Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Serbia (Ratification: 2000)

Other comments on C122

Observation

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The Committee notes the observations of the Serbian Association of Employers (SAE) and the Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Serbia (CATUS) communicated with the Government’s report, received on 30 September 2022.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Active labour market measures. The Committee notes from the implementation report of the National Employment Action Plan for 2020 that the general objective of the employment policy was to increase employment and included the specific goals of reducing duality in the labour market through improving labour conditions and labour market institutions, encouraging employment and inclusion of less employable persons in the labour market through implementation of Active Employment Policy Measures (AEPMs), supporting for regional and local employment policy, and improving the quality of the workforce and investing in human capital. The Committee notes the AEPMs taken to improve the situation of “hard-to-employ” persons, such as employment fairs, job search clubs, specific trainings and workshops, trainee, educational and work assistance programmes, professional practice, public works, and targeted subsidies. The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to an ex-post analysis of the National Employment Strategy for 2011–20, which stresses that the implementation of the Strategy has been successful overall. The number of registered elderly persons in employment (aged between 50 and 64) more than doubled in 2019 compared to 2011, increasing their participation in the total number of employees from 13 to 20 per cent. According to the analysis, the number of long-term unemployed (job seeking for more than 12 months) reached its peak in 2012 (over half a million) and decreased to 170,000 in 2019. The share of long-term unemployment in total unemployment decreased from 75.4 per cent in 2012 to 50.3 per cent in 2019. The Committee notes that the activity rate of the rural population increased from 60.4 per cent in 2010 to 68.7 per cent in 2019 and their employment rate increased from 49.7 per cent to 62.1 per cent. The analysis indicates that 142,540 unemployed persons and 137,443 “hard-to-employ” persons were covered in all AEPMs in 2019. The relative improvement is primarily attributed to institutional factors and demographic trends, such as the 2014 amendments to the Labour Law about the severance pay, increase in the retirement age, as well as the 2014 amendment to the Law on Pension and Disability Insurance, which introduced penalties for early retirement. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Employment Strategy for 2021–26 recognizes as a specific objective that of improving labour market situation of the unemployed women, young persons, persons with disabilities and Roma minority. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the nature, scope and impact of the measures taken to promote full, productive and sustainable employment, including those adopted within the framework of the Employment Strategy for 2021–26. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of measures adopted with a view to promoting the employment of elderly persons, persons living in rural areas, combating undeclared work as well as long-term unemployment, to enable them to access decent and lasting employment.

Employment trends. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the Labour Force Survey of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, which indicates that the employment rate in 2022 increased by 0.7 per cent compared to 2011 and reached 50.3 per cent (43,2 per cent for women and 57,9 per cent for men) and that the unemployment rate amounted to 9.4 per cent (11 per cent in 2021). The CATUS refers to the elimination as of 1 January 2019 of the employers’ share in unemployment insurance and the introduction of restrictive conditions for qualifying for unemployment benefits, the levels of which are considered inadequate. The CATUS also observes that only 6.4 per cent of the unemployed received unemployment benefits in 2021, mostly below the risk of poverty threshold. The CATUS maintains that 872,600 persons in 2021 regarded themselves as unemployed, whereas only 352,300 were officially categorized as unemployed. Noting that the official unemployment rate declined from 10.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2020 to 7.9 per cent in the second quarter, during the hardest period of the COVID-19 pandemic for the economy, the CATUS questions the accuracy of official data related to unemployment. It also highlights that the official unemployment rate of 10.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2022 does not reflect the labour market situation. The CATUS also emphasizes the problem of low wages and inadequate social protection and calls to urgently take specific measures to overcome it. The Committee also notes SAE’s observations about its initiative to reform the education system according to the needs of the economy towards creating quality jobs, employment for young people and suppressing the grey economy. Stressing that accurate statistical data sets are of paramount importance for informed policymaking, the Committee requests the Government to provide its comments to the observations made by the CATUS and the SAE. The Committee also requests the Government to provide detailed updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and economic sector, on employment trends in the country, concerning the size and distribution of the labour force, the nature and extent of employment, unemployment and underemployment. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote, develop and deliver quality apprenticeships and draws its attention to the guidance contained in this respect in the Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, 2023 (No. 208), which calls, among others, to incorporate and promote quality apprenticeships within relevant education, vocational training, lifelong learning and employment policies, as well as establish a regulatory framework for quality apprenticeships.

The informal economy. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to the reform of seasonal employment in agriculture and the adoption of the Law on simplified employment in seasonal jobs in certain sectors and industries. The Government states that the law entered into force on 7 January 2019 with 75,687 employed persons (37,253 women and 38,434 men) registered through the portal of seasonal workers by 632 employers in 198 municipalities. The Committee further notes that according to the Labour Force Survey of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia, informal employment rate for 2022 was 13.6 per cent (12.8 per cent for women and 14.6 per cent for men), which marked an increase by 21,300 persons compared with previous year, predominantly of unpaid family workers (20,500). The Survey states that the number of informally employed persons in the agriculture (225,500) is larger than the number of the formally employed (205,200). The Committee also notes about 93,500 persons employed informally in services sector and that the formality–informality ratio in construction sector amounts to 47 per cent. The Government is requested to continue to provide information on the measures taken to promote the formalization of the informal economy, taking into account the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204). The Committee requests in particular the Government to provide detailed updated information on the impact of the reform of seasonal employment in agriculture with regard to facilitating transition to formal employment as well as on measures taken or envisaged to integrate informal economy workers into the formal labour market, particularly young workers, older workers and women, including in services and construction sectors and in the category of “hard-to-employ” persons.

Article 3. Consultations with the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s indication about the annual national action plan and reference report prepared by the tripartite Working Group consisting of representatives of various authorities and ministries, as well as National Employment Service (NES), Union of Employers of Serbia, TUC “Nezavisnost” and CATUS. The Government also refers to two meetings of the Working Group, in the preparation of the National Employment Action Plan for 2018, held in April 2018, four regional meetings in May-July 2017, four in January–February 2018, two in October–November 2018, all open for social partners, one of which in February 2018 was attended by “Nezavisnost” representative, as well as to the meetings of the Working Group for drafting of the 2019 National Employment Action Plan in October–November 2018, attended by representatives of “Nezavisnost” and CATUS. The Government also reports about meetings of the Working Group for the Drafting of the Employment Strategy for the period 2021–26 and the Action Plan for 2021–23 as well as involvement of social partners in formulating the recommendations for the preparation of the ex-ante analysis of the Employment Strategy for 2021–26. In this regard, the Government refers to discussions held within the Social and Economic Council (SEC) and the Republican Employment Council in February 2021. The Committee also notes that, in response to its previous comment on the lack of records of membership and the level of participation of social partners in local employment councils (LECs), the Government indicates that the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Affairs possesses data on LECs members on all local self-government units that submit a request for participation in the co-financing programme of local employment action plans.

The Committee notes from the ex-post analysis of the National Employment Strategy for 2011–20 that social dialogue is not sufficiently developed and refers to the European Commission’s annual reports on Serbia highlighting the need to remove obstacles to social dialogue and strengthen it by enhancing social partners’ capacities, adjusting the legal framework and increasing SEC’s administrative budget. The Committee also notes the conclusions of the Focus Group on cooperation with social partners, which state that despite the legal requirement to cooperate with social partners, including through working groups on public policies, amendments and adoption of laws, employers and workers’ representatives are not satisfied with their influence on the process highlighting that cooperation is only formal without a considerable effect on revision of ministerial proposals. The conclusions recommend to further improve cooperation with social partners, encourage them to take a more active role in the preparation of public policies and give due consideration to their proposals. Recalling the importance of the meaningful, effective and constructive dialogue with representatives of employers and workers, in relation to decision-making on the development and implementation of active employment policies, the Committee requests the Government to provide concrete examples of the manner in which their experience and views have been fully taken into account so as to secure their full cooperation in formulating and enlisting support for such policies. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the nature and scope of consultations held with representatives of the persons affected by the measures taken, such as women, young people, persons with disabilities, informal economy workers, the Roma population and other concerned groups, as required under Article 3 of the Convention.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.