Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Armenia (Ratification: 1994)

Article 1 of the Convention. Employment trends and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the signing of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for 2019-2023, which sets priorities and key country outcomes that were developed in close consultation with the tripartite constituents and other national stakeholders. The Committee notes that, according to information available on the ILO website, despite large-scale reforms in the employment sphere over the past years, there are still pressing issues to be addressed. These include the gap between labour force supply and demand, existing barriers to employment for first-time labour market entrants, groups in vulnerable situations and skilled workers. Under the second DWCP priority, the national constituents undertake to develop a new National Employment Strategy (NES), addressing these and other issues, such as youth and rural employment, informality and entrepreneurship development. The NES, once developed and adopted, is to become a core national policy document for a comprehensive employment policy framework to support inclusive and sustainable economic growth in Armenia. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the 2021 program of the Government of the Republic of Armenia includes among its key priorities the eradication of poverty through the promotion of employment and education. In this context, the Government indicates that it is taking steps to review the employment policies, one of which is the wide-scale program “Work Armenia!”, which focuses on promoting employment among women and young persons. Lastly, the Government indicates that measures have been taken to introduce career guidance activities in vocational education and training (VET) institutions, including in the framework of the "Better Qualifications for Better Jobs 2017–2019 Budget Support Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Armenia and the European Union (EU).

With regard to employment trends, the Government reports that, as of 1 January 2021, 87,999 job seekers were registered in the regional centres of the United Social Service (former State Employment Agency) of the Ministry of Labour and Social Issues, representing an increase of 3.6 per cent in comparison with the same period of the previous year. In the same period, 10,109 people were employed (25.2 per cent less as compared to the previous year), 1,450 persons were not included in the employment regulation state programs (a decrease of 40 per cent as compared to the previous year). Moreover, there were 61,320 persons unemployed (a decrease of 0.7 per cent in comparison with the previous year). The Government adds that the number of unemployed women remained high (39,653 women), representing 64.7per cent of the total number of unemployed persons. Moreover, the Government indicates that regional disparities also remain and reports that in 2020, the highest employment was registered in Yerevan (2,253 jobseekers were hired in 2020) and the lowest in Vayots Dzor (only 273 jobseekers were hired). In this context, the Government refers to the implementation of the program "Support for Livestock breeding" since 2019, with the objective of promoting employment and overcoming poverty in certain regions. The Government reports that in 2019, 1,098 persons participated in the program. The Committee further notes that, according to information derived from the Household Labour Force Survey available to the ILO Department of Statistics (ILOSTAT), in 2020, the labour force participation rate was 66.5 per cent (71.1 per cent for men and 62.6 per cent for women), the employment-population ratio was 58.4 per cent (60.5 per cent for men and 56.6 per cent for women). Finally, the unemployment rate was 12.2 per cent (14.9 per cent for men and 9.6 per cent for women). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the nature, scope and impact of the measures taken to promote full productive employment, including those adopted in the framework of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2019-2023. It also requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on progress made in respect of the development and adoption of the National Employment Strategy (NES), and to provide a copy once it is adopted.In addition, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on employment trends in the country, particularly on employment, unemployment and underemployment.

Groups vulnerable to decent work deficits. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in 2020, 5,675 persons were registered in state employment regulation programmes, of which 54.5 percent were women, 22.4 percent were young people aged 16 to 29 and 6.2 percent were persons with disabilities. The Government adds that 1,162 of the participants in these programmes acquired stable employment or became self-employed during 2020, 62 of which were persons with disabilities. In addition, the Government reports that 3,256 people became temporarily employed in paid seasonal public works, including 265 persons with disabilities. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government regarding the adoption of new programmes aimed at promoting women’s employment. The Government indicates that support is provided for jobseekers with children under the age of three. Assistance for childcare is also provided to parents returning to work while the child is under the age of two years. These measures aim to facilitate the return to work of people on childcare leave. In addition, on-the-job training is provided to mothers who do not have a competitive professional qualification in the job market to enable them to acquire competitive work skills at the workplace. The Committee nevertheless notes that, in its concluding observations of 31 October 2022, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) noted with concern the limited access to stable and adequately remunerated employment for disadvantaged and marginalized groups of women, including women belonging to ethnic minorities, internally displaced women, women in a refugee-like situation, migrant women and women with disabilities (document CEDAW/C/ARM/CO/7, paragraph 35 (f)). Moreover, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the implementation and impact of different programmes aimed at promoting the employment of persons with disabilities, including the provision of financial assistance (reimbursement of 50 per cent of the monthly salary for one year) to employers of persons with disabilities. The Government also refers to the provision of a one-time compensation to employers hiring persons with disabilities to train them to support their acquisition of adequate skills and abilities, as well as for the adjustment of the workplace to their needs. The Government reports that, in 2020, there were 522 beneficiaries of financial support for training and 4 beneficiaries of the financial support for workplace adjustments. In addition, the Government refers to the adoption of Decision No 1616-N of 14 November, 2019, which introduced amendments to several government employment programmes, with a view to expanding their scope and improving their implementation. For instance, the requirement of having the status of unemployed person for at least three months has been removed. The Government indicates that this conditional requirement was hindering the implementation of those employment programs which require a quick response to make the job seeker more competitive in the labour market and enable the jobseeker to rapidly meet the needs of the employer. Finally, the Government refers to the implementation of employment programmes to promote employment of the unemployed citizens of the Artsakh Republic, who were deported in 2020 due to the war with Azerbaijan: these targeted programmes include a 3-month internship programme and a programme providing temporary employment through the paid public works system. The Committee nevertheless notes that the Government does not provide information on the measures taken in the area of vocational education and training aimed at promoting employment among young persons. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, age and region, on the nature, scope and impact of the measures and programmes implemented to promote the employment of groups vulnerable to decent work deficits, including women, young persons, persons with disabilities and persons vulnerable to intersectional discrimination. With regard to the active labour market measures directed at young persons, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the nature, scope and the impact of the measures taken in the area of vocational education and training in relation to improving the employability of young persons.

Article 2. Implementation of active labour market measures. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that no control mechanisms are established under the national legislation to monitor the activities of private employment agencies. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide detailed information on any measures taken or envisaged, in consultation with the social partners, to regulate the activities of private recruitment agencies operating on Armenian territory. In this regard, the Committee invites the Government to consider the possibility of ratifying the Private Employment Agencies Convention, 1997 (No. 181), as the most updated instrument in this area.

Undeclared work. The Government indicates that amendments were introduced to the Tax Code of the Republic of Armenia during the reporting period with a view to strengthening the requirements regarding the formalization of employees. The Government reports that these amendments have contributed to increasing the number of registered employees and to strengthen the efficiency of the accuracy checks carried out to formalize the employees recruited, in accordance with the legislation and/or submit a registration statement for the employee. The Government reports that, between 2018 and 2020, 6,235 unregistered employees were identified. In addition, the number of jobs held by taxpayers with declared income increased from 513 000 in January 2019 to 593 000 in January 2021. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated disaggregated information on the impact of the measures taken to reduce the number of undeclared workers and facilitate their integration into the formal economy.

Article 3. Consultation of the social partners. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the State Employment Agency has continued to actively cooperate with the Republican and Territorial Coordination Committees on labour market issues, annual employment programs, and providing information on the implementation of the annual state employment regulation programs. The Government points out that, each year, the Republican Harmonisation Committee discusses and submits its opinions on the draft annual programme to the Republican Tripartite Commission, which is responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Republican Collective Agreement. The final draft annual programme, containing the views expressed by both parties, is then transmitted to the Government of the Republic of Armenia for approval. The Committee requests the Government to provide concrete examples of the manner in which the views of the social partners are taken into account in the development, implementation and review of employment policies and programmes.