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

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Australia (Ratification: 1969)

1. The Committee notes the Government's report for the period ending June 1994, which contains full and detailed information and transmits useful documentation in annex. The Government states that, following the emergence of the economy from recession, employment started to improve from the end of 1993. Although moderate at first, the growth of employment accelerated in 1994, making it possible to bring the unemployment rate down to 9.7 per cent, as compared with 10.7 per cent in 1992. According to the OECD, this trend for the unemployment rate to fall has continued since the end of the reporting period, reaching a rate of 8.7 per cent in June 1995. The proportion of long-term unemployment, which accounted for 39 per cent of total unemployment at the end of 1993, began to decline and reached the level of 36 per cent in 1994.

2. Despite the improvements over the reporting period, the Government continues to consider that the level of unemployment remains unacceptable. The Committee notes that when the Government submitted its White Paper on Employment and Growth to Parliament in May 1994, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to the achievement of the objective of full employment and stated that the White Paper should be considered as a reaffirmation of the principle of the right of everyone to work. The strategy is based on economic growth, which is considered to be the necessary prerequisite, although not sufficient in itself, for the reduction of unemployment. The Government therefore decided to intervene directly on the labour market and set the objective of achieving an unemployment rate of around 5 per cent by the end of the decade. The priority accorded to employment promotion has also been endorsed by the comprehensive Accord concluded with the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), which includes the creation of a minimum of 500,000 jobs over the period 1993-96 among its fundamental objectives. The Government describes in detail in its report the principal economic instruments adopted to promote the expansion of the economy and of employment: monetary policy is designed to contain inflation and decrease interest rates, while budgetary policy, although remaining active, is designed to balance public finances in the medium term through a renewal of growth. The wages policy agreed with the ACTU has to contribute to containing inflation and improving the competitiveness of the economy by linking wage increases to productivity increases in the context of decentralized negotiations. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the achievement of the objectives set in the fields of employment and unemployment, as well as on the manner in which the measures adopted to promote employment are decided upon and kept under review within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy, in consultation with the representatives of employers and workers, in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention.

3. The Government also provides substantial information on the active labour market policy measures implemented under the initiatives set out in the White Paper. The Committee notes the particular attention paid to the long-term unemployed, who benefit from individual case management and adapted training and employment service support. It also notes the series of programmes intended to promote the vocational integration of young persons, women, aboriginal persons, and persons with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to continue supplying information on the implementation of these programmes. Noting that the Training Guarantee Act of 1990 has been suspended for two years, following its first evaluation, the Committee requests the Government to refer to the new measures adopted to promote entry-level training and further training by enterprises.