CMNT_TITLE

1. The Committee notes the Government's report for the period ending June 1998 and the new information provided in reply to its previous request. It notes in particular the explanations concerning the gap between the unemployment rate registered by employment services and the rate indicated by labour force surveys. It notes that this latter rate was 8.9 per cent in October 1997, compared with 7.6 per cent a year earlier. It also notes that, according to the information made available by the competent services of the ILO, over one-third of workers are affected by various forms of underemployment and disguised unemployment, such as unpaid leave and reduced working hours. The Committee hopes that the Government will soon be able to compile full and detailed statistical data on the situation and trends of the active population, employment, unemployment and underemployment for the country as a whole and at the regional level, disaggregated by sector, age, sex and skill level.

2. The Committee notes the emphasis placed by the Government on the financial constraints which are limiting the scope of employment creation measures in the regions and in sectors affected by economic restructuring. It would be grateful if it would indicate the respective proportions of expenditure on unemployment benefit and the financing of active labour market policy measures. Please also provide information on the origins and allocation of the resources of the National Fund for the Employment of the Population.

3. The Committee notes that emphasis is placed on the vocational training and retraining of the unemployed. Please continue to provide information on the number of beneficiaries of training measures, as well as any evaluation that is available on their effectiveness. Please indicate whether such measures are also available to persons whose employment is threatened by industrial restructuring. Please describe the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to strengthen the network of employment services and improve their effectiveness.

4. The Committee notes that a programme for the development of small enterprises was adopted in January 1997 and that a programme of support of young entrepreneurs is being formulated. In this respect, the Committee draws the Government's attention to the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189). It requests the Government to indicate the results achieved through the implementation of these programmes.

5. In more general terms, the Committee recalls that, under the terms of Article 2 of the Convention, the measures to be adopted to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment shall be decided on and kept under review "within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy". It once again requests the Government to describe the measures adopted for this purpose in such fields as investment policy, monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policies, trade policy and prices, incomes and wages policies. The Committee notes that the economic stabilization programme appears to have enabled the country to emerge from the recession, correct the balance of trade and make substantial progress in containing inflation and it hopes that the Government will be able to ensure that these favourable developments are also translated into an improvement in the employment situation.

6. Article 3. With reference to its previous request, the Committee notes with interest that, following the General Agreement concluded between the Government and the social partners for the period 1997-98, decisions in the fields of employment and social protection have to be examined by the Tripartite Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of Employment. It notes that issues related to employment policy are also covered by the National Council of the Social Partners. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the consultations held with representatives of employers and workers concerning employment policy, with an indication of the subjects covered, the views expressed and the manner in which they have been taken into account.

7. Part V of the report form. The Committee notes the reference made by the Government in its report to an ILO project for the vocational training of the unemployed. It has also been informed of the employment policy review conducted by the ILO and its discussion in a tripartite conference held in Kiev in October 1998. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the action taken as a result of ILO technical advisory and cooperation activities in the field of employment.