Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1995, published 83rd ILC session (1996)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Austria (Ratification: 1972)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report for the period ending June 1994. The unemployment rate, which was 5.9 per cent in 1992, rose to 6.8 per cent in 1993 and fell back to 6.4 per cent in 1994. The Government considers that during the reference period the labour market followed the economic situation, which was marked by a recession in 1993 that led to enterprises reducing employment to maintain their productivity. The Government states that the prospects of unemployed persons finding another job have been further reduced, particularly for unemployed persons aged over 50 years, and that the proportion of long-term unemployment has risen substantially. The increase in structural unemployment noted by the Committee in its previous request appears to have been confirmed during the latest recession.

2. The Government refers in its report to the stabilization measures taken by other economic and political institutions than the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The Committee recalls that under Article 2 of the Convention, the measures to be adopted to achieve employment objectives have to be decided on and kept under review, "within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy" and requests the Government to indicate in its next report the manner in which strategies in the fields of budgetary and monetary policies, and prices, incomes and wages policies contribute to the promotion of employment. The Committee also notes that the Government refers to the challenge faced by the country as a result of its membership of the European Union and it would be grateful if the Government would indicate the expected consequences of its membership on employment.

3. The Committee notes the information concerning the restructuring of the employment service, designed to increase the effectiveness of its advisory, placement and training services. The Committee requests the Government to provide any available evaluation on the impact of this reform, which came into force in July 1994, without prejudice to the information to be provided subsequently on the application of Convention No. 88. The Committee notes that, although the labour market policy programmes were reinforced during the reporting period and new measures were introduced for the long-term unemployed, women and older workers, the Government recognizes that the effect of active measures remains relatively weak. Furthermore, the Committee notes the information provided at its request on the number of jobseekers whose entitlement to benefit has been suspended. It requests the Government to continue supplying information on the manner in which the unemployment compensation scheme is coordinated with the employment policy, taking into account the relevant provisions of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), and the Committee's comments on its application.