Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Kazakhstan (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Implementation of an active employment policy. In response to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that the Employment Roadmap 2020 Programme offers unemployed and self-employed citizens the opportunity to participate in active employment measures with state support. The Government indicates that the Programme, implemented since 2011, focuses on three main areas. First, it provides employment through the development of infrastructure, housing and utilities, creating temporary jobs during the implementation of infrastructure projects. Its second area of focus is to create jobs by stimulating entrepreneurship, particularly in rural areas, through provision of state support in the form of: microloans to support entrepreneurship and create jobs; free entrepreneurship training; and provision of services. The third area of focus is to provide sustainable and productive employment by building labour capacity and enhancing mobility while taking employers’ needs into account. Participants in the Programme are offered free vocational training supported by payment of an educational allowance. In addition, subsidized work placements are also offered, including subsidized placements for young persons leaving education, to enable them to gain their first work experience. The Government adds that the Programme aims to reduce overall unemployment, especially with regard to women and young persons. In this context, changes and additions are made to the Programme every year to take account of the developing socio-economic situation in the country and the world. The Committee also notes with interest the adoption of a new Employment Act on 6 April 2016. In particular, section 3 of the Act stipulates that state policy in the sphere of employment aims to provide full, productive and freely chosen employment, and that its fundamental objective is to provide equality of opportunity in employment. It notes that section 17(2) of the Act is aligned with the objectives of the Programme, providing for active employment promotion measures, such as: vocational training; entrepreneurship initiatives for citizens; practical training for young people; subsidized job placements; promoting voluntary relocation to improve workforce mobility; and employment for persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that the Act aims to involve individuals in active labour market measures, offering targeted social assistance to the unemployed on the condition that they participate in active employment promotion initiatives. In this context, the procedure for assigning unemployment status has been changed so that an individual turning to an employment centre is first registered as a jobseeker, only being registered as unemployed after ten days if no suitable work is identified. The Government adds that, in order to strengthen accountability for the effective use of public funds, a compulsory social contract is signed between the jobseeker and the employment centre in which the State undertakes to provide support and involvement in active employment measures, while the individual undertakes to acquire a profession, participate in youth work placements or work in subsidized job placements. The Government indicates that the unemployment rate in the country decreased from 5.4 per cent in 2011 to 5.0 per cent in 2015, with youth unemployment falling from 6.3 per cent in 2011 to 4.3 per cent in 2015. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age, on the impact of the measures implemented in the context of the new Employment Act, the Employment Roadmap 2020 Programme and other relevant measures in terms of promoting full, productive and freely chosen employment for its beneficiaries and specific categories of workers, such as women, young persons, rural workers, older workers, workers with disabilities, the self-employed and workers in the informal economy. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information regarding measures taken to promote the employment of persons with disabilities.

Role of employment services in employment promotion. The Committee recalls that the national employment policy promotes placement through authorized bodies and private employment agencies. The Committee notes that the 2016 Employment Act broadens the scope of the employment centres, assigning them a major role in promoting employment through functioning as a “one-stop shop”. Referring to its previous comments, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the specific means by which the employment services contribute towards the attainment of employment policy objectives, including data disaggregated by age and sex on the number of jobseekers registered and the number of persons placed in employment by the employment services.

Vocational training. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding support provided for training, retraining and skills upgrading, which include subsidies for specific groups of workers, including young people. The Government reports that it provides free vocational training to participants in the Programme, offers grants to employers to provide their employees with vocational training and also to young workers from the age of 18 24 on the condition that they do not lose their jobs. The Committee recalls that one of the objectives of the Programme was defined as improving skills training according to the needs of the economy, based on improved labour market monitoring and forecasting. The Committee therefore reiterates its request to the Government to include information on the results of its vocational training programmes and the progress made concerning labour market monitoring and forecasting of skill needs, including their impacts on employment.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners in employment policy design and implementation. The Government indicates that the 2016 Employment Act regulates the role of the social partners in implementing national employment policy. It adds that all interested state bodies, local government bodies, the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs participated in approving the draft version of the Act. The Committee reiterates its request that the Government provide detailed information on the manner in which representatives of the social partners are consulted concerning the development and implementation of employment policies, the steps taken to ensure that their views are fully taken into account and the manner in which their cooperation is secured for the purposes of formulating and enlisting support for such policies. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the manner in which representatives of the persons affected by the employment policy measures to be taken are consulted to ensure that their experience and views are taken into account, as required under Article 3 of the Convention.