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1. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its first report received in September 2006 and observes that it largely relates to the activities of private agencies offering services for the placement abroad of Lithuanian citizens or persons permanently resident in Lithuania. In this regard, the Committee would be grateful if the Government could include in its next regular report, due in 2009, further information and corresponding extracts of legislative provisions in respect of the following matters.

2. Articles 1, 3, 11 and 12 of the Convention. Definitions. Legal status and operation of private employment agencies. Protection for the workers employed and responsibilities of the user enterprises. The Committee notes that article 88 of the Lithuanian Labour Code provides for mediation services in employment to be provided free of charge by the Lithuanian Labour Exchange under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour and that mediation services may also be provided by other enterprises, agencies, organizations whose regulations or agreements of incorporation contain a corresponding provision. Thus, in respect of the provision of employment services for Lithuanian citizens abroad, article 90 of the Lithuanian Labour Code provides that such mediation is the exclusive right of the State, however “other enterprises, agencies and organizations may act as mediators in employment of citizens abroad only provided they possess licenses issued by the institution authorized by the Government”. Accordingly, the Committee asks the Government to indicate in its next report:

–           how the definitions set forth in Article 1 of the Convention are given effect at the national level; in particular with respect to the private employment agencies as described in Article 1, paragraph 1(b);

–           the legal status and conditions governing the operation of private employment agencies (Article 3);

–           the measures put in place to afford adequate protection to workers employed by private employment agencies in those areas set forth in Article 11 of the Convention;

–           the means by which responsibilities are allocated between private employment agencies and user enterprises in those areas set forth in Article 12 of the Convention.

3. Article 2. Exclusions. The Committee invites the Government to also provide information on private employment agencies prohibited from operating in respect of certain categories of workers or branches of economic activity, or excluded from the Convention, or from certain of its provisions and particulars of the employers’ and workers’ organizations that were consulted in formulating the exclusions. The Government is requested also to provide information as required by the provisions of Article 2, paragraphs 4 and 5.

4. Article 5. Equality of opportunity and treatment in access to employment and to particular occupations. The Government indicates that the procedure established under Lithuanian laws and regulations ensures that private employment agencies treat workers without any discrimination whether on the basis of race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction, social origin or any other form of discrimination covered by national law and practice such as age and disability. In this regard, the Government states that the Law on Equal Opportunities was brought into effect in January 2005. The Committee requests the Government to describe any special services or targeted programmes undertaken by private employment agencies designed to assist the most disadvantaged workers in their jobseeking activities.

5. Article 7. Fee-charging private employment agencies. The Government states in its report that under the Procedure for the Issue of Licences to Intermediaries for the Employment of Lithuanian Citizens Abroad, services of mediation for employment abroad can either be charged for or free of charge. The Government reports that consultations were held with those agencies engaged in foreign employment mediation services on this matter. The Committee notes that authorization for exceptions to the provision of paragraph 1 of Article 7 – according to which private employment agencies must not charge workers any form of fee or payment, either directly or indirectly – is subject to the condition that the exception be “in the interests of the workers concerned” and applies only to “specified categories of workers and certain clearly defined services provided by the private employment agencies in question” (paragraph 2). Paragraph 3 of Article 7 requires that reports on the application of the Convention provide information on these exceptions and give the reasons therefor. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate in its next report all the categories of persons and the types of services for which workers may be required by private employment agencies to pay fees and which organizations of employers and workers have been consulted on this matter. Please also include information on any complaints, alleged abuses or fraudulent practices which may have been occasioned as a result of such exceptions and statistics or other data available on the number of workers affected by these exceptions.

6. Article 8. Migrant workers protection. The Government provides that the Procedure for the Issue of Licenses to Intermediaries for the Employment of Lithuanian Citizens Abroad, approved by the Order of the Minister of Social Security and Labour of 19 August 2003, requires persons wishing to engage in mediation for the employment abroad of Lithuanian citizens, and persons permanently resident in Lithuania, to be registered in accordance with Lithuanian law and to obtain a licence for such activities. The Government also indicates that one of the main preconditions for obtaining a licence for mediation of employment of Lithuanian citizens abroad is the conclusion of an agreement between the Lithuanian agency and a placement agency of the receiving country. The agreement must stipulate mutual obligations and conditions of operation ensuring lawful employment, safe working conditions and other labour and social guarantees for Lithuanian citizens under the law of the receiving country. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures put in place to provide adequate protection and prevent abuses of migrant workers in Lithuania by private employment agencies. Furthermore, the Government is requested to provide information on licences issued for mediation of employment abroad and the extent to which protective measures are in force in the issuing of licences to prevent abuses and fraudulent practices in the recruitment, placement and employment of migrant workers and to provide further information on any bilateral agreements concluded in this regard.

7. Article 13, paragraph 1. Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Committee notes that cooperation among public and private employment agencies is promoted by the new Law on the support for employment, which entered into force in August 2006. The Law provides for the legal regulation of non-public institutions and legal and natural persons providing general services of support for employment. The Government indicates that this would increase competition for public institutions implementing employment support through information, consultation and employment intermediation services, and would improve the quality of the service. The Government is requested to provide information on the new Law, and how this promotes cooperation between the public employment service and the private employment agencies and on any practical measures taken to achieve such cooperation.

8. Article 13, paragraphs 3 and 4. Exchange of information. With respect to the placement of Lithuanian citizens abroad by private agencies, the Government reports that the Procedure for the Issue of Licences to Intermediaries for the Employment of Lithuanian Citizens Abroad provides that firms licensed to engage in foreign mediation must submit monthly reports on employment mediation to the National Labour Exchange. The National Labour Exchange publishes such information received by the private employment agencies on a quarterly basis. The Committee requests the Government to give examples of the kind of information other than on the placement of Lithuanian citizens abroad provided to the National Labour Exchange by agencies performing labour market services.

9. Article 14, paragraph 3, and Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Government indicates in its report that licences are issued, updated, suspended and revoked by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour, and that the Ministry may suspend a licence if it becomes clear that the licence holder has violated the legal provisions. The Committee requests the Government to provide examples of how violations of the Convention are effectively dealt with, also information on the number of workers covered by the Convention and the number and nature of infringements reported.