Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

Other comments on C088

Direct Request

2015
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Articles 1 and 3 of the Convention. Contribution of the employment service to employment promotion. In reply to the previous comments, the Government indicates in its report that public employment services mediated 211,394 registered unemployed persons into employment in the 2010–13 period. It adds that, in order to increase the efficiency of the public employment services in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a strategy for strengthening the mediation function at the public employment services has been developed within the Social Safety Nets and Employment Support Project (SSNESP). The SSNESP, funded by the World Bank, aims at a speedier integration of the unemployed into the labour market and the development of human resources and of other capacities of the public employment service. The Committee notes that the Employment Bureau and private mediation agencies in the Republika Srpska implement the SSNESP and other active labour market measures, such as promoting employment with employers, self-employment in agriculture and small businesses, training and the improvement of labour mobility. Of the 3,988 persons participating in the SSNESP, 2,526 participants obtained employment. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of the SSNESP and other measures. Please also continue to provide statistical information concerning the number of public employment offices established, the number of applications for employment received, the number of vacancies notified and the number of persons placed in employment by such offices in the country.

Articles 4 and 5. Cooperation with the social partners. The Committee notes from the report that in the Republika Srpska, in addition to the Employment Bureau’s management board, the Economic and Social Council, which is also comprised of representatives of the social partners, considers employment policy-related issues. It also notes the continuation of the Local Partnership for Economic and Employment Development aimed at fostering a more active involvement of local communities. With respect to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an Advisory Committee for the Federal Employment Institute, which would include the social partners according to the Law on mediation in employment and social security of the unemployed, has not yet been established. The Government indicates that the requirement of cooperation with the social partners in the organization and operation of the employment service has been met since, at the entity and cantonal levels, all key documents concerning the Employment Bureau of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina that were adopted by its management board have been considered by the Economic and Social Council before approval by the Government and Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the activities of the Economic and Social Council in the organization and operation of the employment service in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It also requests the Government to indicate the procedure adopted for the appointment of employer and worker representatives in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Please also include information with regard to the developments in establishing the Advisory Committee for the Federal Employment Institute. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effective cooperation with the social partners in the Brčko District.

Articles 6 and 7. Activities performed by the employment service. The Committee notes the active and passive measures implemented by the Employment Bureau in the Republika Srpska. Active measures include the development of vocational guidance and lifelong learning, career counselling, development, implementation and evaluation of employment projects under the annual action plan on employment, capacity building through cooperation with other organizations, institutions and stakeholders in the Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Committee notes that the employment services in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina regularly collect and publish job vacancies. Moreover, the cantonal employment services in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina develop their annual workplans aimed at mitigating the negative economic trends and implement them autonomously or in cooperation with local partners or within the framework of international agreements. The Committee notes that a specific focus is put on “hard-to-employ” unemployed persons, such as persons with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken or envisaged in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to develop the capacity to refer to available employment applicants with suitable skills and physical capacity (Article 6(a)(iii)) and to collect and analyse, in cooperation where appropriate with other authorities and with the social partners, the fullest available information on the situation of the employment market and its probable evolution (Article 6(c)). It also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the activities performed by the public employment service in the Republika Srpska and in the Brčko District in relation to Articles 6 and 7.

Article 8. Special arrangements for young people. For the Republika Srpska, the Committee notes that specific organizational units within the Employment Bureau provide services primarily for young persons aged 15 to 30. A total of 14,000 young persons benefited from activities offered by the Centres for Information, Counselling and Training and by Job Clubs, primarily aimed at faster labour market inclusion processes, which enabled 3,117 young people to find employment. Moreover, the Employment Bureau cooperates with the Ministry of Education and Culture in providing professional guidance for graduating students in primary and secondary schools along with university students. Cooperation also occurs between the Federal Employment Institute in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina together with the Ministry of Education and Science, the German Society of International Cooperation (GIZ) and other local institutions. The Committee notes the other ongoing employment programmes for unemployed young persons, notably the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the specific measures targeted at young persons and on any new measures envisaged.

Article 9. Employment service staff. The Committee notes that, of the 541 persons employed in the employment service in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, 243 persons work at the headquarters level in administration and 298 work in the municipal offices. The Government sees a current challenge in that only 50 per cent of the total staff in the cantonal employment services work directly with the unemployed, resulting in a ratio of 1,300 unemployed persons per employment office employee. The Government indicates that the underdeveloped mediation capability has led to the development of the strategy for strengthening the mediation function at the public employment services. During the reporting period, the EU project Institutional Capacity Building in the Employment Sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina aimed at improving the provision of employment services at local employment offices and included specific training for managerial and permanent staff of employment offices. As part of the Youth Employment Project, employment office staff in both entities receive general skills training. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the status, conditions of service, methods of recruitment and selection, and training of the staff of the employment service.

Article 10. Outreach to employers and jobseekers. The Committee notes from the report the Agreement on Cooperation signed in June 2010 between the Federal Employment Institute of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Association of Employers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on the exchange of information, which is offered free of charge to employers. Similarly, employers in the Republika Srpska are able to avail themselves of services offered by the Employment Bureau, including free publication services in newspapers and through its improved web portal. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken, in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to encourage the full use of employment service facilities by employers and workers on a voluntary basis.