Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Tajikistan (Ratification: 1993)

1. Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the Government’s reports received in September 2009 and July 2010. It notes that an employment promotion programme is adopted every two years to promote employment, reduce unemployment and underemployment and support disadvantaged groups in their search for employment. The Government indicates that the implementation of the employment promotion programme for the period 2008–09, which provided for the creation of around 185,900 jobs, resulted in the placement of 45,051 persons in 2009, including 1,356 jobseekers belonging to vulnerable categories, such as disabled persons, young persons and women with dependent children. Furthermore, 3,052 jobseekers obtained loans on favourable terms to embark on an entrepreneurial activity, 2,252 received unemployment benefits, 8,815 benefited from vocational training and 7,396 were involved in public works. In total, 185,041 new jobs were created. The Government indicates that the
2010–11 programme aims to create 238,425 jobs in areas such as the construction of hydroelectric power stations, road work and hospital building works. The programme also aims to reduce the impact of the financial and economic crisis on the labour market. It is based on an analysis of labour market indicators at the regional and sectoral levels and on the quality of the workforce. The Government indicates that a new job creation programme has been adopted for the period 2008–15. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report concerning the results achieved in the context of the employment promotion programme for 2010–11, disaggregated by category, particularly concerning vulnerable categories of jobseekers such as young persons and women. It also requests the Government to indicate the manner in which labour market data is collected and used to determine and review employment policy measures.

2. Measures to overcome the economic crisis. The Government indicates in its report received in September 2009 that the economic and political capacities of Tajikistan have been severely affected by the financial crisis and that the country is facing a decline in its industrial production, a rise in unemployment, an increase in wages and pension debt, a drop in foreign trade and a budget deficit. Most social indicators are showing a reduction in the funding of social programmes. According to the survey conducted by the Employment Department, only 39.5 per cent of jobseekers have found employment. In its General Survey of 2010 on employment instruments, the Committee emphasizes that the employment Conventions and Recommendations taken together provide a framework to: realize the human right to work and to education for all; confront and mitigate the effects of the global economic crisis; and ensure continuing and genuine tripartite consultations (see paragraph 788 of the General Survey of 2010). The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the repercussions of the economic crisis on employment and the measures taken to revive an active policy promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment.

3. Collection and use of employment data. The Government indicates that a job vacancy database will be created once the employment services website is operational. The Committee requests the Government to provide any information available on the progress made in creating a database which meets the needs of jobseekers effectively.

4. Coordination of employment policy with the poverty reduction strategy. According to the information contained in the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2007–09 (PRSP), the poverty rate is constantly on the decline and fell from 83 per cent in 1999 to 64 per cent in 2003 and 57 per cent in 2004, but there is still a gap in growth between urban and rural areas, with the rural population living on less than US$2.15 per day. According to the PRSP, although the unemployment rate fell slightly by 1.9 percentage points between 2000 and 2004, when it was reported at 7.4 per cent, growth in employment was lagging behind growth in the labour force. This is explained by the fact that the surplus in the labour market is the result of persons who are not reported as unemployed or persons working in the informal economy or abroad. The PRSP also emphasizes the regional disparities in employment patterns and the high concentration of the workforce in urban areas, such as in the city of Dushanbe. The Committee requests the Government to include information in its next report concerning the progress made in terms of the creation of long-term employment and poverty reduction, particularly in rural areas, following the implementation of the poverty reduction strategy. Please also provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to reduce the regional disparities in economic growth and employment.

5. Coordination of education and training policy with employment policy. The Government indicates that the difficulties encountered in achieving the objective of full, productive and freely chosen employment are essentially due to gaps in levels of vocational training, given that the majority of jobseekers officially registered with the employment services do not have the qualifications required and, of the 15,800 persons registered with the employment services in 2009, 43.7 per cent were young persons aged between 15 and 19 years and 48 per cent had no qualifications, while 64.6 per cent had only a secondary school diploma. In this regard, the Government adopted Decision No. 115 of 5 March 2008 establishing a National Adult Training Centre to provide vocational training and guidance to all jobseekers. In 2009, 2,308 jobseekers received training in the centre. The Government indicates in its report concerning the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), that the Scientific Research Institute of Labour and Social Insurance has made a number of recommendations to improve the system of vocational training and guidance and to link vocational education to the requirements of the labour market. Referring to its direct request of 2010 concerning the Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142), the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress made with regard to the provision of training for jobseekers, following the establishment of the National Adult Training Centre. It would also like to be able to examine the results of the measures taken to improve the level of qualifications and to coordinate education and training policies with employment prospects.

6. Article 3. Participation of the social partners in policy preparation and implementation. The Government indicates that, in view of the difficulties encountered by the population in accessing the labour market, the Association of Employers of Tajikistan is undertaking work involving consultation and the provision of information to promote self-employment. Assistance is given to employers to encourage the development of self-employed work, such as home work in regions with a large workforce and to create a flexible labour market capable of providing part-time jobs. The Government indicates that the
2009–11 general agreement concluded with the social partners mentions employment promotion and the protection of the rights of migrant workers among the priority measures to be implemented to solve the problems in the labour market. The Government also indicates that the trade union organizations oversee the implementation of the general agreement and that all issues are reviewed annually by the highest trade union bodies, a tripartite committee and other supervisory bodies. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the manner in which the representatives of the social partners are consulted in the context of the general agreements concerning employment policies. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to hold consultations with the most vulnerable categories of the population, in particular with the representatives of workers in rural areas and the informal economy, to obtain their help in developing and implementing employment policy programmes and measures.