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The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report for the period 1998-2000.

1. Article 1 of the Convention. The Government states that GDP shrank by 0.3 per cent in 1999 and has not picked up much as of mid-2000. In 1998-2000, the total number of registered employed decreased by about 5 per cent per year. Labour force survey data indicate that 52 per cent of working-age men and 39 per cent of working-age women were employed in 1999. Unemployment has a mild but persistent upward trend, and was 17.2 per cent in 1999 and 21.5 per cent in 2000, according to administrative sources. Labour force data indicate that unemployment was 11.2 per cent in the first quarter of 1998 and 12.6 per cent in the first quarter of 1999. Unemployment is fairly evenly distributed across gender and age categories.

2. The Government states that it adopted a national employment policy in 1998. The goals of the national employment policy include decreasing unemployment and increasing the efficiency of labour market institutions. Programmes to decrease unemployment include: lowering labour costs by cutting payroll, health and pensions contributions; loans to aid the unemployed to become self-employed, and to help small and medium-sized enterprises avoid layoffs and expand operations; subsidizing wages of veterans and paying employers a hiring bonus; and subsidizing professional training, retraining and upgrading of skills. The Government states that the total number of people benefiting from these active labour market policy measures was 15,753, but that the programme has been suspended temporarily for lack of funding and proposed new measures have not been funded. The Committee notes this information. It also notes that the Government’s report contains little information on how the national employment policy is coordinated with other policies. It would appreciate receiving further information on how the employment policy objectives are related to other economic and social objectives, as requested in the report form under Article 1.

3. Article 2. The Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any information on the impact of the abovementioned programmes on employment promotion. Please describe the procedures adopted to ensure that the principal measures of employment policy are decided on and kept under periodic review within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy.

4. Article 3. The Government states that the social partners are consulted through their participation on the Management Board of the Employment Service, on the Economic and Social Council and at special events. There is no formal consultation procedure and at present no consultation takes place with other groups affected by the measures taken to promote employment. Please provide further information on the manner in which workers’ and employers’ representatives are consulted, and on the steps taken or envisaged to consult with representatives of other sectors of the economically active population, such as those working in the rural and the informal sectors.

5. Part V of the report form. The Committee notes that the ILO is the associated agency for the inter-agency and bilaterally funded Project for Reconstruction and Social Development in War-torn Areas in Croatia. The ILO Local Economic Development Programme is providing assistance in the creation and operation of local economic development agencies and the InFocus Programme on Boosting Employment through Small Enterprise Development. The Committee would appreciate receiving information on the outcome of this technical cooperation.