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1. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government in its report for the period ending 30 June 1988. The employment promotion policy follows two main directions: greater flexibility in the operation of the labour market and broader functions and responsibilities for the employment services. The measures taken by the Government are therefore intended to facilitate access to the labour market and to strengthen the structures for the integration of workers, and in particular young persons and women seeking their first job. The Government has supplied information in its report, in reply to the Committee's previous comments, on the impact of the programmes that have been adopted in terms of the persons affected.

2. More precisely, within the context of measures to increase the flexibility of the labour market, various standard-setting measures have been taken. Act No. 863 of 19 December 1984 introduced new formulae, such as "solidarity contracts", which are an outcome of agreements between enterprises and workers' organisations for a stable and programmed reduction in working time and remuneration, with the objective of avoiding the elimination of jobs or of creating new jobs. Act No. 863 also provides for "training and employment" contracts which make it possible to recruit young persons for a maximum period of 24 months, during which the employer undertakes to provide, in addition to the corresponding remuneration, appropriate vocational training. Between 1985 and 1987, 700,000 persons benefited under this type of contract. Act No. 863 also had the objective of developing part-time work, although the Government notes high resistance by workers to this type of employment, the relatively low importance of which in total employment is confirmed by statistics. More recently, other measures have been adopted, particularly with the objective of compensating for the accumulated inequalities of age, sex and region. Act No. 44 of 28 February 1986 is intended to promote the creation of enterprises and co-operatives by young persons in the Mezzogiorno. In June 1988, 185 projects had been approved, covering 3,281 jobs. Act No. 113 of 11 April 1986 is intended to promote the integration of young persons, women and the disabled who are the victims of long-term unemployment by encouraging their recruitment through tax relief. The report indicates that, through the "training contracts" provided for under this Act, by 31 December 1987 it had been possible to recruit 16,492 young persons. Direct subsidies were introduced under the Finance Act No. 67 of 11 March 1988 for manufacturing, handicrafts and co-operative enterprises which, between 1988 and 1992, were to take on workers with contracts for an undetermined period, while the Act also provided for the financing of local initiatives for community work to be undertaken in the Mezzogiorno.

3. Secondly, within the context of measures intended to strengthen the employment services, the Committee notes the creation of a general directorate to evaluate the labour market under Act No. 56 of 28 February 1987 respecting the organisation of the labour market, and to co-ordinate information and statistical data on employment. Regional employment commissions, set up under the regional labour and manpower offices, have been made responsible for managing the labour market, while employment agencies have been set up in areas that are particularly badly affected by unemployment.

4. Furthermore, the Committee notes the comments submitted by the General Confederation of Italian Agriculture (CONFAGRICOLTURA) and the Trade Union Association of Petrochemical Enterprises in the Public Sector (ASAP), transmitted by the Government in its report. The CONFAGRICULTURA, which states that it is aware of the gravity and increasingly acute unemployment problem, refers to the contribution that has been made by the measures taken under the collective labour agreement for the agricultural sector and emphasises the value of Act No. 56, which enables the regional employment commissions to take charge at the regional and local levels of the application of measures for the placement of the unemployed and studies on the labour market. The ASAP notes that difficulties of a bureaucratic nature have impeded the regular and satisfactory application of measures for the creation of enterprises by young persons, particularly in the South of the country (the Mezzogiorno). It also draws attention more particularly, among other matters, to the importance of training and, especially, vocational guidance.

5. The Committee notes the efforts that have been made by the Government, which is devoting an increasingly large proportion of public assistance to activities for the disadvantaged regions and groups of the population (the South - the Mezzogiorno - and young persons, in particular), to promote an active employment policy in consultation with the representatives of the persons affected. It is nevertheless led to make a similar observation to that contained in its 1988 observation, namely that, from all appearances, the measures that have been taken have not up to the present time made it possible to resolve an employment situation that remains worrying. Despite the sustained growth in production, the rate of job creation was not sufficient between 1986 and 1988 to decrease unemployment, the rate of which was 12 and 12.1 per cent in 1987 and 1988, according to OECD data. There continued to be considerable differences between: regions (the South had an unemployment rate of 19.2 per cent in 1987, as compared with 8.4 per cent in the industrialised regions in the North and the centre of the country); age groups (with a national unemployment rate of 35.6 per cent of the 14-25 year-olds and of 53.1 per cent in the South for the same group); and sex (8.1 per cent of the active male population was unemployed in 1987 as compared with 18.7 per cent of women). The Committee hopes that the Government will strengthen the measures to promote the objectives of the Convention as set out in Article 1, and will report the particular difficulties encountered in achieving these objectives and the extent to which they have been overcome. It would be grateful if the Government would continue to supply information on labour market policies, and particularly on measures intended to balance the supply and demand of labour at the occupational and geographical levels, including measures to adjust the workforce to structural changes, and measures intended to meet the needs of particular categories of workers. It also hopes that the next report will be supplemented by information on overall and sectoral development policies, including policies and measures for balanced regional development, and on the procedures adopted to ensure that the effects on employment of measures taken to promote economic development or other economic and social objectives receive due consideration (Article 2). Finally, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would supply full supplementary information providing details on the scope and outcome of consultations concerning employment policies with representatives of the persons affected by the measures that are to be taken (Article 3).