US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA1016

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 
------------------------------- 
 
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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