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Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - North Macedonia (RATIFICATION: 1991)

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Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. Consultation with the social partners. The Government refers in its report to the National Action Plan for Employment 2011–13 and the Strategy for Employment 2011–15. It indicates that organizations of employers and workers actively participated in the Strategy’s design and implementation. According to the 2014 labour force survey, the country’s population over 15 years of age was 1,673,494 persons (total population of 2,022,547), of which 57.3 per cent were actively participating in the labour market. The Committee notes that the unemployment-to-population ratio stood at 28 per cent. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the results of the measures implemented in the framework of the National Action Plan for Employment, the Strategy for Employment and other policies and programmes adopted in line with the Convention. Referring to the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), the Committee requests the Government to provide details of programmes pursuing the objective of quality job creation in the formal economy, especially in less-developed regions and for the most vulnerable groups of the population. Please also continue to include information on the consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations concerning the formulation and implementation of employment policies and programmes.

Coordination of economic and social policy for poverty reduction. Education and training. The Government states that the Strategy for Employment and action plans for employment are in line with guideline 10 on promoting social inclusion and combating poverty of the EU Council’s Strategy for Jobs and Growth “Europe 2020” of 26 March 2010. The Committee notes that, according to the information contained in the Action Plan on Youth Employment 2012–15, despite increased spending on social assistance, the head count poverty index increased from 28.7 per cent in 2008 to 31.1 per cent in 2009. The index declined slightly to 30.9 per cent in 2010. The Government recognizes the need to improve its support for lifelong learning for which, as a starting point, the large percentage of the working population without primary education has to be supported through educational measures. The Committee emphasizes that unemployment and education are important determinants of poverty as manifested in the findings in the Action Plan on Youth Employment 2012–15. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken, such as the Action Plan on Youth Employment 2012–15, to improve the coordination of economic and social policy for poverty reduction, especially with regard to education and training policies in relation to prospective employment opportunities.

Women. The Committee notes that, based on the 2014 labour force survey, the activity rate of women aged 15–64 years stood at around 32.4 per cent, while 13 per cent were unemployed and 54.7 per cent were inactive. In contrast, 50.1 per cent of men were employed, 19.1 per cent unemployed and 30.7 per cent inactive. In terms of overall employment-to-population ratio, the employment rate of women in 2014 was lower than that of men by 24 percentage points (69.3 per cent for men and 45.3 per cent for women). In 2011, the difference between the same rates was 17 percentage points. The Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the impact of the measures taken to increase the participation of women in the labour market.

Young persons. The Committee notes that young people aged 15–24 years had an employment-to-population ratio of 15.2 per cent in 2014, a slight increase when compared to 14.4 per cent in 2011. The employment-to-population ratio for young women stood at 11.3 per cent and 18.9 per cent for young men. The Committee further notes the Government’s emphasis on fostering youth employment by strengthening the youth labour market’s governance system, private sector development and ensuring labour market inclusion of disadvantaged youth as part of the Action Plan on Youth Employment 2012–15. In this regard, measures target 28 per cent of the total youth population aged 15–29 years old, equivalent to 135,000 young men and women. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures implemented to promote employment opportunities for young persons.

Older workers. The Committee notes that older workers in the 50–64 age group had an activity rate of 58.8 per cent, an employment rate of 45.6 and an unemployment rate of 22.4 per cent. The activity rate of persons aged 64 and older was 2.4 per cent. In order to increase the participation rate of persons over the age of 55, the Government intends to employ 4,000 older unemployed persons in public works through the Employment Service Agency. In this regard, 3,297 persons in 77 municipalities participated in the programme for up to six months. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures implemented to increase the participation of older workers in the labour market.

Roma minority. The Government indicates that, in addition to individual skills and training courses, measures targeting the Roma minority in 2013 and 2014 include grants for self-employment, subsidized employment and internships. Moreover, a team of mentors and assistants for employment was formed to assist all unemployed Roma people and persons at risk of social exclusion. This team is responsible for motivating and regularly providing information on employment opportunities and opportunities to improve professional capacities offered in local communities or through the national programmes and measures for employment. These measures are complemented by the web-based Roma Informative Portal, launched in February 2015. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on the measures taken to encourage and support the labour market participation of the Roma minority.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The Government refers to its Programme for Self-Employment which is one of the measures taken to support the creation of SMEs and employment. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the impact of the Programme for Self-Employment and other measures taken to support the establishment of SMEs in terms of employment generation.