Albania
- Country Report on Employment Policy
The report highlights the main challenges facing Albania with regard to the labour market and employment situations and provides a set of recommendations to improve them.
It aims to contribute to the implementation in Albania of international labour standards and principles related to employment and in particular the ILO Convention No. 122 (1964) on Employment Policy. The same applies to implementing the ILO’s Global Employment Agenda for the pursuit of Decent Work for All.
The report also aims to make operational the core elements of the Revised Strategy for Social Cohesion of the Council of Europe (2004).
Finally, it aims to contribute to Albania’s preparation for future integration in the European Union by converging towards Guidelines of the European Employment Strategy. To this aim, the report was drafted on the model of the Joint Assessment Papers on Employment Policies, prepared by the European Commission and the countries preparing for accession.
This Review was submitted for discussion to the Albanian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The present version of the CREP is, therefore, the result of a joint effort of the Albanian Government, the ILO and the Council of Europe. It provides a basis for the peer review discussion with other countries of the Stability Pact which are to be organised as part of the process of cooperation on employment.
It will be presented in Albania at the occasion of a National Tripartite Conference, to be organised in 2005. The Tripartite Conference will provide an opportunity for the social partners to discuss and assess the findings of the CREP and the recommendations proposed. The goal of this discussion process is to promote a shared vision between the Government and the social partners on priorities for the employment policy of Albania.
Azerbaijan
- Country case study for the research project "Understanding how the labour market functions for youth in the developing world"
The objective of the country case studies is to move toward a better understanding of the nature and causes of youth labour market disadvantage by documenting the characteristics of the youth labour market, including key indicators and by identifying and gathering hard evidence on the determinants of youth unemployment and underemployment. The study is organised around two parts:
Part I: Characteristics - Where does the specificity of employment vis-à-vis young people lie?
- 1. Key indicators of the youth labour market
- 2. Which young people?
- 3. To what extent are the labour markets for young people and adults distinct entities?
- 4. Time spent in unemployment
Part II: Determinants - Why the difference between the youth unemployment problem and the unemployment problem in general? Why are young people two to three times more likely to be either unemployed or underemployed than are prime age workers?
- 1. Demographic factors
- 2. Labour market and social institutions
- 3. Aggregate demand
- Youth Employment
Azerbaijan is one of the lead Youth Employment Network
countries. ILO Moscow has identified its need to develop National Employment Strategy and Programmes, with specific focus on youth employment. The Strategy Paper had been adopted, and its operationalization is being undertaken through a development of a National Action Plan.
Estonia
- More and Better Jobs for Women in Estonia, 1999 - 2002
Kyrgyzstan
- National Employment Strategy and Programme
Objectives: To develop an outline of National Employment Strategy and Programme, and to provide support for further analysis of the labour market as well as policy implementation.
Activities: Providing support to the drafting of National Employment Concept; national tripartite seminar on National Employment Programme; Sub-regional training workshop in TURIN "Social inclusion and local economic development for decent youth employment: Youth empowerment in the informal economy"
; regional tripartite workshop on employment strategies, youth employment and the informal economy; implementation of school-to-work transition survey.
Outcome: Adoption of National Employment Concept in 2004, Adoption of National Employment Programme in 2004. Lead: ILO Moscow
Poland
- Regional employment strategy
Objectives:
(1) Assistance in preparing a regional employment strategy for the region of Lodz
(2) Follow-up assistance in the implementation of the regional employment strategy through undertaking a survey and preparing a report on possibilities of job creation/job preservation through promotion of business and institutional cooperation along the textiles and clothing value chain between Lodz and regions of Veneto, Italy and East Midlands, England engaged in outsourcing of textile production.
Activities/events within the project:
(1) Preparation of an advisory report in April 2002.
Tripartite seminar with broad participation of stakeholders from the region, national stakeholders but also representatives of other regions held in May 2002.
(2) Preparation of a report in December 2003.
Tripartite seminar held in February 2004.
Serbia
- Country report on employment policy
Serbia is among the first countries to commit themselves to have their employment policy assessed by the Council of Europe and the International Labour Office, in compliance with the commitments taken by the Ministers responsible for Employment at the Bucharest Conference (30-31 October 2003). Based on an outline for National Background Reports, jointly prepared by the ILO and the Council of Europe, Serbia agreed to prepare a detailed report on its labour market and employment policies. In compliance with the Bucharest Declaration, the Council of Europe and the ILO are to assess the employment situation of the countries involved in the process of cooperation on employment and to propose recommendations in a Country Report on Employment Policy (CREP).
The Country Report on Employment Policy aims to serve various purposes:
1. It highlights the main challenges facing Serbia with regard to the labour market and employment situation and provides a set of recommendations to improve them.
2. It aims to contribute to the implementation of international labour standards and principles related to employment in Serbia. The report also aims to make operational the core elements of the Revised Strategy for Social Cohesion of the Council of Europe (2004) as well as the ILO's Global Employment Agenda for the pursuit of Decent Work for All.
3. Finally, it aims to contribute to Serbia's preparation for its forthcoming accession to the European Union by converging towards the Guidelines of the European Employment Strategy. Therefore, the report will be drafted on the model of the Joint Assessment Papers on Employment Policies (JAPs), prepared by the European Commission and the countries preparing for accession, bearing in mind that Serbia is soon going to be involved in the preparation of a JAP together with the European Commission, as part of its preparation for accession to the EU.
This Review will be the result of a joint effort of the Serbian Government, the ILO and the Council of Europe. It will provide a basis for the peer review discussion with other countries of the Stability Pact which is to be organised as part of the process of cooperation on employment.
It will be presented in Serbia at the occasion of a National Tripartite Conference. The Tripartite Conference will provide an opportunity for the social partners to discuss and assess the findings of the CREP and the recommendations proposed. The goal of this discussion process is to promote a shared vision between the Government and the social partners on priorities for the employment policy of Serbia.
Employment policy reviews for Stability Pact countries of South-Eastern Europe
- Employment policy reviews in the Stability Pact countries
This is a joint ILO-Council of Europe project whose main aim is to undertake employment policy reviews in the Stability Pact countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro), assist the countries in their implementation and help them prepare for the future EU accession process.
For the ILO, the project is managed by EMP/POL and the Sub-Regional Office Budapest in consultation with IFP/DIALOGUE and EUROPE. As of 2005, DECLARATION is collaborating on strengthening gender dimension in the reviews and promoting gender equality in follow-up activities. For the Council of Europe, the project is being implemented by the Secretariat of Directorate General of Social Cohesion/Department of Social Policies.
Background
The Bucharest Declaration adopted at the South-East European Ministerial Conference on Employment (Bucharest, October 2003) called for regional cooperation on employment. The ILO and the Council of Europe were requested to give guidance and support through reviewing national employment policies (ILO responsibility)and assessing performance of the national employment services (Council of Europe’s responsibility) in close cooperation with national labour market institutions and the social partners, providing policy recommendations and assisting in their implementation through follow-up activities.
The process is taking place under the auspices of the Social Cohesion Initiative of the Stability Pact (SP). The Ministers of Labour of the SP countries approve and update the objectives of this cooperation process and the programme of activities is designed and supervised by the Permanent High-Level Committee (PHLC), composed of the General Directors of Employment.
Main activities
The major output of the project is a series of country reviews of employment policy (CREP). The activities to prepare the CREP are the following:
1. In-depth analysis and assessment are undertaken
The CREPs are based on national country reports that analyse the national employment policy. These reports are produced by the ministries of labour after consultation with the social partners and serve as a background material for preparing the CREP (in two countries per year, modelled on the EU Joint Assessment Papers) by the ILO and the Council of Europe in close collaboration with the tripartite national stakeholders. The draft CREPs are discussed in the annual meetings of the PHLC and in national tripartite conferences (organised by the ILO) before they are finalised. The countries, for which the CREP has already been prepared, are requested to prepare annual reports assessing the progress done in the implementation of the CREP recommendations and the achieved labour market impact. As Bulgaria and Romania have already prepared JAPs with the assistance of the European Commission, they are not requested to participate in the CREPs but to share their experience with other SP countries.
2. Organisation of peer reviews of national employment policy
The countries which do not cooperate with the ILO and the Council of Europe on the in-depth assessment of their national employment policy in the respective year are requested to prepare an annual national policy report. Their reports are assessed by the other participating countries and the peer reviews take place during the meetings of PHLC.
3. Capacity building and technical assistance is provided
During the CREP’s preparation process, the ILO and the Council of Europe work closely with policy-makers and the social partners contributing towards their capacity-building. The national tripartite conferences organised at the end of each CREP and the sub-regional conference to take place at the end of the whole project will also strengthen the national capacity for management of labour market changes. Technical assistance is provided throughout the whole CREP process and through follow-up activities. Countries are also encouraged to share their experience and provide policy advice bilaterally.
4. Progress of the project and activities undertaken
The project started in 2004 with the preparation of CREPs for Albania and Croatia. Bulgaria and Romania agreed to become lead peer reviewing countries for national employment reports prepared by Moldova (Bulgaria) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (Romania). The ILO conducted a peer review training seminar in Bulgaria in October 2004. The Albanian and the Croatian CREPs were discussed and the peer reviews of the Moldovan, Bosnian and Serbian reports undertaken in the PHLC meeting held in mid-January 2005 in Strasbourg. Moldova and Serbia will be the CREP countries in 2005. National tripartite conferences to discuss CREPs will be held in Albania and Croatia in the first half of 2005 and will include special gender sessions. The mid-term Ministerial Conference will be held in Sofia around mid-2005, to assess the progress and outcomes of the project and guide its second part. The next meetings of the PHLC will be held in Sarajevo in April 2005 and the annual meeting in October 2005.
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