GOS ROMA STRATEGY: EMPLOYMENT TACTICS

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 001016

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR EUR/RPM HEATHER TROUTMAN
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO CSCE COMMISSION - ERIKA SCHLAGER
BUDAPEST FOR USAID - MONIQUE NOWICKI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB SOCI LO
SUBJECT: GOS ROMA STRATEGY: EMPLOYMENT TACTICS

REFTEL: (A) BRATISLAVA 740

(B) BRATISLAVA 789
(C) BRATISLAVA 855

This is the fourth and final cable in a series on current
GOS activities to address Roma issues.


1. Summary. Many Roma settlements in eastern Slovakia
suffer from high rates of long-term unemployment due to low
job creation, poor education, and in large part,
discrimination. In the beginning of 2004, the government
instituted needed changes to the social benefit system,
which had been widely criticized for supplying an income
comparable with the average wage and providing little
incentive to find employment. The GOS included a bonus for
community service work that provided an additional 30 USD a
month. The activation has mobilized the Roma workforce, but
was designed only as a short-term fix to the problem of long-
term unemployment. End Summary.

Discrimination in the Workplace
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2. Most settlements have unemployment rates close to 100
percent. The only options for income are social benefits,
black market jobs, or traveling to other countries to seek
work. Roma frequently state that after being invited to
interview for a job over the phone, they are turned away
after the potential employer sees them face-to-face. After
the recent passage of the anti-discrimination law,
newspapers and TV programs have increased reporting and
scrutiny of proprietors who refuse entrance by Roma into
businesses or those with unfair hiring practices. In
addition to the government-sponsored Center for Human
Rights, the Section for Human Rights at the Government
Office will provide legal assistance to individuals to
pursue court cases under the anti-discrimination law. Jana
Kviecinska, the Section's Director, predicted it would take
a lot of court cases to get employers to change their
attitudes.


3. Dagmar Horvathova, Director of the Roma NGO "Nova Cesta"
in Michalovce in eastern Slovakia, hopes to begin a
placement agency for Roma from settlements, providing
service both domestically and abroad. District unemployment
offices and NGOs have provided training, mostly in regions
with high unemployment and also for the majority population.
Few private sector activities have attempted to create
opportunities for Roma. U.S. Steel, the largest U.S.
investor, has hired several Roma from a neighboring village
and provides continuing training in household money
management.

The Activation Bonus
--------------


4. The prior social benefit system contributed to Roma
unemployment since the income was roughly equal to an
average month's wage and provided no incentive to be
employed. Romano Nevo L'il, a newspaper circulated for the
Roma minority, referred to the system as "income
substitution." At the beginning of 2004, the government
instituted significant changes to the benefit package for
long-term unemployed to reduce total payments. The GOS
balanced this step by instituting a bonus for those seeking
community service positions offered by local government.
After lootings occurred before the first round of payments,
the government responded by raising the bonus amount and
allowing NGOs and the private sector to participate in the
program.


5. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) recently announced the impact
of the reforms up to this point comparing statistics from
last year. Overall, the number of individuals on social
benefits was reduced and the unemployment rate has decreased
by 3 percent over the year. According to the MOL, over
sixty percent of those who are off the rolls found gainful
employment. Another reason for improved figures was that
120,000 unemployed began working and received the activation
bonus. It is illegal for the government to collect
statistics according to ethnicity, but it is reasonable to
assume a significant number were Roma.


6. Government officials have extended the life of this
program for an additional year, but it is not a permanent
feature of the social reform. Some activists state that the
number of jobs cannot be maintained through the winter, and
Roma are not learning any marketable skills should the
program end. On the other hand, Kezmarok Mayor Igor Sajtlava
stated that the activation bonus and the mobilization of the
workforce has been beneficial. Stereotypical attitudes that

Roma do not want to work or that they are incapable of
holding a job have begun to be chipped away. Additionally,
community service gives many Roma their first experience
with a job, as many have never worked, nor seen their
parents hold a job.

Looking Forward
--------------


7. In July the government approved a National Plan for
Employment 2004 to 2006. Recently the MOL signed a
memorandum with the European Commission on social inclusion
with many measures focusing on disadvantaged groups. This
long-term strategy respective of market principles will
gradually replace the short-term policy of bonuses. The
government continues to make progress in this area, however
much more time and effort is needed.

WEISER


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