REPRESENTATION (article 24) - POLAND - C122 - 1996

1. All-Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ)

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Report of the Committee set up to examine the representation made by the All-Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ) under article 24 of the ILO Constitution alleging non-observance by Poland of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122)

Report of the Committee set up to examine the representation made by the All-Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ) under article 24 of the ILO Constitution alleging non-observance by Poland of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122)

Decision

The Governing Body adopted the report of the tripartite committee. Procedure closed.

Complaint Procedure

I. Introduction
1. In a letter dated 22 March 1993, the All-Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ) sent the Director-General of the ILO a representation under article 24 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization alleging non-observance by Poland of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122).
2. The Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), was ratified by Poland on 24 November 1966 and is in force for that country.
3. The provisions of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization concerning the submission of representations are as follows:
Article 24
In the event of any representation being made to the International Labour office by an industrial association of employers or of workers that any of the Members has failed to secure in any respect the effective observance within its jurisdiction of any Convention to which it is a party, the Governing Body may communicate this representation to the government against which it is made, and may invite that government to make such statement on the subject as it may think fit.
Article 25
If no statement is received within a reasonable time from the government in question, or if the statement when received is not deemed to be satisfactory by the Governing Body, the latter shall have the right to publish the representation and the statement, if any, made in reply to it.
4. The procedure to be followed in the case of representations is governed by the revised Standing Orders adopted by the Governing Body at its 212th Session in March 1980.
5. In accordance with articles 1 and 2 of the Standing Orders, the Director-General acknowledged receipt of the representation, informed the Government of Poland and brought the representation before the Officers of the Governing Body.
6. At its 257th Session (June 1993), the Governing Body, on the recommendation of its Officers, decided that the representation was receivable and set up a committee to examine it, composed of Ms. M.L.L. Hartwell (Government member, United Kingdom, Chairperson), Ms. L. Sasso-Mazzufferi (Employer member, Italy) and Ms. U. Engelen-Kefer (Worker member, Germany).
7. The Government of Poland presented its observations in a communication dated 15 July 1993.
8. The Committee held its first meeting in Geneva on 16 November 1993. It invited the OPZZ to submit any additional information that it might wish to bring to its attention no later than 31 December 1993.
9. In a communication dated 14 February 1994, and in view of the complexity of the matter and the fact that negotiations had been initiated with the Government, the OPZZ proposed that examination of its representation be deferred to a later date.
10. The Committee met in Geneva on 29 March 1994 and took note of this communication. It met again in Geneva on 24 June 1994 and invited the OPZZ to indicate whether it wished to pursue the representation procedure.
11. In a communication dated 11 October 1994 the OPZZ expressed the view that the grounds for postponing examination of its representation were no longer applicable and submitted new allegations that were transmitted to the Government of Poland.
12. Meeting in Geneva on 16 November 1994, the Committee decided to resume its examination of the representation. In accordance with the Standing Orders, it invited the Government to send its observations before 31 January 1995.
13. The Government submitted its observations in a communication dated 30 January 1995 and sent additional information in a letter dated 14 February 1996.
14. The Committee held an exchange of views on its draft report during the 1995 sessions of the Governing Body and met on 19 March 1996 for the discussion and adoption of the present report.
II. Examination of the representation
1. Allegations made by the complainant organization
15. In its letter dated 22 March 1993 the OPZZ alleges that the Government's passive stance vis-à-vis the increase in widespread unemployment is an infringement of Convention No. 122, and specifically of Article 1, paragraphs 1 and 2, and Article 2. The OPZZ states that the reason for its representation is that the dramatic unemployment affecting broad sectors of Polish society is not being taken seriously and that the Government is not respecting the commitments and promises that it made vis-à-vis the trade unions to take appropriate measures. According to official statistics, which do not reflect the whole picture, 14.2 per cent of the active civil population was registered with the employment offices as unemployed at the end of February 1993. In certain areas the unemployment rate is far higher even -- as much as 50 per cent in certain voivodships and over 60 per cent in dozens of communes. The situation is particularly distressing for the 31.4 per cent of registered unemployed who, according to February 1993 statistics, are no longer entitled to unemployment benefits and now have no means of subsistence because no provision has been made for long-term social security benefits. Moreover, according to data compiled by OPZZ experts, if one includes rural unemployment and unemployment among young first-time jobseekers the real figure would be between 18 and 20 per cent of the active population (i.e., 3.4 to 3.6 million people). Faced with this dramatic situation the Government has not managed to come up with any solution or with any local programmes aimed at the large urban areas suffering from widespread structural unemployment.
16. In its communication dated 11 October 1994, the OPZZ explains why it asked for the representation procedure to be suspended and then resumed. The organization states that, following the holding of early legislative elections and appointment of the new government, it had hoped for a social dialogue on employment that might influence current policy, thanks mainly to the creation of the Tripartite Committee on Economic and Social Affairs and the good offices of trade unionist Members of Parliament. The OPZZ specifies that on 4 February 1994 the Government initiated negotiations on: (a) guidelines for amending the legislation on employment and unemployment; (b) economic and financial policy and instruments for regions threatened with a high level of structural unemployment and the criteria for identifying those regions; (c) an appropriate unemployment benefits scheme; (d) improvements in the Government's programme to combat unemployment. Agreement was reached on the guidelines for amending the legislation on employment and unemployment and on the criteria for identifying regions threatened by a high level of structural unemployment, but not on the other points, because of the Government's insistence that the programme to combat unemployment that was adopted in 1993 was not negotiable. The OPZZ believes that this programme, which was adopted without consulting the trade unions, means passively accepting the increase in unemployment. In its opinion the principle cause of the failure of the Government's policy derives from its concept of a limited intervention on the labour market that is more concerned with mitigating the effects than with tackling the causes of unemployment. Jobs have continued to be suppressed in the public sector, workers are treated as objects and the number of long-term unemployed has continued to rise, as has the proportion of those who are no longer entitled to unemployment benefits (nearly 60 per cent) but only to social welfare benefits that are not enough to live on and are only granted on conditions that are an insult to their dignity. In short, the trade union organization continues to deplore the absence of any employment policy, anti-unemployment programme or regional restructuration programmes.
2. The Government's statement
17. In its initial communication dated 15 July 1993, the Government explains that three factors -- the introduction of a market economy; the economic recession, caused in part by the implementation of the stabilization programme and the collapse and disintegration of the Eastern European Market; and privatization -- caused a drop in the demand for labour and a rapid rise in unemployment as from 1991. The unemployment statistics compiled by the employment offices are very close to those in the economic survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office, whose work is of an internationally comparable standard. Improvements were made to the labour market information system in 1992 and the OPZZ's claim that the unemployment statistics are underestimated and unreliable would not seem to be justified. As can be seen from the detailed statistics supplied, the labour market situation varies enormously from region to region, with unemployment rates ranging from 6 to 25 per cent in March 1993. Because of these wide disparities it has been necessary to make a distinction between regions threatened with a high level of structural unemployment and those where the labour market needs to be monitored in order to attenuate the effects of unemployment and stimulate employment. Special measures have been adopted by the Council of Ministers for the regions threatened by structural unemployment: entitlement to unemployment benefits is extended for six months beyond the 12-month period stipulated by law; the regions have priority access to Labour Fund resources for financing active measures to combat unemployment; they also benefit from economic and financial measures to promote employment, such as tax incentives and subsidies for job-creating investment. In 1993 negotiations on additional measures were held in the joint government and trade union working party of which the OPZZ is a member. The Government observes that arrangements exist at both the national and the local level for the social partners to cooperate in monitoring labour market trends. It believes that this close cooperation should be the rule, especially when using the economic powers that have been vested in the voivodships since the local authority reform.
18. The Government supports its observations with a description of the "Programme of counteracting unemployment and mitigating its negative effects" that was adopted in 1993. This Programme is based on the belief that economic growth alone is not enough to halt the increase in unemployment, but that labour market policy has a fundamental role to play. The Programme's main targets, which were to have been fully implemented by 1994, are the preservation of productive employment and the creation of new jobs, the development of a dynamic labour market, the improvement of the social protection scheme for unemployed workers and the integration of the activities of all the parties involved in the labour market. The Government also indicates the number of unemployed workers taking part in the employment training programmes and of those who have been offered temporary or permanent jobs by the employment offices. It states that persons who have been unemployed for more than 12 months receive special attention through collaboration between the employment offices and the social welfare services. The Government also refers to the implementation by the ILO of World Bank-financed technical cooperation projects for the improvement of employment services and the development of training for adults. In the Government's view the information it has supplied shows that, far from taking a passive stance, it has undertaken a large number of activities to reduce unemployment and combat its negative effects.
19. In a subsequent communication dated 30 January 1995 in response to the communication of the OPZZ dated 11 October 1994, the Government states that, parallel with the efforts of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy to launch a government programme to counteract unemployment, negotiations with the OPZZ on a Charter of Social Guarantees were undertaken in April 1993. One of the three working parties set up during the negotiations was devoted to combating unemployment; on the proposal of the OPZZ, the working party appointed four subgroups (on the Government's programme, on youth unemployment, on the assessment of laws and regulations and on the regions threatened with a high level of structural unemployment). The subgroup on the Government's programme to counteract unemployment met on 29 April and 14 May 1993. On the second occasion the OPZZ delegation approved the objectives of the draft programme and proposed that the work involved in implementing it be shared among the various ministries. The draft programme was modified in the light of the OPZZ's proposal and was sent on 17 June 1993 to all the trade union organizations for their comments. No comments were received from the OPZZ. The programme to counteract unemployment was approved in its final form by the Government on 14 September 1993. According to the Government it can be seen from these explanations that the allegation that the OPZZ was not consulted during the preparation of this programme is unfounded. Furthermore, the OPZZ's communication of 11 October 1994 fails to mention the consultations that took place after 4 April 1994. The agreement reached on 4 May 1994, and to which the OPZZ is a party, guarantees permanent collaboration between the Government, the trade unions and the employers' organizations on the policy applicable to the regions threatened by a high level of structural unemployment. Under this agreement a joint working party, of which the OPZZ is a member, submits to the Government proposals for reviewing the list of these regions and for assessing and adjusting the measures taken. The Government consults all the interested parties on important decisions concerning the labour market, even though it may be difficult for them all to agree.
20. The Government also enclosed additional information on the implementation of the programme to counteract unemployment in the context of its "Strategy for Poland", and on the trend in employment in 1994. An interministerial group on unemployment was set up, inter alia, to review the Government's tasks under the programme to combat unemployment. The slow-down in the rate of increase in unemployment, followed by its stabilization since the beginning of 1994, is due in part to the implementation of this programme and shows that the OPZZ's allegation that the programme reflects a passive attitude towards rising unemployment or actually encourages it is not justified. Long-term unemployment, whose growth rate has also slowed down, is still a major problem. It requires the Government to ensure special protection for this category of unemployed workers in the form of a guaranteed income and special programmes to promote economic activity and facilitate their reinsertion in the labour market. The proposed introduction of an unemployment benefit insurance scheme should lead to an increase in the resources available for active employment policy measures. (Endnote 1)
21. In a further communication dated 14 February 1996 the Government states that, with production and investment showing a sharp increase, the improvement in the employment situation continued in 1995, thanks mainly to an increase in the number of job offers and in the number of unemployed workers who have found employment. There are, however, three worrying features of unemployment and its distribution that cannot be disregarded: though it is declining, long-term unemployment (more than 12 months) still accounts for 38.9 per cent of total unemployment; the unemployment rate of young people between 18 and 24 years of age is running at 33 per cent, which is particularly alarming because their skills are unsuited to labour market conditions and because of the prospect of demographic growth; the regional segmentation of unemployment is still very marked, with unemployment rates ranging from 4 per cent to 26 per cent from one voivodship to another. To meet the new labour market challenges, the Government has developed a new "Programme for promoting productive employment and reducing unemployment", which was approved by the Council of Ministers on 21 November 1995. As the Government's initial programme to counteract unemployment and mitigate its effects has been successful, this new programme is aimed at eliminating the causes of unemployment and promoting employment for the country's fast-growing manpower resources. It contains macroeconomic measures aimed at a better utilization of productive capacity, the stimulation of investment and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and at the protection of existing jobs and the creation of new employment in the food industry. The Programme is also designed to improve the effectiveness of active labour market policy measures (especially for young people, as part of the youth unemployment counteraction programme that was adopted on 30 June 1995), to bring education more into line with the demand for manpower and to increase employment opportunities through the promotion of new solutions (sharing of posts and working time, increase in short-term and casual employment). The 1996 budget provides for an increase in the share of resources earmarked for active measures by the Labour Fund (over 15 per cent). The Act concerning employment and counteracting unemployment has again been amended to take into account the new priorities and budgetary constraints.
22. Summing up, the Government emphasizes that the improvement in the employment/unemployment situation which began in 1994 and continued into 1995 is attributable to its active labour market policy. It places particular stress on the major institutional changes that have taken place or that are planned, such as the reform of employment services according to ILO standards and that of the system of financing unemployment benefits. It does however consider that the labour market in Poland is still suffering from the demographic increase in manpower, on the one hand, and the necessary pursuit of the country's economic restructuring, on the other. It recognizes that mass unemployment continues to pose a serious threat to the transition process; any further improvement in the situation will demand exceptional consistency and determination in the implementation of the economic development strategies and programmes. The Government asserts that its macroeconomic decisions are more and more often taken in the light of their potential impact on the labour market. The labour market policy is designed as an integral part of the economic policy.
3. The Committee's conclusions
23. The complainant organization's allegations focus mainly on: (a) the failure to implement an active employment policy in the face of growing unemployment; (b) the lack of effective consultation with workers' organizations concerning measures to be taken in the area of employment policy; and (c) insufficient benefits paid to the long-term unemployed. Although the complainant organization only expressly relies upon Article 1, paragraphs 1 and 2, and Article 2 of the Convention, the allegations referring to consultations should be studied in relation to the provisions of Article 3. As to the question of unemployment benefits, these are not specifically covered by the Convention. The Committee therefore considered whether they had any bearing on its application.
(a) Alleged failure to implement an active employment policy
24. The OPZZ alleges that the Government has adopted a passive stance in the face of increasing unemployment and has only intervened in the labour market to a limited extent in order to deal with the consequences of this rather than address the causes. In this respect the organization refers to jobs that have been suppressed in the public sector. In reply the Government acknowledges that the transition towards a market economy in the context of a recession has led to a rapid increase in unemployment since 1991. It describes in detail the programme set up at this time to fight unemployment, a programme which has since been regularly revised, and particularly emphasizes measures aimed at helping those regions most affected. According to the Government these various measures have halted the progression of unemployment as of 1994.
25. The Committee recalls that the Convention requires that ratifying States declare and pursue, as a major goal, an active policy designed to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment (Article 1). It also provides that each member shall decide on and keep under review, within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy, the measures to be adopted for this purpose (Article 2).
26. Based also on information and analyses provided by the appropriate departments of the International Labour Office or issued by other international organizations, (Endnote 2) the Committee believes that it can summarize the changes in the employment situation in Poland since 1990 as follows. In the context of a transition towards a market economy, the increase in employment in the private sector has not been sufficient to compensate for job shrinkage in the public sector. Between 1989 and 1993 this resulted in an overall decrease in employment of about 22 per cent and a rapid increase in unemployment which was fuelled by growth in the active population and continued high rates of labour force participation, despite early retirement measures. According to Central Statistical Office estimates, (Endnote 3) the rate of unemployment, which was 0.6 per cent in January 1990, reached 6.1 per cent in December 1990, 11.8 per cent in December 1991, 13.6 per cent in December 1992, and 16.4 per cent in December 1993. This rate levelled off during the first semester of 1994 and has decreased considerably since then: it was 14.9 per cent in December 1995. The resumption of growth in economic activity and employment, however, varies widely according to the regions and sectors of activity, and prolonged, extremely high unemployment rates in certain areas are instilling fears that pockets of structural unemployment are appearing.
27. The level and trend in labour and unemployment would not in themselves allow for an evaluation of the application of the Convention. What is important is whether, given the volume and distribution of employment, the extent of underemployment and unemployment and their likely trends, an active policy designed to promote employment is being formulated and applied.
28. The Committee notes, firstly, that the Government was not unaware that the appearance of unemployment called for specific measures. With the adoption of the Employment Act of 29 December 1989, (Endnote 4) it acquired the necessary instruments to intervene in the labour market. This Act organized job placement by employment services, set up employment councils and an Employment Fund, and established an unemployment benefit system. This Act was subsequently replaced by the Employment and Unemployment Act of 16 October 1991, (Endnote 5) which has since been amended several times.
29. Furthermore, the Committee notes the description of the job placement, training and job creation programme provided by the Government in its reply to the allegations of the complainant organization.
30. In this respect, the OPZZ's criticisms relate, on the one hand, to the limited extent of the Government's intervention on the labour market and, on the other hand, to the fact that this intervention was aimed at alleviating the consequences of unemployment rather than dealing with the causes.
31. On the first point, the various observers agree that the share of its resources that Poland devotes to active policy measures in the labour market is limited, and that these measures help only a limited proportion of the unemployed. Moreover, they are of varied effectiveness and could in some cases be improved. (Endnote 6) The Committee, for its part, recalls that the Convention states in Article 2 that the State must "by such methods and to such extent as may be appropriate under national conditions: (a) decide on and keep under review, within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy, the measures to be adopted for attaining the objectives specified in Article 1". In applying this provision, the measures used to intervene on the labour market should be regularly reviewed dependent upon the results to which they give rise. It is for the Government to periodically evaluate the effectiveness of these measures and adapt them should the need arise, while keeping in mind financial constraints. In this respect, the Committee realizes that, when unemployment is rising fast, increased expenditure on unemployment benefits means that fewer public funds are available to finance active labour market policy measures -- and the Government does in fact mention in its latest communication that, with the GDP and budget deficit at their current level, it was impossible to maintain the present benefit system. The Government's plan to introduce an unemployment insurance system would precisely be designed to ensure that the Labour Fund's resources would be spent on financing such measures. The Committee further notes with interest that, since 1994, the Government has undertaken to increase significantly its financing for these support measures aimed at job creation and the number of people who benefit from them, as can be seen from the more recent data that it has sent on the 1996 budget. It has also called upon ILO technical cooperation services to help strengthen the capacity of employment services, promote self-employment amongst the unemployed and develop job training schemes for adults.
32. The Committee considers that the Government should be asked to provide complete and detailed information on results obtained through the various labour market policy measures that it is implementing in its next report on the application of the Convention. This information should specify any shortcomings or difficulties it may have encountered and how it proposes to deal with them. The Government should also be invited to indicate the use it has made of international technical assistance in developing its policies for promoting employment and reducing unemployment, including particularly the ILO's technical cooperation projects.
33. The second aspect of the allegation -- that intervention in the labour market had no effect on the causes of increasing unemployment -- leads the Committee to clarify the scope of an active employment policy under the Convention. There is no doubt that policies aimed at the labour market, including those directly influencing the supply of and demand for labour in quantitative and qualitative terms, are an important feature of any employment policy, particularly in case of high unemployment. Such measures, comprising job placement, training, and incentives to hire staff or to retire from the labour market, are in fact being implemented in Poland. However, under the Convention, they should take place within the wider framework of a "coordinated economic and social policy" aimed at promoting "as a major goal" full, productive and freely chosen employment. As the Governing Body emphasized when approving the revised report form for the Convention, (Endnote 7) an active employment policy depends largely on the measures taken in the area of general economic and social policy and it involves other aspects of governmental action than those of which the Ministry of Labour is traditionally in charge. The Government itself acknowledged this in its last report on the Convention which was examined by the Committee of Experts at the March 1992 Session. (Endnote 8) In a request addressed directly to the Government, the Committee of Experts noted the information in the report according to which "the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy cannot be considered solely responsible for the level of unemployment as, although it is in charge of combating the effects of unemployment, it can only have a limited direct influence on its volume". The Committee of Experts therefore invited the Government to "indicate the procedures adopted to take the objective of full, productive and freely chosen employment duly into account within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy of transition to the market economy" specifying "the measures taken to that end as regards reform of the system of enterprise ownership and management; budgetary, monetary and exchange rate policies; investment, price, income and wage policies; global, sectoral and regional industrial policies; and policies aimed at balanced regional development, inter alia, in agriculture".
34. The Committee notes that the Government declares in its reply to the allegations that its programme to combat unemployment falls within the general guidelines of its economic "Strategy for Poland". It also notes the information sent by the Government in its latest communication on the contribution that certain macroeconomic policy measures, which are part of a programme that is now aimed at combating the economic causes of unemployment, are expected to make to the promotion of employment. The Committee considers that the Government should be invited to describe how account is taken of the employment objectives when general economic and social policy decisions are taken, by including complete information in its next report on the application of the Convention in reply to the questions in the report form under Articles 1 and 2. -- with particular reference to the points raised by the Committee of Experts in its last direct request.
35. It is also in this light that the question of redundancy in the public sector referred to by the complainant organization should be viewed. It is not for the Committee to comment on a political option as basic as the choice of making the transition to a market economy -- which, by its very nature, presumes a large reduction in the proportion of public sector employment -- and the Convention does not make it the Government's specific responsibility to increase or maintain public employment. On the other hand, it is the Government's duty to ensure that employment promotion remains a major goal when determining the type of reforms undertaken, taking into account "the mutual relationships between employment objectives and other economic and social objectives", as stipulated in Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Convention. Retrenchment in public sector companies during the recession seems to have been, at first, relatively moderate compared with the decrease in production in this sector. (Endnote 9) It is all the more important that, in pursuing structural reform, efforts to promote employment opportunities in the private sector should take account of the reductions in employment in the public sector, and that effective accompanying measures be taken to facilitate the mobility of workers affected.
(b) Alleged lack of effective consultation
36. The OPZZ, in its first communication, refers to the Government's unfulfilled commitments towards trade unions in the area of employment policy. In its second communication the organization reports negotiations with the Government and regrets that only partial agreement was reached. The Government, for its part, provides detailed information on the consultations which took place in tripartite bodies called upon to express their views on the general guidelines of the employment policy and on the measures to be implemented. It details how the OPZZ in particular was involved in the consultations and how some of its suggestions were taken into account.
37. The Committee recalls that under Article 3 of the Convention "the representatives of the persons affected by the measures to be taken, and in particular representatives of employers and workers, shall be consulted concerning employment policies, with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views and securing their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies".
38. In the Committee's opinion, a distinction should be made here between negotiation, which would imply a series of steps undertaken by parties with differing or contradictory interests in order to reach an agreement, and the consultations called for by this important provision of the Convention. The Convention requires that those affected by employment policies be consulted, and not that the policies be negotiated. Although the Government must undertake these consultations in good faith and take into account the opinions voiced, it is not obliged to reach an agreement. Decisions in the area of employment policy revert ultimately to the public authorities, and the obligation to hold consultations does not imply that no decision can be taken without the consent of each representative of the interested parties to each of the aspects involved. The Committee notes that the OPZZ implicitly recognizes the pre-eminence of public authorities in formulating employment policy by referring to its own influence in Parliament.
39. The explanations provided by the Government suggest that effective procedures allow employers' and workers' representatives to be regularly consulted on numerous aspects of employment policies, whether this takes place within the employment councils established by law at a national, regional or local level or in the framework of the agreement of 4 May 1994.
40. However, the Committee considers it appropriate to emphasize, with the Committee of Experts, (Endnote 10) that the consultations envisaged in the Convention should not be limited to employment policy questions in a narrow sense but should also extend to all aspects of economic policy which have an effect on employment. The Government should be asked to provide in its next report on the application of the Convention the complete information which has already been requested by the Committee of Experts on the way in which such consultations are taking place.
(c) Alleged insufficient benefits paid to the long-term unemployed
41. The OPZZ mentions the precarious situation of the numerous long-term unemployed workers who have exhausted their right to unemployment benefits, owing to the inadequacy of the social welfare benefits that they receive instead and to the conditions for entitlements. The organization also mentions the situation of young first-time jobseekers and of the rural population. The Government indicates that in regions threatened by structural unemployment, the unemployment benefit is extended by six months beyond the 12 months stipulated by law and that employment offices and social welfare services together pay particular attention to the long-term unemployed. The Committee also recalls that the Government mentions that an unemployment insurance scheme will shortly take over from the present financing of unemployment benefits by the Labour Fund. The Committee notes however that, in its latest communication, the Government states that in 1995 almost 50 per cent of registered unemployed workers were not entitled to unemployment benefits -- a figure which is fairly close to the estimates given by the OPZZ.
42. The Committee notes that the Convention sets out in general terms the objectives and method of implementation of the employment policy but does not include any provision relating to unemployment benefits. The links between social protection systems, unemployment, and employment policy have however been recognized; they are referred to in other international labour standards (Endnote 11) and are taken into consideration by the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations when monitoring application of Convention No. 122. The Committee also considers that the policy on compensating the unemployed is likely to have an impact on the effective pursuit of objectives such as full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Government should therefore be invited to explain in its next report on the application of the Convention how its unemployment compensation policy contributes to the pursuit of the Convention's objectives, particularly as regards the planned introduction of an unemployment insurance system.
III. The Committee's recommendations
43. The Committee recommends that the Governing Body:
(a) approve the present report;
(b) request the Government of Poland to provide in the next report that it must submit in accordance with article 22 of the Constitution, complete information on the application of the Convention, particularly as regards the conclusions in paragraphs 32, 34, 40 and 42 of this report, so that the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations can resume its examination of the problems posed by the application of the Convention;
(c) declare closed the procedure initiated in the Governing Body following the representation made by the All-Poland Trade Union Alliance (OPZZ).
Endnote 1
In 1992, the share of resources allocated to active labour market policy measures was less than 5 per cent of the total expenditure of the Labour Fund; between 1993 and 1995 the proportion varied between 11 and 13 per cent, according to subsequent data furnished by the Government.
Endnote 2
In particular, OECD Centre for Cooperation with the economies in transition: The labour market in Poland, 1993; Economic Surveys, Poland, Dec. 1994; United Nations Economic Commission for Europe: Economic Survey of Europe in 1994-95, June 1995.
Endnote 3
As in many other countries, unemployment figures in Poland come from two different sources: the record of those who have registered themselves at unemployment offices, and quarterly surveys of the active population. Although these have differed in the past, assessments of unemployment rates based on one or the other of the two sources tend to agree. Furthermore, following the adoption of a new evaluation system in December 1993 the Central Statistical Office now publishes appreciably higher rates. The Committee therefore considered that it was not necessary to further examine the secondary allegation originally submitted to the effect that statistics published by the Government had underestimated the extent of unemployment.
Endnote 4
ILO: Labour Law Documents, 1990/2, 1989-POL 2.
Endnote 5
ILO: Labour Law Documents, 1992/2, 1991-POL 4.
Endnote 6
According to the sources cited above, in 1993 4.3 per cent of Employment Fund resources subsidized jobs; 3.8 per cent went to public works; 1.7 per cent to promoting small business and 1.4 per cent to training. The operational costs of employment services represented 4.8 per cent of expenditure, the remaining amount (84 per cent) being wholly absorbed by the unemployment benefit. The average participation rate of jobseekers in active programmes was approximately 11.5 per cent (4.9 per cent in subsidized employment; 3.4 per cent in training programmes; 2.8 per cent in public works; 0.4 per cent in programmes promoting small businesses). On average, these programmes allowed 28 per cent of participants -- 3.2 per cent of total unemployed -- to find a job in 1993.
Endnote 7
GB.202/11/23.
Endnote 8
In accordance with usual practice, the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has suspended its comments on the application of the Convention following the presentation of the representation.
Endnote 9
E. Kwiatkovski: Public sector adjustment through employment: Retrenchment policies and practices in Poland, ILO interdepartmental project on structural adjustment, Occasional paper No. 20 (Geneva, Dec. 1993).
Endnote 10
ILO: General Survey on the Reports relating to the Employment Policy Convention and Recommendation, 1964, ILO, 57th Session, Geneva 1972, Report III (Part 4B), paras. 96 and 105.
Endnote 11
Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention (No. 168) and Recommendation (No. 176), 1988.