Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Government reports that various measures have been successfully implemented under the Employment Roadmap 2020 Programme to improve working and living standards, especially in rural areas. The Government further refers to anti-recession measures implemented under the Employment Roadmap 2020-2021 (the Road Map) as well as to the active employment measures taken under the Enbek [Employment] State Programme for the development of productive employment and mass entrepreneurship 2017–2021. According to the Government, the Enbek programme establishes an effective system for delivering the vocational skills and qualifications in demand in the labour market, develops mass entrepreneurship and creates an effective model of employment intermediation services, including providing support to specific groups of the population in vulnerable situations. Moreover, the Enbek programme implements the measures developed by the national Jastar – el tiregi [Youth is the Backbone of the Country] project. With respect to measures taken to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, the Committee notes the information available on the website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, which indicates that the Government is implementing a National Plan for ensuring the rights and improving the quality of life of persons with disabilities (2020–2025). It further notes that one of the priority tasks of the National Plan is to promote the economic independence of and high-quality employment for persons with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the nature, scope and impact of all measures taken or contemplated, including training and retraining programs, to tackle unemployment, especially for people belonging to disadvantaged groups, such as women, young persons and persons with disabilities, to enable them to access decent and lasting employment at all levels and across all economic sectors.

Statistical information. Employment trends. The Committee welcomes the statistics provided by the Government on employment trends and the participation of jobseekers in technical and vocational education programmes in 2019 and 2020. It further notes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the employment rate, which has been contained as a result of the Government’s anti-recession measures under “the Road Map”. The Government indicates that, during the reporting period, over 160,000 people were employed. It adds that the unemployment rate, which stood at 4.8 per cent in 2019, has only slightly increased to 5 per cent in the second quarter of 2020. The overall youth unemployment rate rose slightly, from 3.7 per cent in 2019 to 4 per cent in 2020. Women’s unemployment slightly increased to 5.4 per cent (5.2 per cent in 2019). The Committee notes that, according to the statistics of the Committee of the Ministry of the National Economy, the working age population aged 15 and older reached 9.2 million in the second quarter of 2020 (8.7 million in employment and 454,000 people unemployed). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide up-to-date statistical information on labour market trends in the country, particularly regarding the active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment rates, disaggregated by sex and age, and, if possible, by urban or rural area.

Role of employment services in employment promotion. The Government refers to the role of employment services in promoting employment, through the provision of specialist advice and individualized support to jobseekers, including personal profiling, vocational aptitude assessments, career guidance and personalized employment placement plans. The Government further indicates that collaboration with employers has been enhanced and the launch of an e-labour exchange system has improved the performance of employment intermediation services. In addition, self-service areas have been set up in employment centres where employers and jobseekers can use the e-labour exchange platform. In addition, employment services have been outsourced to private employment agencies, increasing the channels through which unemployed people can find jobs. In this context, the Committee notes the development of mobile employment centres which interact with jobseekers, unemployed people, employers and private employment agencies to identify people in need, deliver targeted support, and improve the public awareness and availability of employment services. It further notes that 30 pilot projects have been launched in the cities of Nur-Sultan, Almaty and Shymkent in 2020. In addition, since the beginning of 2020, more than 100 mobile employment centres have been launched in the regions with a view to proactively promoting employment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information on the activities, number and impact of the mobile employment centres, as well as of the e-labour exchange system, including information, including data disaggregated by age and sex, on the numbers of persons placed in employment through this system.

Vocational training.Noting the information provided, the Committee requests the Government to continue to communicate updated information vocational on training programmes and the impacts of these programmes on employment.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in employment policy design and implementation. Regarding consultation with the social partners, the Government indicates that the Public Council for Social and Labour Matters has been set up to ensure effective consultations with social partners and among public authorities as part of the legislative process. Additionally, the National Tripartite Commission for Social Partnership and the Regulation of Social and Employment Relations operates on a permanent basis with a view to ensuring effective consultations and discussions on social and employment issues. The National Tripartite Commission is a standing body with the mandate to reconcile the interests of the social partners by conducting consultations and discussions between the Government of Kazakhstan, national workers’ associations and national employers’ associations, which are formalized through decisions that are binding on the parties. The Committee notes that, since the beginning of 2019, two meetings of the National Tripartite Commission have been held on employment-related issues in the regions, including issues such as mapping labour-related risks, delays in payment of remuneration and occupational safety and health. The Committee requests the Government to continue to communicate up-to-date, detailed information in its next report on consultations held with the social partners on the matters covered by the Convention and to provide concrete examples of the manner in which account is taken of the opinions and experiences of the social partners in the development, implementation and review of employment policy measures and programmes. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which it ensures that representatives of all sectors of the economically active population which are affected by the measures to be taken – in particular representatives of disadvantaged groups such as persons with disabilities, rural workers and workers in the informal economy – are consulted regarding the development and implementation of these measures, as provided for by Article 3 of the Convention.