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The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its 2006 observation, which read as follows:

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes from the letter received on 19 October 2005 containing the Government’s general report that a number of legal developments relevant to the application of the Convention have taken place since the Government submitted the last report in November 1996. The Committee refers to its 2003 observation and notes in particular the approval of a State Employment Programme in March 2002. However, to evaluate the application of this Convention, the Committee considers it necessary to refer to the Government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper: Second Progress Report (PRSP Report), which indicates that despite an increase in the number of employed persons in 2004 (more than 100,000), the overall employment policy remained undeveloped. The Committee recalls the Government’s goal set out in the PRSP prepared in 2002 of reaching 59 per cent employment by the year 2006. It requests the Government to indicate in its next report whether special difficulties have been encountered in attaining the objectives of full, productive and freely chosen employment. It also asks for information on other measures, such as programmes or activities designed to promote employment, and the manner in which these initiatives are kept under review within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy.

2. Regional inequality. The Committee notes from the PRSP report that significant regional employment differences remain, with high concentrations of labour resources in the densely populated oblasts of Soghd and Khatlon. It hopes the Government will provide details in its next report on how it intends to ensure balanced regional development with particular attention paid to reducing regional employment inequalities.

3. Employment services. The PRSP report further indicates that the State Employment Service (SEC) held 193 job fairs across the country in 2004 involving 2,311 agencies and private companies. As a result of these fairs, 3,701 people received offers of employment, 2,951 joined paid public works programmes and 1,435 enrolled in vocational training. The work of the SEC is supplemented by the efforts of non-governmental and informal employment agencies, with local authorities establishing volunteer employment coordination committees. Yet, the PRSP report points out that the SEC by and large lacks the capacity to reach out to all unemployed people. The Government is therefore asked to provide information in its next report on how it intends to strengthen the SEC in order to meet the needs of all unemployed persons, including vulnerable categories of workers such as women, young people, older workers and workers with disabilities.

4. Collection and use of employment data. The Committee notes from the PRSP Report that the structure and dynamics of the labour market are not well understood and that the collection of unemployment data, for example, is difficult because not all unemployed persons register with the SEC. In view of the high estimated number of informal workers in Tajikistan, the Government is asked to provide information in its next report on the efforts made to improve its capacity to assess the situation of and trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment, both in the formal and informal economy.

5. Article 3. Participation of the social partners in policy preparation and implementation. The Committee would be grateful to receive information in the next report on the consultations held with representatives of the social partners and on the implementation of employment policies, and in particular with representatives of the rural sector and the informal economy on the matters covered by the Convention.

6. The Committee once again points out that the assistance of the Office is available to help the Government meet the reporting obligations and for the technical implementation of an active employment policy within the meaning of the Convention.