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

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

Previous comment

The Committee also notes information about various projects that are being implemented in Serbia in collaboration with various development partners to support employment and social inclusion, such as “Technical assistance for capacity building in the field of employment policy” from the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) 2013 program cycle, implemented 2017 – 2020, and “Support of the European Union to the active involvement of young people” from the IPA 2014 program cycle; “Inclusive Markets in the Western Balkans”, supported by the ILO, UNDP and the Austrian Development Agency; “Dialogue on youth employment, initiative and dual education”, supported by GIZ; “Inclusion of Roma and other marginalized groups in Serbia”; the “Migration for development”; “Project for the Improvement of Competitiveness and Employment”, supported by the IBRD and the World Bank; as well as projects implemented within the EU Program for Employment and Social Innovation. The Government also reports about the Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan, with the technical support of the ILO, and Serbia’s adherence to the Declaration of the Western Balkans on the sustainable integration of young people into the labour market.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that the ex-post analysis of the National Employment Strategy for 2011–20 states that the ratio of registered persons with disabilities willing and able to work (13,385) to the total number of unemployed persons (506,865) was 2.6 per cent in 2019. The analysis highlights the achievement of two qualitative goals of the Strategy related to persons with disabilities, such as increased inclusion in active labour market policies (9,620) and increased employment from the National Employment Service (NES) records (6,563). The Committee notes that the analysis refers to the annual report of the Commissioner for Equality, which indicates that more than a quarter of the total number of complaints regarding discrimination relate to persons with disabilities and most concern access to employment, education and professional training, and conditions at workplace. The Committee recalls that employment policies are an essential tool to promote the creation of a more inclusive and equitable labour market, including providing financial incentives to employers who hire persons with disabilities; offering tax breaks to businesses that are owned and operated by persons with disabilities; funding training and education programmes for persons with disabilities; promoting inclusive hiring practices; enforcing laws that prohibit discrimination against persons with disabilities in the workplace; providing support services to persons with disabilities to overcome barriers to employment, such as transportation difficulties or childcare needs; or, promoting awareness of the benefits of hiring persons with disabilities to dispel stereotypes and misconceptions about their abilities. Recalling that Serbia is also party to the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159), the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on the nature and impact of measures taken to prevent discrimination in the labour market against persons with disabilities and promote decent employment opportunities in the open labour market, including information on the implementation of the National Employment Strategy for 2021–26and with regard to the findings of the Commissioner for Equality.

Women’s employment. The Committee notes that according to the Labour Force Survey of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia for 2022, the employment rate for women was 43.2 per cent, which is still significantly lower that the employment rate for men (57.9 per cent). The Committee also notes that 79,663 unemployed women participated in active employment policy measures (AEPMs) in 2019. The Committee takes note of the adopted Strategy for Gender Equality 2016–2020 aimed to support women’s employment, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment, as well as to develop measures to improve the situation of groups facing discrimination on multiple grounds. Noting the persistence of higher rates of unemployed women in Serbia compared to men, the Committee requests the Government to provide detailed updated information, including disaggregated statistical data, on the nature and impact of measures adopted with a view to promoting the employment of women to enable them to access decent and lasting employment at all levels and across all economic sectors, particularly of women belonging to disadvantaged groups and those facing multiple and intersecting discrimination, including Roma women, women with disabilities, young women and women living in rural areas. The Committee also refers to its 2022 observation on the application of Convention No. 111 and requests the Government to report on the employment measures taken in the context of the Gender Equality Strategy 2021–2030 and their impact on promoting lasting employment of women, including increased access of women to formal employment.

Youth employment. The Committee notes from the 2022 Labour Force Survey of the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia that the population of young people in the age from 15 to 24 decreased to 685,000, which is 9,800 (1.4 per cent) less than in 2021. The employment rate of this group in 2022 totalled 24.7 per cent (24.5 per cent in 2021) and the unemployment rate declined to 24.4 per cent (26.4 per cent in 2021). The rate of young people neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET) in 2022 decreased from 16.6 per cent in 2021 to 13 per cent in 2022. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the nature and impact of incentives and other measures taken or envisaged to promote youth employment and lasting labour market integration of young people, including measures to support school to work transition, as well as information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, economic sector, on trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment for young persons.

The Roma minority. The Committees notes that according to the ex-post analysis of the National Employment Strategy for 2011–2020, registered unemployment of Roma people had a moderate growth trend over past years, increasing from around 22,000 in 2013 to around 26,000 persons at the end of 2019. The number of unemployed Roma as a share of the total number of unemployed persons on NES records almost doubled between 2013 and 2019, which, according to the Government, can partially be attributed to NES activities aimed at the activation and registration of Roma people on NES records. The number of Roma included in AEPMs increased from 1,536 in 2009 to over 6,600 in 2019, reflecting an increase in relative terms from 2 per cent in 2011 to 5 per cent in 2019 of the total number of persons involved in all AEMPs. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by age and gender, on the nature and impact of the measures taken to address the labour market challenges faced by members of the Roma community with a view to promoting their full, productive, freely chosen and lasting employment.