Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report for the period ending in June 2011. It notes that the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) adopted an Action Plan in August 2010 implementing the Employment Strategy 2009–13. The Government indicates that the Action Plan is expected primarily to reduce the long-term unemployment rate and promote the employment of hard-to-place unemployed individuals. With regard to the Republika Srpska (RS), the Government indicates that its labour market is undergoing major changes, such as privatization and restructuring. The global financial and economic crisis had a significantly negative impact on employment in the RS. Various measures were undertaken to mitigate the impact of the crisis, which resulted in an increase in the number of persons employed and a decrease of registered unemployment: in September 2010, 247,388 employed persons and 142,625 unemployed persons were registered compared to 241,517 and 149,625 in March 2010, respectively. The Employment Strategy of the RS for 2011–15 was adopted, which envisages the following five strategic goals: (1) stimulating economic growth and employment and enhancing the quality of work; (2) increasing productivity and work quality through human resources development; (3) establishing a balance between labour demand and supply; (4) increasing labour market participation by preventing long-term unemployment, inactivity, social exclusion and poverty especially among disadvantaged groups; and (5) expanding institutional capacity and dialogue among the stakeholders in the field of employment. The Employment Strategy 2011–15 also aims at increasing the overall employment rate by 8 per cent and decreasing the unemployment rate by 2.5 per cent. The Strategy is implemented by the Employment Service. The Committee notes that Bosnia and Herzegovina has one of the lowest labour force participation rates and one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe. It notes that the Employment Strategy 2010–14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina has been adopted in April 2010 in cooperation with the social partners as a common strategy for the country whose overall goal is to promote full, productive and freely chosen employment for all. The first Strategy objective is promoting job growth, productive employment, decent work and reducing unemployment. Its quantitative employment targets include increasing the overall employment rate by two percentage points annually. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report an evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the policies and measures to promote full and productive employment implemented in the country, as well as their interaction with other economic and social objectives. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to report on the employment promotion activities carried out under the Decent Work Country Programme, as well as under any other advisory activities of the ILO.

Undeclared work. The Committee notes that undeclared employment in Bosnia and Herzegovina represents approximately one-third of all employment and is heavily concentrated in the agricultural and light manufacturing sectors. It accounts for a large share of the net employment generation. It further notes that the Employment Strategy 2010–14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina envisages measures to reduce employment in the informal economy and facilitate formalization. These include incentives to formalization (such as fiscal incentives and human resources development), measures to strengthen compliance with regulations, and preventative measures (such as the promotion of a favourable business climate). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact on the labour market of measures adopted to address the issue of undeclared work.

Vulnerable workers. The Committee notes that the Action Plan for implementing the Employment Strategy 2009–13 for the FBiH includes measures targeting vulnerable categories of unemployed persons such as persons with disabilities, persons belonging to the Roma community and the long-term unemployed. The Employment Strategy 2011–15 for RS aims at increasing the employment rate of older workers from 40.5 per cent to 48 per cent. The Strategy also targets reducing long-term unemployment from 68 per cent to 55 per cent, decreasing by 10 per cent the inactive population and promoting opportunities for vulnerable categories such as Roma, persons with disabilities, refugees and displaced persons to integrate into the labour market. The Committee requests the Government to include in its next report information on the results of measures aimed at increasing the employment rate of older workers in the entities of the country. It would also appreciate receiving information on the results achieved with respect to the sustainable integration in the labour market of other vulnerable categories of workers, such as persons with disabilities, persons belonging to the Roma community and the long-term unemployed.

Women. The Committee notes that one of the targets of the Employment Strategy 2010–14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina is increasing the female employment rate by 2.5 percentage points annually, while the Employment Strategy 2011–15 for the RS aims at increasing female employment from 38.3 per cent to 46 per cent. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information on the results of measures taken by the entities of the country to increase the employment participation rate of women.

Young workers. The Government indicates in its report that the Action Plan implementing the Employment Strategy 2009–13 for the FBiH includes measures targeting the unemployed youth and that the Employment Strategy 2011–15 for the RS aims at increasing the youth employment rate from 22 per cent to 30 per cent. The Committee notes that the majority of young persons of working age (15–24 years) are economically inactive and approximately three-quarters of employed teenagers (15–19 years) and nearly half of young adults (20–24 years) work in the undeclared economy. According to 2009 data, the employment rate among young persons is extremely low at 17 per cent. Moreover, the youth unemployment rate was as high as 49 per cent. The high unemployment rate among young persons is also due to the acute skills mismatch. The Committee notes that, according to the Employment Policy Paper “Youth Labour Markets in Bosnia and Herzegovina” published by the ILO in 2009, active labour market measures implemented were directed towards young persons with relatively high levels of education, while those with lower levels of education and early school leavers are the most disadvantaged in the labour market. The Committee also notes that the Employment Strategy 2010–14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina seeks to reduce youth unemployment to 30 per cent by 2014. The Committee invites the Government to include in its next report information on the impact and cost effectiveness of measures undertaken by the entities of the country to increase opportunities for young people, in particular those with low levels of education, to find lasting employment.

Education and training. The Government indicates in its report that the employment policies of the FBiH and the RS include measures aimed at improving the education system and establishing a lifelong learning system in order to meet labour market needs. The Committee notes that the Employment Strategy 2010–14 for Bosnia and Herzegovina envisages the following measures in the field of education and training in order to improve the employability of the labour force: align the outcomes of the vocational education and training system to labour market requirements; implement legal and institutional measures for establishing a system for adult education and training; include programmes of entrepreneurial education in education curricula; establish a system of inter sectoral cooperation of social partners in education. The Committee requests the Government to include in its next report information on the measures taken by the entities of the country in the framework of education and training policies, and on their impact on the employability and competitiveness of the labour force, as well as the involvement of the relevant social partners in this process.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Government communicated a copy of the 2010 Report of the Economic and Social Council of the FBiH. The Government also indicates that social partners and other concerned stakeholders participated in the development of the Employment Strategy 2011–15 for the RS. The Committee invites the Government to provide further information on the consultations held with the social partners on the development and implementation of the employment policy in the entities of the country.