Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 1995, publiée 83ème session CIT (1996)

1. The Committee notes with interest the Government's very helpful report for the period ending June 1994. In reply to the request addressed directly to it, the Government has provided a set of detailed information which bears witness to its commitment to achieving the objectives of the Convention and make it possible to assess the results of the policies adopted with a view to their achievement.

2. The information provided in the report shows that, following a period of profound recession, still evident in a decline of 5.4 per cent in gross domestic product in 1992, the economy started to grow once again in 1993 and should achieve an annual growth rate of around 5 per cent in both 1994 and 1995. This recovery in the growth rate can largely be attributed to the improvement in the economic situation of the country's principal trading partners, but also to the choice of economic policy, which has allowed the country to benefit fully from the more favourable environment. Reference may be made in this respect to the active policy to stimulate economic activity and employment pursued during the period, which took the form, in particular, of measures designed to reduce the indirect costs of labour for employers and the adoption of a wages policy, under the terms of the general agreement of April 1994 on wages policy in the private sector, to moderate the real growth of wages within the limits of productivity growth. In order to increase employment stability, the Government also made use of fiscal policy, for example penalizing undue recourse to subcontracting and temporary employment. Greater competitiveness in exports encouraged the necessary reorientation of foreign trade. The Government considers that the positive impact of its stabilization policy in terms of a recovery in economic activity, employment and the containment of inflation are now prevailing over the short-term costs of adjustment. It considers that, during the current period of transition to a market economy, the role of the State remains important, particularly to sustain growth through public investment, and that in the longer term the role of the State is linked to the process of the privatization of the economy, which is proceeding at a relatively slow pace at the present time.

3. In this context, the decline in total employment slowed down over the reference period and the unemployment rate, which reached a peak of 15.3 per cent in December 1993, flattened out at 14.4 per cent at the end of 1994. According to the information provided by the Government, this rate may be even lower (9 per cent) taking into account the fact that around 20 per cent of registered unemployed persons may have a job and are not actively seeking employment. The average increase of 40 per cent per month in the number of vacancies between 1993 and 1994 illustrates the recovery of demand for labour and reflects the improvement in the economic situation. However, the Government emphasizes that the large proportion of long-term unemployment (62 per cent of total unemployment in 1994, as compared with 51 per cent in 1992), as well as the continued high rate of unemployment among young persons under 26 years of age (of whom 33.5 per cent were unemployed in 1994, compared with 41 per cent in 1992) and the fact that nearly half of unemployed persons have no skills, are all indicators of the essentially structural nature of unemployment.

4. The Government describes in detail all the active labour market policy measures implemented by the national employment service to prevent and combat unemployment. The Committee notes in particular the emphasis placed on training and the measures to prevent terminations of employment for economic and structural reasons. It also notes the increase in the number of beneficiaries of the programme to promote self-employment, and the facility offered to jobseekers to receive their unemployment benefit in the form of a lump-sum payment so that they can embark upon a self-employed activity. The Committee also notes that, despite their temporary nature, public works programmes promote the long-term employment of their participants, whereas assignments in enterprises appear to have been less effective. Furthermore, the Committee notes with interest the information provided on the activities and policy of the employment service in the Government's first report on the application of Convention No. 88.

5. The Committee notes the Government's concern that the effectiveness of each of these employment policy measures should be evaluated and that new and more suitable measures should be sought, where appropriate, to regulate the labour market and assist the unemployed. It has also been informed of the Government's intention to hold a tripartite national conference in 1996 to discuss these matters. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying detailed information on the manner in which employment policy measures are determined and kept under review, within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy, in consultation with the representatives of the persons affected, in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. It hopes that all the policies that are implemented will make it possible to achieve a significant improvement in the employment situation in the near future.