Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 (No. 160) - Czechia (Ratification: 1993)

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

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Article 7 of the Convention. Employment, unemployment and underemployment statistics. In response to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the main concepts used in the release are in full harmony with the definitions of indicators listed in the “Resolution concerning statistics of the economically active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment”, adopted by the 13th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS), October 1982 It also notes that other ILO resolutions and international classifications and nomenclatures related to labour market issues have been taken into account in the survey. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any developments towards the implementation of Resolution I of the 19th ICLS concerning ‘Statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization’. It also requests the Government to provide information regarding the implementation of the Resolution concerning statistics on work relationships adopted by the 20th ICLS in 2018 and the Resolution concerning statistics on the informal economy adopted by the 21st ICLS in 2023.

Article 8. Statistics of the structure and distribution of the economically active population. The Committee notes that methodology used for the 2021 population census has not been communicated to the ILO Statistics Department, but the methodological information relating to the 2021 Population Census is available on the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) website. The Committee requests the Government to keep the ILO informed of any developments towards the implementation of Resolution I of the 19th ICLS concerning ‘Statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization’. The Committee invites the Government to provide information regarding the implementation of the Resolution concerning statistics on work relationships adopted by the 20th ICLS in 2018 and the Resolution concerning statistics on the informal economy adopted by the 21st ICLS in 2023.

Article 9(1) and (2) and Article 10. Statistics of average earnings and of time rates of wages and normal hours of work. Statistics of wage structure and distribution. The Committee notes the Government indicates that statistics of average monthly earnings and hours of work, classified by economic activity and region, and quarterly by sex, are compiled and published through the Labour Force Sample Survey and Structure of Earnings Survey. It further notes that statistics of average earnings by sex continue to be compiled annually, in compliance with Article 10. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated statistics in compliance with Articles 9(1) and (2) and 10 of the Convention.

Article 11. Statistics of labour cost. Although this provision of the Convention has not been formally accepted, the Committee again observes that its provisions continue to be fulfilled. According to information from ILOSTAT from 2022, statistics on the level of labour costs (average yearly, monthly and hourly) and the structure of labour costs by components, as well as on hours actually worked and hours paid for are based on the based on the Labour Cost Survey, which continues to be carried out among reporting units irrespective of their size and branches of economic activity and is subsequently submitted to the ILO. Noting that the Government reiterates that Article 11 has not yet been accepted and that no legislative or other measures are being prepared to implement its provisions, the Committeerequeststhe Government to continue to provide information specifying the extent to which effect has been given or is proposed to be given to this provision, in accordance with Article 16(4) of the Convention.

Article 14. Statistics of occupational injuries and diseases. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on statistics and its collection on occupational accidents. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide up-to-date information and data, especially in view of the inclusion of “safe and healthy working environment” as a fundamental principle and right at work by the ILC under paragraph 2 of the ILO 1998 Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work at its 110th Session in June 2022.

Article 15. Statistics of industrial disputes. The Committee notes that the Government reiterates that Article 15 has not yet been adopted by Czechia and no legislative or other measures are being prepared to adopt and implement the provisions of the Article. The Committee once again invites the Government to provide information on whether measures have been envisaged to compile and disseminate statistics on industrial disputes, in accordance with Article 16(4).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Article 7 of the Convention. Employment, unemployment and underemployment statistics. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in reply to its 2011 direct request. It notes in particular that statistics on the economically active population, employment and unemployment, collected from the Labour Force Survey, are published on the website of the Statistical Office of the Czech Republic (CZSO). The Committee invites the Government to provide information on any developments towards the implementation of the resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization (Resolution I), adopted by the 19th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (October 2013).

Article 8. Statistics of the structure and distribution of the economically active population. The Committee notes that data on the economically active population derived from population censuses is regularly compiled and collected. The latest population census was conducted in 2011. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on any developments towards the implementation of the resolution concerning statistics of work, employment and labour underutilization.

Article 9(1) and (2). Statistics of average earnings and of time rates of wages and normal hours of work. The Committee notes the methodological details provided on the statistics on wages and hours of work. With regard to wages, the source is statistical inquiries at companies, and for hours of work, the source is quarterly statistical inquiries at companies. Moreover, statistics of average monthly earnings and hours of work classified by economic activity and region, and quarterly by sex, are compiled and published. In reply to the 2011 direct request, the Government indicates that producing statistics on time rates of wages is not currently envisaged (Article 9(2)). The Committee invites the Government to continue to communicate the abovementioned statistics to the ILO and to report on any future developments concerning statistics of time rates of wages from the Structure of Earnings Survey.

Article 10. Statistics of wage structure and distribution. The Government provides information on the Structure of Earnings Survey as well as on the titles and numbers of the main published outputs, such as the Structure of Earnings Survey 2013 which can be accessed on the website of the CZSO. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated statistics of average earnings disaggregated by sex.

Article 11. Statistics of labour cost. The Committee notes that the annual Labour Cost Survey (LCS) continues to be carried out among reporting units irrespective of their size and covers all branches of economic activity. The LCS provides statistics on the level of labour cost (average yearly, monthly and hourly) and the structure of labour cost by components, as well as on hours actually worked and hours paid for. Statistics on average hourly labour cost by economic activity have been transmitted to the ILO Department of Statistics for dissemination on ILOSTAT. The latest data refer to 2012. The results and the methodology of the structure of the LCS can be found on the CZSO’s website, as well as in their printed publication Labour Statistics. The Committee notes that, although the Government had initially excluded Article 11 from the scope of application of the Convention, its requirements are fulfilled. Noting the detailed information supplied in the Government’s report, the Committee invites the Government to keep the ILO informed of any future developments concerning the possibility of accepting the obligations of Article 11, in accordance with Article 16(3).

Article 14. Statistics of occupational injuries and diseases. The Committee notes that the Government’s report provides detailed information on the sources available for statistics on occupational injuries and diseases. It also notes that the CZSOsubmits relevant data and metadata by completing each year, to the extent possible, the chapter on occupational injuries of the ILO Department of Statistics’ annual questionnaire on labour statistics. The Committee invites the Government to keep the ILO informed of any future developments concerning the compilation of statistics of occupational injuries and diseases.

Article 15. Statistics of industrial disputes. Although the Government did not accept to be bound by Article 15, the Committee invites the Government to keep the ILO informed on whether measures have been envisaged to compile and disseminate statistics on industrial disputes, in accordance with Article 16(4).

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Article 9(1) and (2) of the Convention. Compilation of statistics of hours of work and wages. The Committee notes with interest the progress to which the Government refers in its report, with regard to the extension of the coverage of statistics on hours actually worked, collected by the Reports on Employment and Wages. The Committee requests the Government to communicate the above data to the ILO as soon as possible. It also requests the Government to indicate whether it is envisaged to produce statistics on time rates of wages from the Structure of Earnings Survey.

Furthermore, the Committee draws the attention of the Government to the Resolution I[2] concerning the measurement of working time adopted by the 18th International Conference of Labour Statistics in November–December 2008 which defines new concepts and measures in this area of statistics.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

1. Article 5 of the Convention. Communication of statistics to the ILO. Please communicate to the International Labour Office the definitive data of the 2001 census as soon as available. In addition, please communicate regularly the periodic surveys on family income, expenditure and consumption carried out under Article 13 of the Convention.

2. Article 9, paragraph 2. Hourly wage rates. Please indicate whether measures have been taken or are envisaged in order to derive statistics on hourly wage rates from the survey on earnings structure.

3. Article 16, paragraph 4. Obligations not accepted. Please indicate whether measures have been taken or are envisaged in order to compile the statistics on industrial disputes covered by Article 15 of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and information given in response to the Committee’s previous direct request. The Committee invites the Government to supply in its next report further information on the following points.

1. Communication of statistics to the ILO. Article 5 of the Convention. Please communicate to the International Labour Office the definitive data of the 2001 census as soon as available. In addition, please communicate regularly the periodic surveys on family income, expenditure and consumption carried out under Article 13 of the Convention.

2. Hourly wage rates. Article 9, paragraph 2. Please indicate whether measures have been taken or are envisaged in order to derive statistics on hourly wage rates from the survey on earnings structure.

3. Obligations not accepted. Article 16, paragraph 4. Please indicate whether measures have been taken or are envisaged in order to compile the statistics on industrial disputes covered by Article 15 of the Convention.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2000, published 89th ILC session (2001)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and, in particular, the information concerning Articles 7 and 14 of the Convention. It also notes that the system of wages statistics has been restructured and that it now provides for the following statistics: (i) quarterly statistics of average monthly earnings covering all important branches of economic activity and all important categories of employees (in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 1); (ii) monthly statistics of hours actually worked by manual workers in construction and quarterly statistics of hours actually worked by manual workers in industry (in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 1); (iii) annual wage structure and distribution statistics and levels of average monthly earnings (in accordance with Article 10), and weekly normal hours of work (in accordance with Article 9, paragraph 2).

The Committee asks the Government to provide further information on the following points:

Article 9, paragraph 1.  The Committee asks the Government whether it has considered extending data collection to earnings by sex.

The Committee notes that statistics of hours actually worked, derived from the Reports on employment and wages, are restricted to manual workers in industry and construction. It asks the Government whether it envisages extending the coverage of the statistics of hours actually worked to all employees and all branches of economic activity, and by sex, so that these statistics will be consistent with the earnings data of the same scope.

Article 9, paragraph 2.  The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether it envisages deriving statistics of time rates of wages from the Structure of Earnings survey or otherwise.

Article 10.  The Committee notes that statistics on the distribution of employees by levels of earnings and hours of work and on the components of earnings are compiled annually. It asks the Government to indicate whether it envisages modifying the sampling design of the survey (ISAE) (e.g. in adopting random sampling and weighting procedures) so that the survey results will be representative of the whole economy.

Article 13.  The Committee notes that the survey of family income, expenditure and consumption is carried out on a continuous basis, and its results are published quarterly and annually. It asks the Government to continue to provide the relevant publications to the ILO.

Article 16.  The Committee notes that, although Article 11 was excluded from the acceptance of the obligations of the Convention, its requirements are fulfilled. Noting the information supplied in this report, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the possibility of accepting the obligations of this Article, in accordance with Article 16, paragraph 3.

Although the Government did not accept Article 15, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on any steps planned to collect and publish statistics of strikes and lockouts, in accordance with Article 16, paragraph 4.

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1999, published 88th ILC session (2000)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the following points raised in its previous direct request:

The Committee requests the Government to indicate any modification to the legislation or to the system of labour statistics concerning the application of the Convention.

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, for each of the Articles of Part II of the Convention, on the progress made in following the latest international standards and guidelines and on the reasons for any departures from them. With regard in particular to the new classification of occupations and classification of economic activities (which were planned to be introduced as from January 1992, according to the Federal Government), the Committee asks the Government: (i) to indicate whether these classifications are actually already in use and, if so, to provide their copies and further information on their application; (ii) to confirm that the classification of occupations is based on ISCO-88 (and not ISCO-68); and (iii) to specify whether the classification of economic activities is based on ISIC-68 (Rev.2) or ISIC (Rev.3).

Article 3. The Committee has noted the Federal Government's reference to existing laws and regulations concerning consultation and cooperation with the employers' and workers' organizations. Please provide more precise information on the manner in which state statistical services consult these organizations.

Article 7. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the labour force survey programme (which was envisaged by the Federal Government) has already been launched and, if so, to communicate to the ILO the published statistics (in accordance with Article 5) and methodological descriptions (in accordance with Article 6) on this survey with regard to statistics of the economically active population (and its employment and unemployment component).

Article 9, paragraph 1. The Committee noted from the Federal Government's report that the existing statistics of average earnings are limited to state sector enterprises and national economy cooperatives with 100 employees or more, and that the data on average hours actually worked are also limited to wage-earners in the manufacturing industry, construction, agriculture and forestry, transport and communications. Please supply information on the restructuring of the system of wage statistics, particularly on the proposed coverage (including small-scale enterprises and the private sector), and indicate whether it will permit the compilation of data of hours actually worked or paid for in respect of all important categories of employees and all important branches of economic activity. The Committee would appreciate complementary information on any changes in coverage, and in periodicity of the statistics of average earnings and hours actually worked. It would be grateful to receive also a copy of the Statistical Office's Instructions on statistical reporting, covering both state and private enterprises (mentioned in the Government's report).

Article 9, paragraph 2. The Committee has noted the Federal Government's indication that statistics of time rates and normal hours of work have not been compiled since they were fixed by law. Please indicate whether it is proposed to take measures to compile statistics of wage rates and normal hours of work.

Article 10. The Committee notes that statistics of wage structure and distribution are compiled for wage-earners and salaried employees in state industrial enterprises only, excluding data on other branches of economic activity (the "non-production sphere") and on enterprises with less than 100 employees. Please provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to collect, compile and publish such statistics, covering all employees in important branches of economic activity.

Article 11. The Committee notes with interest that, although this Article was excluded from the acceptance of obligations of the Convention, statistics of "wage costs and other personnel costs" are compiled and published and that, according to the information available in the Office, it is now envisaged to introduce statistics of labour cost along the lines of the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT) labour cost survey. It requests the Government to continue reporting on this matter in accordance with Article 16, paragraph 4.

Article 14. The Committee requests the Government to communicate to the International Labour Office the published statistics covered by this Article (in accordance with Article 5), as well as a detailed description of the sources, concepts, definitions and methodology used in collecting and compiling these statistics (in accordance with Article 6(b)). It hopes that clarification will be given on the following points in particular: (i) concerning data collection: to whom does the organizational unit report? Which organization is responsible for data collection and its compilation? What, if any, is the role of the Czech Occupational Safety Office in this process? (ii) concerning the coverage of statistics: what limitations in coverage might there be (size of enterprise, insurance, sector, etc.), and which organizations or enterprises, if any, might not be covered by these statistics?

Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1994, published 81st ILC session (1994)

The Committee notes that the Czech Republic has decided to continue to be bound by the obligations accepted in respect of Convention No. 160 which was ratified in 1988 by the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic.

The Committee has examined the information supplied in 1991 and 1992 by the Government of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (hereinafter "the Federal Government") in its first and subsequent reports. It requests the Government of the Czech Republic ("the Government") to indicate any modification to the legislation or to the system of labour statistics concerning the application of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide, in particular, information on the following points.

Article 2 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information, for each of the Articles of Part II of the Convention, on the progress made in following the latest international standards and guidelines and on the reasons for any departures from them. With regard in particular to the new classification of occupations and classification of economic activities (which were planned to be introduced as from January 1992, according to the Federal Government), the Committee asks the Government: (i) to indicate whether these classifications are actually already in use and, if so, to provide their copies and further information on their application; (ii) to confirm that the classification of occupations is based on ISCO-88 (and not ISCO-68); and (iii) to specify whether the classification of economic activities is based on ISIC-68 (Rev.2) or ISIC (Rev.3).

Article 3. The Committee has noted the Federal Government's reference to existing laws and regulations concerning consultation and cooperation with the employers' and workers' organizations. Please provide more precise information on the manner in which state statistical services consult these organizations.

Article 7. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the labour force survey programme (which was envisaged by the Federal Government) has already been launched and, if so, to communicate to the ILO the published statistics (in accordance with Article 5) and methodological descriptions (in accordance with Article 6) on this survey with regard to statistics of the economically active population (and its employment and unemployment component).

Article 9, paragraph 1. The Committee notes from the Federal Government's report that the existing statistics of average earnings are limited to state sector enterprises and national economy cooperatives with 100 employees or more, and that the data on average hours actually worked are also limited to wage-earners in the manufacturing industry, construction, agriculture and forestry, transport and communications. Please supply information on the restructuring of the system of wage statistics, particularly on the proposed coverage (including small-scale enterprises and the private sector), and indicate whether it will permit the compilation of data of hours actually worked or paid for in respect of all important categories of employees and all important branches of economic activity. The Committee would appreciate complementary information on any changes in coverage, and in periodicity of the statistics of average earnings and hours actually worked. It would be grateful to receive also a copy of the Statistical Office's Instructions on statistical reporting, covering both state and private enterprises (mentioned in the Government's report).

Article 9, paragraph 2. The Committee has noted the Federal Government's indication that statistics of time rates and normal hours of work have not been compiled since they were fixed by law. Please indicate whether it is proposed to take measures to compile statistics of wage rates and normal hours of work.

Article 10. The Committee notes that statistics of wage structure and distribution are compiled for wage-earners and salaried employees in state industrial enterprises only, excluding data on other branches of economic activity (the "non-production sphere") and on enterprises with less than 100 employees. Please provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to collect, compile and publish such statistics, covering all employees in important branches of economic activity.

Article 11. The Committee notes with interest that, although this Article was excluded from the acceptance of obligations of the Convention, statistics of "wage costs and other personnel costs" are compiled and published and that, according to the information available in the Office, it is now envisaged to introduce statistics of labour cost along the lines of the Statistical Office of the European Communities (EUROSTAT) labour cost survey. It requests the Government to continue reporting on this matter in accordance with Article 16, paragraph 4.

Article 14. The Committee requests the Government to communicate to the International Labour Office the published statistics covered by this Article (in accordance with Article 5), as well as a detailed description of the sources, concepts, definitions and methodology used in collecting and compiling these statistics (in accordance with Article 6(b)). It hopes that clarification will be given on the following points in particular: (i) concerning data collection: to whom does the organizational unit report? Which organization is responsible for data collection and its compilation? What, if any, is the role of the Czech Occupational Safety Office in this process? (ii) concerning the coverage of statistics: what limitations in coverage might there be (size of enterprise, insurance, sector, etc.), and which organizations or enterprises, if any, might not be covered by these statistics?