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The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report, as well as the Labour Policy programme which was adopted by the Council of Ministers in March 1997, which was appended to the report.

1. Article 1 of the Convention. The Government states that the Programme for the Labour and Employment Sector for 2000-04 gives priority to creating jobs in the formal sector and through self-employment in the non-structured sector. Vocational training and job placement is provided for young people, demobilized soldiers, returnees, displaced persons, retrenched workers, women and other groups facing difficulties. The Government also aims to develop training and employment policies to keep people in rural areas or encourage them to return. These goals are to be met through promoting investment, intensive labour reconstruction projects and supporting the informal sector through funding. Micro-enterprise projects are also being supported to promote employment for women. The Government has provided special training to people with disabilities, but the labour market is unable to absorb all of the disabled jobseekers. Jobseekers with low levels of skills are not able to find work, or obtain work only with very low wages, so they turn to the informal sector to support themselves. The Committee would appreciate receiving further information on the impact of the Programme for the Labour and Employment Sector for 2000-04 on employment promotion. Please also supply the information requested in the report form on the situation, level and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, both in the aggregate and as they affect particular categories of workers such as women, young persons, older workers and disabled workers.

2. Article 2. Please supply information on measures taken or envisaged to develop a system for collecting disaggregated data on the labour market. Please also provide further information on how employment policies and programmes are kept under review within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy.

3. Article 3. The Committee notes with interest that the Programme for the Labour and Employment Sector for 2000-04 gives priority to consolidating social dialogue. It would appreciate receiving further information on the manner in which consultations are held with representatives of employers, workers and other groups, such as rural and informal sector workers, and on the outcome of these consultations.