Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la política del empleo, 1964 (núm. 122) - Luxemburgo (Ratificación : 2021)

The Committee welcomes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention.

Article 1 of the Convention. Declare and pursue an active employment policy. The Committee notes that in 2021 the Government adopted a Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, aimed at rebuilding the economy of Luxembourg after the COVID-19 pandemic. The PRR is based on three pillars: (i) cohesion and social resilience; (ii) the green transition; and (iii) digitalization and governance. The aim of the first pillar is to strengthen and diversify the professional skills of job seekers through: (i) the introduction of Skillsdësch, a tripartite working group to identify needs, with an action plan for training; (ii) the launch of the DigitalSkills and Jobs platform, centralizing all digital training in Luxembourg; and (iii) the creation of the FutureSkills programme, which offers those registered with the Employment Development Agency (ADEM) digital skills-building sessions. The Government also mentions recruitment support measures to promote employment of unemployed persons who are older or who have disabilities, registered with the ADEM. However, the Government does not provide information on the implementation and the impact of the PRR and the active employment measures. In this regard, the Committee notes that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in a 2022 economic study, highlights the need to increase productivity and labour supply in order to support the growth of the gross domestic product of Luxembourg. The OECD considers that strengthening the effectiveness of active labour market policies, in particular for older workers and disadvantaged youth, would boost employment, and concludes that digital skills need to improve and life-long learning should be strengthened. The Government indicates that in 2023 the OECD then developed a National Collaborative Skills Strategy for Luxembourg, which defines the four priority areas as: (i) providing labour-market-relevant adult learning opportunities; (ii) improving guidance services for adult learning; (iii) attracting and retaining foreign talent to fill skills shortages; and (iv) strengthening the governance of skills data collection. The Committee notes, however, that in its 2024 country report on Luxembourg, the European Commission notes that the country faces shortages of skilled workers and skills mismatches. The European Commission considers that despite good overall results in adult education and training, participation of older workers and low-skilled people in learning programmes is low. It states that workers with the right skills are crucial for succeeding in the green and digital transitions. In this regard, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169), which contains, in Part IV, specific clauses on technology policies, encouraging Member States to take measures to: (i) facilitate the development of new technologies as a means of increasing production, creating employment, satisfying basic needs, improving working conditions and reducing working time; (ii) eliminate the negative effects of technological changes on employment; (iii) encourage research on the development of new technologies and on their effects on employment; (iv) establish education and training systems that offer workers opportunities for adjusting to altered employment requirements resulting from technological change; and (v) encourage the social partners to enter into collective agreements on the social consequences of new technologies. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information, including statistics disaggregated by age and sex, on the implementation and impact of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and the active labour market measures on full, productive and freely chosen employment. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on any measures adopted or envisaged to address the challenges relating to issues highlighted by the above-mentioned European and international studies, particularly with regard to the green and digital transitions, and on their impact. Noting that the Convention does not impose any specific form for the national employment policy, the Committee nonetheless requests the Government to indicate how it ensures consistency between the PRR and the other active labour market measures (including those implemented by the Employment Development Agency (ADEM) to support older persons and persons with disabilities) so as to reflect a concerted and coherent vision of the country’s employment objectives.

Articles 1 and 2. Collection and use of employment data. Employment trends. With regard to employment data collection, the Government indicates that the Institute of Statistics (STATEC) publishes an annual report on work and social cohesion. The Government adds that ADEM publishes data on the number of persons registered as unemployed, and their sex, age bracket, nationality and level of education. The Government also indicates that the Economic Committee (Comite de Conjoncture (CdC)), composed of representatives of the Government, employers and workers, oversees the impact of the economy on the labour market and submits a monthly report to the Government. With regard to employment data, the Government reports that the labour market of Luxembourg has an international and multicultural working environment, with a significant rate of multilingual and foreign labour (75 per cent), a prevalent services sector and an unemployment rate lower than the European average. The Government adds that, between 2000 and 2022, employment increased by over 80 per cent in the country. The Government does not, however, provide statistics on the extent of unemployment and underemployment in Luxembourg. In this respect, the Committee notes that, according to ILO statistics, the unemployment rate in 2023 in Luxembourg was 5.2 per cent (5.4 per cent for women 5 per cent for men). The youth unemployment rate was nonetheless slightly higher, at 18.8 per cent (15.6 per cent for men and 22.7 per cent for women). The unemployment rate for persons with disabilities was also slightly higher, at 10.8 per cent. Lastly, although it indicates that the Ministry of Labour and of a Social Solidarity Economy (MTEESS) is responsible for setting out the design and direction of employment policy, the Government does not mention the procedures in place in Luxembourg for monitoring the implementation of, regularly evaluating and reviewing national employment policy, against the background of the information gathered on the labour market. In the absence of information in this regard, the Committee invites the Government to describe the procedures adopted to monitor, evaluate and periodically revise national employment policy, taking account of the information gathered on the labour market. The Committee also requests the Government to provide updated and detailed information on the labour market trends, including statistics on unemployment and underemployment, disaggregated by age and sex.

Article 3. Consultation with representatives of the persons affected, and in particular representatives of employers and workers. The Government indicates that the social model of Luxembourg is based on social dialogue and provides general information on the institutions and the main stakeholders of tripartite dialogue in the country. The Government has not, however, provided information on the way in which the representatives of the persons affected by the active labour market measures, particularly the representatives of employers and workers, are consulted concerning employment policies specifically, with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views in formulating such policies. In the absence of information in this regard, the Committee invites the Government to indicate how, in conformity with Article 3 of the Convention, the representatives of the groups affected by the employment policies are consulted in the process of formulating the latter.