Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Slovenia (Ratification: 1992)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Active labour market measures and employment policy. The Committee notes the Government’s detailed report for the period ending in May 2010 which includes replies to the 2009 direct request. The Government indicates that due to the global financial and economic crisis, the economic situation in Slovenia began to deteriorate rapidly at the end of 2008. Thus, the activities of the Employment Service increased by adapting to a progressively more dynamic labour market. In 2009, the Employment Service implemented various measures aimed at assisting workers affected by the crisis. Within the “Measures for rapidly solving the economic crisis impact” programme, mobile teams were introduced which would react quickly and provide professional assistance to large numbers of laid-off workers. Moreover, the “Partial subsidizing of full-time work” and the “Partial reimbursement of payment compensation for workers on temporary layoff” programmes had a significant impact on the sustainability of the labour market to the extent that they preserved at least 25,000 jobs that would have otherwise been eliminated due to the crisis. The Government indicates that, as at June 2010, 98,187 unemployed persons were registered at the Employment Service, which represents an increase of 13.5 per cent when compared to May 2009. The Committee notes that active labour market measures targeted vocational guidance and jobseeking assistance, education and training, promotion of employment and self-employment and increasing social inclusion. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report an evaluation of the effectiveness and relevance of the employment policies and measures to promote full and productive employment implemented in collaboration with the social partners. It further invites the Government to continue to provide information on the results achieved through active labour market measures.

Young workers. The Government indicates that, despite poor economic results, the proportion of vulnerable groups in the unemployment structure have been decreasing. It further reports that between 2009 and 2010, the unemployment rate among the long-term unemployed registered a higher increase compared to the other categories. Due to the crisis, the share of long-term unemployment among young persons between 18 and 25 years of age has been increasing since 2008: young persons found employment after an average of four months and 27 days in 2008, five months and 16 days in 2009, and six months and 20 days in 2010. The Government indicates that one of the reasons of poor employability of young graduates is their lack of work experience together with the high average age of completion of studies. The lack of work experience is also due to scarce cooperation between higher education institutions and employers, the latter having a modest impact on the development of competencies of students. In this regard, the Government’s efforts are oriented towards encouraging young persons to complete their studies in the regular time so as to obtain sooner the necessary work experience. The Government indicates that young persons who work are often faced with temporary and partial employment. The Committee notes that, according to EU sources, the share of young workers with precarious jobs such as “student work” is high and transition from temporary to permanent employment contracts appears to be relatively difficult. In its 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, the Committee observed that there was a growing problem of unemployment among educated workers, particularly young university graduates, who are unable to find secure employment commensurate with their skill level. This is an issue for the advanced market economies as well as developing countries. Not only are their skills underutilized, but this pattern of casual jobs can prove detrimental to their lifetime career progression (paragraphs 576 and 800). The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report information on the impact of the measures taken to increase opportunities for young persons to find lasting employment. Please also see the remarks on education and training below.

Older workers. The Committee notes that the employment rate among older persons between 55 and 64 years of age was 32.8 per cent in 2008, which was considerably higher than the EU average employment rate for the same category of workers (45.6 per cent). At the end of 2009, the unemployed over 50 years of age represented a third of all unemployed persons. The Government reports that measures for promoting active ageing are being elaborated which are aimed at increasing the average employment rate of older persons between 55 and 64 years of age to 43.5 per cent in 2013. They consist of three important and mutually connected parts, namely measures targeting unemployed older persons, measures directed to the employed older workers and measures aimed to change the attitude of employers and the general public towards the elderly. The Committee invites the Government to include information on the results of the measures implemented to increase the participation of older workers in the labour market.

Education and training. The Committee notes that 17,626 persons participated in education and training measures in 2009 and 11,848 in the first half of 2010. These measures included institutional training programmes, work trial and on-the-job training. The Government indicates that 33 per cent of persons who registered as unemployed due to the bankruptcy of their employer or long-term redundancy have a low level of education and represent the group which is most vulnerable to structural unemployment. For this reason, education and training programmes have been strengthened in 2010 and many persons from vulnerable groups, especially the elderly and unskilled workers, participated in these programmes. The Government further reports that the resources available for training in the framework of the “Partial reimbursement of payment compensation for workers on temporary layoff” programme were underutilized. Moreover, during the economic crisis, laid-off workers were not adequately provided with new skills. Training of laid-off workers was limited in scope and its content was of questionable value in improving their employability. The cause of inadequate training may also be found in the use by the majority of companies of internal training instead of training offered by technical institutions. In the Government’s view, this situation is of concern, especially when the share of jobs requiring high-level qualifications is forecasted to increase from 29 per cent in 2009 to 35 per cent by 2020. The Committee recalls that education, vocational training and lifelong learning are central pillars of employability and employment of workers. Investing in quality skills development, skills upgrading and re-skilling to improve employability is an essential measure to accelerate employment creation and achieve full and productive employment (paragraphs 100 and 103 of the 2010 General Survey). The Committee invites the Government to supply information on the measures taken within the framework of education and training policies and on their impact on the employability and competitiveness of the labour force, as well as the involvement of the social partners in this process. It also requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures adopted in collaboration with the social partners to enhance the quality and labour market relevance of the education and training system.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in the formulation and application of policies. The Government indicates that social partners, through the Economic and Social Council, participate in the phase of adoption of employment policies. However, their level of participation in the preparation of annual plans and programmes for the implementation of the employment policy is low. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to strengthen the participation of workers’ and employers’ organizations in the implementation of employment policies and the results thereof.