Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Armenia (Ratification: 1994)

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The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 27 September 2023, and the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 1 September 2023. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 111th Session, 5 – 16 June 2023)

The Committee recalls the discussion that took place at the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (CAS), at its 111th Session in 5–16 June 2023, concerning the application of the Convention. The Committee observes that the CAS, while acknowledging the steps taken by the Government to reduce informality and promote employment among women and young persons, persons with disabilities and other marginalized groups, noted that further steps needed to be undertaken in these areas as well as on vocational education and training and activities of private employment agencies. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions, the CAS requested the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to: (i) continue to develop an employment policy to address both in law and practice the remaining issues, notably the existing barriers to employment for disadvantaged groups, including women, young persons, persons with disabilities and persons vulnerable to intersectional discrimination; (ii) take steps to improve the employability of young persons, notably through vocational education and training programmes; (iii) take steps towards establishing control mechanisms under the national legislation to monitor the activities of private employment agencies, including considering the possibility of ratifying the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181) ; and (iv) ensure cooperation with the social partners on existing labour market issues, annual employment programs as well as on their implementation and provide concrete examples of the manner in which social partners are included in the development, implementation and review of employment policies and programmes and their views duly considered. The Committee also notes that the CAS requested the Government to provide the Committee with detailed updated information, by 1 September 2023, on: (i) measures taken to promote full productive employment, including those adopted in the framework of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2019–23; (ii) the development and adoption of the National Employment Strategy (NES) and to provide a copy once adopted; (iii) statistical data disaggregated by sex and age on employment trends in the country, particularly on employment, unemployment and underemployment; (iv) statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the nature, scope and impact of the measures and programmes implemented to promote the employment of groups vulnerable to decent work deficits, including women, young persons, persons with disabilities and persons vulnerable to intersectional discrimination; and (v) the impact of the measures taken to reduce the number of undeclared workers and facilitate their integration into the formal economy.

Article 1 of the Convention. Employment trends and implementation of an active employment policy.Groups vulnerable to decent work deficit. The Committee welcomes the supplementary information provided by the Government in light of the above-mentioned conclusions adopted by the CAS. With respect to the measures taken to promote full and productive employment, including those adopted in the framework of the DWCP, the Government states that the Seasonal employment promotion programme provides opportunities for jobseekers including women, young people, and people with disabilities, to engage in temporary agricultural work. The Government also indicates that it adopted in June 2023 a decree No 968-L which expanded the scope of the State employment programmes to persons who participated in military operations in Azerbaijan in 2022, as well as to individuals who were demobilized after 2020. The Government further states that various employment programs, such as the Programme for ensuring the employment of the unemployed and the Employment promotion programme (a pilot programme launched in February 2023), provide financial benefits to employers who employ jobseekers. Moreover, in 2021, specific measures were adopted to promote the employment of citizens of the Artsakh Republic who had been displaced to Armenia as a result of the war with Azerbaijan. Also, the Armenia Impact AIM Venture Accelerator programme has led to initiatives like the National platform for women’s economic empowerment which supports women entrepreneurs and finance their trainings. The Government indicates that it is also in the process of developing a new pilot programme for the training and employment of women. In addition, several amendments to the Labour Code were adopted in May and July 2023 to facilitate the entry of young people and persons with disabilities into the labour market, including: the creation of an internship institute to help recent graduates gain work experience, the consecration of the right of workers with children up to 2 years old to work reduced hours and of the right for women who are breastfeeding to take additional breaks, the creation of a priority right to keep their job for former servicemen with disability pensions in case of staff reduction, and the regulation of voluntary work which contributes to young people gaining professional experience. The Government also states that Armenia is considering ratifying the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190).

Regarding the steps taken to improve the employability of young persons through vocational education and training programmes, the Government indicates that Armenia’s national career guidance programme in high schools is included in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) list alongside countries like Canada, Finland, Germany, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America. The Government also indicates that the Vocational training programme adopted in 2021, benefited to 487 persons, of which 77 per cent were women, and 12 per cent were persons with disabilities. The Programme of arrangement of vocational training for mothers without a profession benefited to 106 persons, of which 32 per cent were young mothers. In addition, in the period 2021–22, the Work experience acquisition programme has supported 353 unemployed persons, of which 91 per cent were young people. The Committee nevertheless notes that the Government does not provide information on measures taken in the area of vocational education and training aimed specifically at promoting employment among young persons.

With regard to the development and adoption of the NES, the Government indicates that a draft is being discussed in consultation with the social partners. The main objective of the draft NES is the promotion of employment through the promotion of a competitive workforce. The government’s strategy is to reduce the discrepancy between labour supply and demand by strengthening the correspondence between education programmes and the labour market. The NES will address topics such as labour rights, inclusion and equal opportunities for various specific groups of vulnerable workers, including persons with disabilities, women, migrants, displaced persons and national minorities. The Government further indicates that it contemplates the possibility of introducing an unemployment insurance system.

In respect of the impact of the measures and programmes implemented in Armenia, the Committee notes that, in 2021, 3,958 people were registered in State employment programmes (versus 5,675 persons in 2020), of which 65 per cent were women, 30 per cent were young people, and 8 per cent were persons with disabilities. The Committee also notes that, in 2022, only 1,800 persons were registered in these programmes, of which 33 per cent were women, 20 per cent were young people, and 11 per cent were persons with disabilities. The Government further provides detailed statistical data for the period 2020–22, according to which, in 2022, of the 70,544 jobseekers who were registered with the United social service (the former State Employment Agency), 14.7 per cent found employment. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government regarding the impact of the programmes specifically aimed at promoting the employment of groups vulnerable to decent work deficits. The Government indicates that the measures adopted to promote the employment of citizens of the Artsakh Republic enabled 703 citizens of the Artsakh Republic to find employment while 93 citizens were temporarily employed for public works. The Government also indicates that the National platform for women’s economic empowerment supported over 200 women entrepreneurs in launching their business and trained 1,400 women in the field of digital marketing, who then found stable employment. As for the Seasonal employment promotion programme, the Government reports that 1,178 persons benefited from it.

Turning to the statistical data on employment trends in the country, the Government reports that, for the first quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate is at 13.7 per cent, the employment rate at 50.9 per cent, and the underemployment rate at 2.3 per cent. The Government further reports that, as of July 2023, 44,678 jobseekers were registered in the regional centres of the United social service, of which 63 per cent were women and 4.4 per cent were persons with disabilities. The Government also provides statistical data for the period 2018–21, which had in essence already been provided in its previous report.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the measures taken to promote full productive employment and to address, both in law and in practice, the existing barriers to employment for disadvantaged groups, including women, young persons, persons with disabilities and persons vulnerable to intersectional discrimination. With regard to the measures directed at young persons, the Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to improve the employability of young persons through vocational education and training. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on progress made in respect of the development and adoption of the National Employment Strategy (NES), and to provide a copy once it is adopted. Furthermore,the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the impact of the measures and programmes implemented to promote the employment of groups vulnerable to decent work deficits, including women, young persons, persons with disabilities and persons vulnerable to intersectional discrimination. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the proportion of persons who benefited from employment services prior to finding employment out of the total number of persons who accessed employment during the reporting period. With respect to financial benefits granted to employers, the Government is specifically requested to indicate the amount of this financial assistance; whether these monetary transfers to employers increase in case of employment of women, young people or people with disabilities; and whether the payments made involve an obligation of minimum duration of employment. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on employment trends in the country, particularly on employment, unemployment and underemployment. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which the regulation of voluntary work has contributed to young people gaining professional experience. In addition, noting with interest that the Government is considering the ratification of the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190), the Committee requests the Government to provide updated information in this respect with its next report.

Article 2. Implementation of active labour market measures. In its previous comment, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that no control mechanisms are established under the national legislation to monitor the activities of private employment agencies. The Government did not provide updated information in that regard. The Committee thus reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to establish control mechanisms under the national legislation to monitor the activities of private employment agencies. The Committee refers in this respect to the guidance provided by the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), and its accompanying Recommendation No. 188.

Undeclared work. The Government indicates that, in 2021, there were 389,100 undeclared workers in Armenia, marking a 12 per cent decrease from 2018. The Government also indicates that it is working towards adopting a measure relieving unemployed persons of their credit burden, with the hope of facilitating their transition from the informal to the formal economy. Additionally, the Government plans to implement a digital system for recording labour contracts in Armenia, with the aim of improving the detection of undeclared workers. The Committee takes note of this information with interest and requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the impact of the measures taken to reduce the number of undeclared workers by facilitating their integration into the formal economy.

Article 3. Consultation of the social partners.Noting that the Government does not provide information in that regard, the Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide concrete examples of the manner in which the social partners are included in the development, implementation and review of employment policies and programmes, and their views duly considered.The Committee also requests the Government to transmit its comments on the concerns expressed by the IOE regarding social concertation and on its observations that the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia (RUEA) has not been consulted in the framework of the elaboration of the draft NES.