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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Czechia (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Employment policy measures. The Committee notes that, since 2014, the situation in the labour market has been steadily improving. In 2013, the Government approved the 2014–20 Regional Development Strategy as an instrument for coordinating public policies with an impact on regional development, including the national employment policy (NEP). In light of the aim of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) to remove some persistent structural mismatches in the labour market, an analysis of supply and demand in the labour market was prepared and approved by the Government in 2016. The analysis included a set of measures to eliminate disproportions in the Czech labour market aimed, inter alia, at increasing the motivation of the workforce to enter employment. The Government indicates several Labour Law amendments implemented in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The Committee notes with interest a series of amendments aimed at promoting the employment of persons with disabilities, disadvantaged people or people at risk in the labour market through projects implemented, inter alia, by the Fund for Further Education. The Committee also notes that an active employment policy instrument was introduced in the form of a contribution while working under short-time working schemes (the so-called “kurzarbeit”) and that in 2017, there were adjustments in the field of employment facilitation by employment agencies programmes. Furthermore, in 2015, the Government introduced an attractive investment environment in the Czech Republic providing investment incentives to investors for the creation of new jobs and retraining or training of employees. The Government indicates that funds from the European Social Fund have been allocated to projects aiming to increase employment and employability of the workforce. Several projects implemented within the framework of the Operational Programme Human Resources and Employment (OP HRE) for the 2007–13 programming period were completed in 2015 and the final evaluation reports were approved in 2016. The OP HRE focused on reducing unemployment through an active job market policy and provision of professional training, promoting employment and workforce adaptability and mobility, integrating young people, socially excluded and disadvantaged people into the labour market, promoting gender equality in all aspects of employment, improving the quality of education and vocational training, and improving the quality of public administration and international cooperation in the mentioned areas. The implementation of projects under the Operational Programme Employment (OPE) for the 2014–20 programming period is gradually gaining momentum. In 2016, 6,866,805,000 Czech Republic koruna (CZK) was spent on the active employment policy (AEP) and 74,289 persons (job seekers, employees and self-employed persons) were supported. The most used instruments were socially beneficial jobs, retraining and community service. To assess the impact of the AEP measures and establish an ongoing monitoring system to gauge their effectiveness, the MoLSA has initiated the project “Evaluating the Efficiency and Effectiveness of the AEP Implementation”. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the impact and effectiveness of the AEP measures implemented on increasing employment and reducing unemployment, and specifically on the impact of the projects implemented under the OPE for 2014–20. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the evaluation of the AEP implementation.

Employment trends. The Committee takes note of the detailed labour market statistics provided by the Government for 2014–17. Following positive growth in economic development in 2014 and 2015, GDP growth dropped to 2.4 per cent in 2016, a slowdown related, inter alia, to a mismatch between supply and demand in the labour market due to the large increase in the number of reported job vacancies and the significant drop in the number of jobseekers. Between 2014 and 2016, there was an absolute increase in employment, due to growth in the tertiary and secondary education sectors. Employment growth accelerated to 1.9 per cent in 2016. The employment rate reached 58.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 according to the data provided by the Czech Statistical Office. Moreover, the general unemployment rate was 3 per cent in 2017. The increase in employment was mainly due to the increased participation of women. In 2016, the share of men in the labour force fell to 56 per cent, and the share of women increased to 44 per cent. The Committee notes with interest the decline in unemployment among groups of people who are at a disadvantage, including due to health status, age, lack of experience or insufficient education. With respect to young persons under 25, according to the ILOSTAT database, in 2016 the youth labour force participation rate was 32 per cent. However, the proportion of people aged 50 and above, people with disabilities or people with the lowest levels of education is increasing among the unemployed. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide statistical data concerning the size and distribution of the labour force, the nature and extent of employment, unemployment and underemployment.

Education and training policies and programmes. The Government indicates that the amended Education Act aims to improve cooperation between secondary vocational schools and employers to prepare students for the transition to work. In this context, the Government promotes the involvement of professionals in schools and provides incentives to employers to cooperate with schools by providing them tax relief when they demonstrably participate in cooperation agreements with schools to provide training. In line with new measures for the promotion of vocational training, the Government recommends ensuring a unified procedure for concluding a contractual relationship between an employer and a secondary school student or a student of a higher vocational school who is being prepared for work. The Government has also modified final examination requirements to allow a mandatory single final examination in certain fields where accompanied with a certificate of apprenticeship. The Government indicates that experimental verification of the multi-tiered education model and completion of education will take place from the school year 2016–17 until the school year 2022–23. The results of the experimental verification will be used to modify the framework of educational programmes in selected fields of education. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of education and training policies and programmes on the employment opportunities on workers, including young people.

Business development. The Government indicates that in the framework of the Operational Program Enterprise and Innovation 2007–13 (OPEI), a total of 41,470 jobs were created by the end of 2015, with the share of women standing at 30.8 per cent. Of those, 6,073 jobs were created in research and development. The Operational Program on Entrepreneurship and Innovation for Competitiveness 2014–20 is being implemented in the new programming period. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of business development measures on employment creation.

Article 3. Consultations with the social partners. The Government indicates that the focus of the active employment policy is regularly discussed on a tripartite basis. At the national level, from September 2011 to October 2014, the Plenary Session of the Council of Economic and Social Agreement met several times and discussed various employment-related issues. At the regional level, to ensure cooperation in the labour market, the Public Employment Service establishes advisory councils which meet at least twice a year and are composed primarily of representatives of trade unions, employers’ organizations, cooperative bodies, organizations of persons with disabilities, the Czech Chamber of Commerce and self-governing territorial units. The purpose of each of these advisory councils is to coordinate the implementation of the employment policy and human resource development in the respective administrative districts. Furthermore, the social partners are involved in the Labour Market Predictions project (KOMPAS), launched on 1 January 2017 to build a comprehensive system capable of predicting developments in the labour market in future years. The Committee requests the Government to continue to include information on the involvement of the social partners, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, which requires their views and experiences to be fully taken into account when designing and implementing an active employment policy and to include indications in its next report on the manner in which consultations held in the Council of Economic and Social Agreement and the advisory bodies have contributed to the implementation and coordination of an active employment policy.