 2014, the labour market is recovering more slowly than the overall economy. With respect to the unemployment rate, the Government indicates, that while the target of 15 per cent unemployment for persons aged 15–64 was not achieved, the unemployment rate declined from almost 20 per cent to 18.2 per cent from 2012 to 2014. Moreover, while the target of 28 per cent unemployment for young people (15–24 years) was not met, unemployment among this group fell by 3.5 percentage points compared to 2011. In addition, due to the difficult economic situation in the country, the target of reducing the percentage of persons in long-term unemployment to 55 per cent was not reached. Nonetheless, the Government indicates that the percentage of unemployed persons looking for work for more than one year declined from 79.6 per cent to 77.5 per cent in 2014. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information regarding the policies and measures to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment developed and implemented in the framework of the National Strategy for Employment and Human Resources Development (2016–20), and their links with other economic and social objectives. The Government is further requested to provide information, including statistical information, disaggregated by age and sex, on the size and distribution of the labour force, rates of employment, unemployment and under employment in all parts of the country.

Particular categories of workers. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that, as of 31 May 2016, there were 1,607 persons registered with the Montenegrin Employment Agency who identified themselves as members of the Roma and Egyptian population, of which 697 – 43.37 per cent – were women. The Government adds that 94.83 per cent of this population group lack professional qualifications. Accordingly, the Government has introduced active employment policy measures aimed at improving the employability of members of the Roma and Egyptian communities through targeted education and training programmes aimed at enabling them to qualify for a first job, as well as public works programmes, seasonal jobs and training for female hairdressers. The Government indicates that from 1 January to 31 May 2016, active employment policy programmes included 13 members of the Roma and Egyptian populations, of which seven were women, whereas 12 members – including six women – of this population group were engaged in seasonal employment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information, including statistical information, on the active employment policy measures taken or envisaged to increase the employability and the employment rate of members of the Roma and Egyptian communities in the country. In particular, the Committee requests the Government to communicate information on any measures taken to extend the reach of active employment programmes to benefit a greater number of persons from these communities.

Young persons. The Committee notes that, despite the implementation of targeted activities and programmes, youth employment remains a challenge, with high rates of unemployment among this age group. The Government indicates that, in 2015, the employment rate of young persons aged 15–24 was 18.8 per cent, constituting an increase of 1.9 percentage points as compared to 2014, whereas the unemployment rate remained stable from 2014 to 2015 at 37.6 per cent. To tackle the growth of unemployment among university students, the Government implemented two targeted measures: a program of professional training for young persons with higher education and a pilot program, “Young people are our potential, give them a chance”. In 2014 and 2015, the training programme provided higher education to a total of 3,458 young persons. The pilot programme, implemented in 2015 and 2016, was intended to mitigate the negative consequences of prolonged unemployment and included activities in less developed municipalities. The Committee also notes the 2015 study “From school to work”, conducted in cooperation with the ILO in the framework of the implementation of Decent Work Country Programme 2015–17, which aims to strengthen the capacity of the Statistical Office of Montenegro to obtain reliable data on young persons as a basis for recommendations to promote youth employment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the active employment policies and measures taken to improve the employability of young persons and their integration into the labour market, including policies and measures targeting young university graduates and young persons from less developed municipalities.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the country’s first Decent Work Country Programme (2015–17) was developed in close cooperation with the social partners and that plans for its implementation include special activities dedicated to improving the employment policy in Montenegro through tripartite collaboration. The Committee requests the Government to communicate information on the participation of the social partners in the development, implementation and monitoring of employment policies and programmes as well as on the nature and scope of tripartite consultations relevant to the provisions of the Convention.