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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Belarus (Ratification: 1968)

The Committee notes the observations of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) received on 31 August 2017. The BKDP expresses concern at the increase in precarious employment in recent years, adding that part-time employment is steadily increasing and that some workers are also forced to take leave without pay. The BKDP is also concerned that the revised version of the Employment Act, adopted in 2016, further distances the national legal framework from international labour standards and the requirements of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on legislative developments, including on the adoption of the Employment Act No. 409-Z of 18 July 2016. The Committee notes from the report that the 2016 Employment Act aims to expand the obligation placed on unemployed persons to find employment and strengthens penalties for violations of the employment legislation. The Government indicates that the 2016 Employment Act also halves unemployment benefits from 36 to 18 months to prevent welfare dependency. In its observations, the BKDP deplores the penalties provided for unemployed persons, considering that these are disproportionate. It adds that, out of a maximum unemployment benefit of 46 Belarus rubles (BYN), unemployment benefits averaged BYN21 in January 2017, an amount equivalent to 16 per cent of the minimum wage. With respect to the implementation of an active employment policy during the reporting period, the Government refers to the adoption and implementation of the Employment Promotion Subprogramme 1 of the State Programme on Social Protection and Employment Promotion for the 2016–20 period. This Programme aims to promote employment by stimulating economic restructuring, accelerating the transition of redundant workers into more promising economic sectors and addressing gaps between vocational education and labour market needs. With respect to the impact of the employment programme, the Government indicates that, in 2016, 159,800 persons, out of whom 109,000 were unemployed, obtained assistance in finding employment. In addition, 11,000 persons were referred to training programmes and 55,800 persons took part in paid community work. Financial assistance was also provided to 1,810 unemployed persons to enable them to start their own businesses in handicrafts and agritourism. The Government further indicates that the implementation of the employment programme resulted in a decline in the unemployment rate by 0.2 percentage points, from 1 per cent on 1 January 2016 to 0.8 per cent on 1 January 2017. In its observations, the BKDP indicates that the real unemployment rate in 2016 stood at 5.8 per cent of the economically active population, adding that only one in every six unemployed persons registered with the employment service authorities. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact and effectiveness of the measures adopted to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment. It also requests the Government to provide statistical information, disaggregated by age and sex, on the labour market situation and trends, including on employment, unemployment and underemployment.

Persons vulnerable to decent work deficits and exclusion. The Government highlights that the Employment Promotion Subprogramme 1 aims to increase labour market participation of the economically inactive population, including persons with disabilities, women with young children, and older persons. Based on the 2016 Employment Act, which provides additional guarantees to facilitate the employment of persons who are disadvantaged in accessing the labour market, the following hiring quotas were established: 20,181 jobs were earmarked in 2016, of which 2,071 were allocated to persons with disabilities, 3,923 to persons under the age of 21 in search of their first job, 3,526 to parents of large families and to single parents, and 1,397 to workers close to retirement age. The Committee notes that, of the 20,181 earmarked jobs, 7,023 were filled by unemployed persons in 2016. In the same year, the labour, employment and social protection authorities placed an additional 17,718 unemployed persons eligible for placement under the same hiring quotas. The Committee notes that 544 persons with disabilities obtained vocational training in 2016, with employers being reimbursed the cost of their salary as well as for the cost of purchasing special equipment, as needed. It also notes the various measures aimed at promoting youth employment, including the Youth Practical Work programme. With respect to the employment of women, the Committee notes the observations of the BKDP that, as workers are increasingly being transferred to short-term contracts leading to immediate “dismissal” after the contract’s expiration, women are particularly disadvantaged, making up more than half of such cases. The BKDP also highlights the issue of gender discrimination, noting that women are more vulnerable than men to being dismissed in case of redundancy. The BKDP observes that, while women make up 54 per cent of all workers, their average monthly wages are 74.5 per cent of men’s. It adds that almost 60 per cent of the registered unemployed are women. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by age and sex, on the impact of the employment measures targeting persons vulnerable to decent work deficits and exclusion, including young persons, older workers and persons with disabilities. It also requests the Government to provide information in reply to the observations of the BKDP concerning the precarious situation of women in the labour market.

Regional development. The Government indicates that a series of measures is being implemented to promote employment in small and medium-sized towns and in rural areas. In 2016, the state employment service provided assistance to 39,700 persons in finding employment. It granted financial support to 471 unemployed persons to enable them to start their own businesses and organized training for 2,000 unemployed persons. With respect to rural areas, 36,900 persons received assistance to find employment in 2016 and 21,900 persons took part in paid community work. The Government indicates that, as a result of the measures implemented, the number of unemployed persons in small and medium-sized towns decreased from 7,700 at the beginning of 2016 to 6,200 in January 2017, and from 6,600 to 5,600 in rural areas. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information, including statistics disaggregated by sex and age, on the results of the measures implemented to increase employment rates in economically depressed regions with high unemployment rates.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates that the social partners play an active role in developing and implementing the national employment policy. The Committee notes that the General Agreement for 2016–18, signed on 16 December 2015 between the Government and the social partners, sets out a list of obligations, which include the obligation to ensure that the rate of registered unemployment is kept in line with the targets set out in the Socio-economic Development Programme for 2016–20. The Committee further notes that under the General Agreement, if the level of registered unemployment were to surpass 2 per cent, the Government would undertake to work with the social partners to prevent mass unemployment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the involvement of the social partners in the development, implementation and monitoring of employment policy and labour market measures. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the consultations held with representatives of persons affected by such measures, as called for under Article 3.