Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s detailed report for the period ending 1 September 2000 and its reply to previous comments.

1. Article 1 of the Convention. The Government states that GDP increased by 4 per cent in 1998 and 3.7 per cent in 1999, due mainly to increased domestic demand.  Inflation remained quite low, at 1.4 per cent in 1998 and 2.9 per cent in 1999, due to the Government’s drive to enter the European Monetary Union. Employment grew 3.4 per cent and unemployment decreased by 8.8 per cent in 1998, compared with 4.6 per cent and 14.9 per cent respectively in 1999. The participation rate increased to 54.2 per cent (68.7 per cent for men and 38.3 per cent for women) and the unemployment rate went down 2.9 per cent to 15.9 per cent, although the slight change in statistical methodology allows only a rough comparison between 1998 and 1999. The percentage of long-term unemployed decreased by 3.4 per cent to 49.8 per cent of total unemployment. Growth in employment occurred mainly in services and construction. Full-time work grew by 6.5 per cent and part-time work grew by 10.2 per cent. The number of self employed slightly decreased. Substantial regional differences in rates of employment and unemployment persist, with generally poorer rates of employment and higher unemployment in the south and west, due to lower levels of economic development in these regions. The unemployment rate for youth decreased, partly due to more youth staying in school for longer periods.

2. The Government states that it is concerned with both the quantity and quality of employment. The objectives of the Action Plan for 1999 include promoting an entrepreneurial culture for development of SMEs and micro-enterprises, reducing non-wage labour costs and administrative burdens on enterprises, and improving public employment services. Active measures increased from 19 per cent of total spending on employment promotion and provision for the unemployed in 1997 to 37 per cent in 2000. The Government has created numerous financial incentives for employers to hire unemployed youth (less than 30 years old), women, people with disabilities, and older workers (over 45 years old). It has developed a new National Programme for Vocational Training, consolidated active policies for people with disabilities and amended legislation to encourage labour contracts of unlimited duration and reduce the use of temporary contracts. The Action Plan for 1999 also emphasizes the importance of local development, in particular the importance of improving the tourism services sector and promoting the use of information technology. The Government encourages internal migration to redress regional imbalances in the labour market. It aims to provide more individually tailored employment services to prevent people from becoming unemployed for long periods of time. And the Government fosters micro-enterprises and self-employment by allowing lump sum conversions of unemployment benefits for start-ups, including disability benefit for people with disabilities. The Committee would appreciate receiving further information on the impact of these and other measures taken on employment promotion.

3. Article 2. The Committee notes with interest that the Government has introduced since 2000 new statistical indicators for prevention and activation, which will be increasingly important given the aim of decentralizing employment programmes. It looks forward to receiving further information in future reports on the effect of this change in formulating and evaluating employment policies and programmes.

4.­ Article 3. The Committee notes with interest that, according to the Government, social dialogue played an important role in developing the Action Plan for 1997, which has had a positive impact on employment promotion, and the Action Plan for 1999 calls for strengthening social dialogue. Please continue to supply information on the manner in which representatives of workers, employers and other groups affected, such as rural and informal sector workers, are consulted on the development, implementation and evaluation of employment policies and programmes, particularly in light of the process established to transfer responsibility for employment promotion to the autonomous communities.