Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Montenegro (Ratification: 2006)

Article 1 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. The Committee notes the Government’s report which includes information on the employment and vocational training programmes organized by the Employment Agency of Montenegro. In reply to the 2011 direct request, the Government indicates that annual reports on the situation and trends in the labour market contain information supplied by all relevant institutions, especially the Employment Agency and the Statistical Office of Montenegro. The records of the Employment Agency on 31 December 2013 included 34,514 unemployed persons (16,855 women). In 2013, 37,869 vacancies were reported to the Employment Agency, compared to 45,323 vacancies reported in the previous year. The number of persons employed through the Employment Agency accounted for 14,646 persons in 2013, a decrease when compared to 2012 when 20,909 persons were employed. The Government further indicates that, according to the Employment Agency records, 535 persons benefited from programmes of adult education and training in 2013. Moreover, the Employment Agency has, in cooperation with local authorities, organized the implementation of public works, which engaged 1,013 unemployed persons (an increase of 470 persons when compared to 2012). The Committee requests the Government to provide information, including updated statistics, on the impact of the measures implemented by the Employment Agency and on the manner in which it ensures “the best possible organisation of the employment market as an integral part of the national programme for the achievement and maintenance of full employment and the development and use of productive resources” (Article 1(2)).

Articles 4 and 5. Cooperation with the social partners. The Government indicates that the Employment Agency is managed by its Board of Directors. The Board is appointed by the Government and is composed of five members, namely its president and one member nominated by the state authority responsible for labour and employment, one member of the representative trade union organization, one member of the representative organization of employers, and one member chosen from the employees of the Employment Agency. The Government further indicates that, within the Social Council of Montenegro, a special section for the labour market and employment has been established that is composed of government representatives and representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations, and deals with labour market policy and gives recommendations to the Social Council. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the activities of the Employment Agency, in cooperation with the social partners.

Article 11. Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Government indicates that, in addition to the statutory obligation of employment agencies to submit semi-annual reports to the Employment Agency of Montenegro, activities involving the exchange of necessary information from the database of the unemployed have also started with a view to increase the employment of local labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information, including practical examples, on the measures taken to secure effective cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies.