Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2010, publiée 100ème session CIT (2011)

The Committee notes the Government’s report received in May 2010 in reply to previous comments. It draws the Government’s attention to the observation formulated by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) forwarded in September 2010. It also invites the Government to include its own remarks on the matters raised by ITUC when reporting in 2011 on the following issues.

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Adoption and implementation of employment policy. The Government refers to the 20 Year Perspective Plan aiming for full employment by 2015, as well as the numerous challenges experienced in executing the Economic Development Plan, ranging from the chronic mismatch between female labour supply and market demand, to the shrinkage of the export market due to the global economic crisis. It also describes various policies and measures adopted in 2009 to promote employment, including 3 billion dollars allocated to its economic programmes, lower bank loan interest rates, state employment programmes, and better enforcement of employment regulations. The Committee notes the provision of low interest bank loans for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which has created 938,000 new opportunities as of 2009. The Government also indicates that it has provided financial support to struggling enterprises in 2006 and 2007 to prevent mass lay‑offs. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the procedures and mechanisms established to review and assess the results of its employment policy measures. The Committee also asks the Government to provide information on the policies that promote full, productive and lasting employment opportunities to the unemployed and other categories of workers affected by the crisis.

Employment trends. The Government communicates that women’s economic participation remains a major issue and that the rate has decreased further from 17 per cent in 2005 to 16.4 per cent in 2006 and 15.6 per cent in 2007. The Government relates that Parliament has addressed this issue by passing a bill promoting home-based work in April 2010, providing a legal basis and financial support to enhance self-employment opportunities for women. According to the Statistical Book for Year 1385 published by the Statistical Centre, the national economic participation rate in the period 2006–07 was 40.6 per cent, while the unemployment rate was 11.2 per cent. The data shows a high youth unemployment rate of 23.3 per cent, as well as a marked disparity between female and male economic participation rates, with the former merely at 16.6 per cent and the latter at 40.6 per cent. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on the labour market and employment trends and communicate any difficulties experienced in collecting and disaggregating relevant data.

Labour market measures. The Government indicates that it has established the Workers’ Unemployment Prevention Fund in 2006 to provide unemployment benefit and training to workers affected by enterprise restructuring. The Government also mentions an increase in the number of private employment agencies. The Committee further notes that temporary work permits were issued to Afghan workers in 2007. The Committee invites the Government to include both data and analysis regarding the effect of measures taken under the Workers’ Unemployment Prevention Fund and private employment agencies’ intervention in the labour market. It would also appreciate information on the integration of Afghan workers in the local labour market (see Part X of the Employment Policy (Supplementary Provisions) Recommendation, 1984 (No. 169)).

Youth employment. The Committee notes the Government’s Training Plan for University Graduates which finances vocational training for persons with university qualifications by its executive departments and other authorized private and public entities. The Government indicates that the State Technical and Vocation Organization’s policies have been revisited in 2008 and 2009 to improve the organization’s efficiency and market sensitivity. The Government highlights that 67 per cent of the organization’s trainees have been women but regrets the lack of data on the training of young persons disaggregated by gender, as requested by the Committee in previous comments. The Committee invites the Government to provide information on employment policies and measures adopted to address the needs of young workers including data on the gender of persons benefiting from the Government’s Training Plan for University Graduates. It further invites the Government to provide detailed information on how the State Technical and Vocation Organization has been restructured under the 2008 and 2009 policy review to better coordinate education and training policies with prospective employment opportunities.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. In response to the Committee’s request to detail the institutional mechanisms which give effect to the Convention’s consultation requirement, the Government describes five such forums: the National Labour Forum, the High Labour Council, the High Council of Technical Protection, the Council of Social Security Organization, and the High Employment Council. All of these forums share a similar organizational composition consisting of government officials, academic experts, and employers’ and employees’ representatives. The Government indicates that the subject matters of these forums range from broad labour issues to more specific discussions on social security, educational policy and labour culture. The Committee invites the Government to provide some specific examples of how discussions resulting from such forums have been used in its employment policy formulation and implementation. In this regard, the Committee asks the Government to focus on the consultative procedures beyond the forums’ organizational compositions, which enable the Government to take fully into account the views and experiences of persons affected by employment policy measures.