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The Committee notes the detailed replies provided by the Government in October 2007 to the matters raised in the 2005 direct request.

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Employment trends and active labour market policies. The Government indicates that the unemployment rate was measured at 16.6 per cent in 2006, down from 17.9 per cent in 2005. According to the most recent data, the unemployment rate was down 5.2 per cent from June 2006 to June 2007. Women accounted for 61.5 per cent of the total number of unemployed in June 2007 and persons over 50 had the largest proportion of registered unemployed with 28.6 per cent. Based on the National Employment Action Plan for the period 2005–08, the Government has adopted the 2007 Annual Employment Promotion Plan which includes measures targeting self-employment, training for the long-term unemployed, persons with low levels of education and young persons who have dropped out of school. The aim of these measures is to effectively match labour market supply to demand by providing additional training to workers. The Government indicates that special emphasis in the elaboration of implementing measures of the 2007 Plan was placed on promoting the integration of and combating discrimination against persons with disabilities, unemployed single parents with minor children and unemployed veterans. The Committee also notes the effects of measures implemented under the 2006 Annual Employment Promotion Plan such as the measures undertaken by the Croatian Employment Service to provide education and training to unemployed persons in order to help them reintegrate the labour market, measures targeting business development and measures targeting workers with disabilities. The Committee asks the Government to keep providing information on the impact of its measures on employment promotion. It also asks the Government to provide in its next report detailed information on measures designed to encourage and support employment levels of vulnerable categories of workers.

2. Education and training policies. The Government reports that it faces the problem of an inadequate educational structure and a high drop-out rate and, as a result, it adopted the National Programme of Measures for the Introduction of Compulsory Secondary Education with goals that include promoting better and more coordinated cooperation between business and education sectors and creating prerequisites for lifelong learning. In June 2005, the Government adopted a Plan for the Education System Development for 2005–10 with four key development priorities: increasing the quality and efficiency of education; encouraging permanent professional development for teachers and other staff members in the education system; developing new strategies for managing the education process and its efficiency; and education for social cohesion, economic growth and development. The Government’s report indicates that a proposal for the Adult Education Act is in the process of adoption and that the Agency for Adult Education has been founded. The Committee requests that the Government continue to provide information in its next report on the measures taken in the area of education and training policies and on their impact on prospective employment opportunities.

3. Business development. The Committee notes the measures targeting business development mentioned in the Government’s report. The Government indicates that 3,502 loan applications were approved under the project “Local Development Projects – The Entrepreneur”. In June 2006, the “e-Craft” service was launched and 10,080 new businesses were registered over the Internet in 2006. Also, to enhance the development of small enterprises in the tourism sector, 616 loan-based investments were approved which enabled the creation of 1,700 jobs. The Committee notes the measures taken to stimulate business growth in developed and underdeveloped regions and asks the Government to provide in its next report information on the effects of these measures on long-lasting and productive employment. It also asks the Government to provide in its next report information concerning the methods used by the Government to improve the success rate of young entrepreneurs and to involve the social partners in informing small business of key labour market concerns and opportunities. The Government may deem useful to consult the provisions of the Job Creation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Recommendation, 1998 (No. 189).

4. Private employment agencies. The Government indicates in its report that 21 temporary employment agencies are currently operating in the country and that employment mediation activities are currently carried out by 21 physical and legal persons. The Committee refers to its previous direct request and would also appreciate further information on the manner in which the employment services have increased the efficiency of the labour market measures implemented by the Government’s policies.

5. Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Government indicates that it holds consultations with representatives of workers and employers to be able to take into account their experiences and opinions, and to ensure their full cooperation in the preparation of these policies and in gaining support for them. The Committee recalls that the Convention asks Governments to ensure that the opinions of workers’ and employers’ organizations as well as other interested groups are to be consulted “with a view to taking fully into account their experience and views”. It asks the Government to provide concrete examples on the manner in which the views of employers, workers and other affected groups are taken sufficiently into account in the development, implementation and review of employment policies and programmes.