Tag Archives: Work

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Work

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Slovakia, Roma, and Work

Often called an “Ambitious fool,” Ivan Mak came up with the idea that he would employ Roma, the disabled, the long-term unemployed, single mothers, people without education and difficult to place on the labour market. For 10 years, Ivan has been giving work in the laundry and ironing shop in Horehroní, regardless of the colour of the skin or the disability of the people. It is said that people used to look at him like a UFO.

Hungary News Eastern Europe Poland

Roma Baker

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Roma Baker

Alex Galamb has been nominated for the I Came Volunteer Award, established with the support of the Center for Family-Friendly Hungary.

The young baker was asked how he was spending the day before the holidays and what activities he planned to implement within the framework of his foundation.

Alex told that in the coming weeks he would accompany his students on a professional visit to Slovakia as part of the Erasmus programme, but when he was at home, he usually baked with the children from Sütni jó alapítvány on Sundays, and they also organised trips. They went out for hamburgers, to the cinema, and since Alex has twenty-five young bakers, they baked delicacies in the foundation bakery in three groups.

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia, Roma, and Employment

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Slovenia, Roma, and Employment

The employability of Roma in Slovenia remains a challenge, as they face high levels of unemployment and limited employment opportunities. According to data from 2002, about 15% of Roma were employed, while 85% were unemployed. They are for bright exceptions that prove that this is also possible. This is the case of Đani Stojanovič, who works at Komunala Novo mesto.
Why no journalist ask how one gets at such numbers if governments do admit they do not know how many Roma live in a country?

News Eastern Europe Slovenia

Slovenia and Roma Workers

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Slovenia and Roma Workers

An article about Unemployment programs and their success in enrolling people in long term jobs. Well, for Roma it doesn’t seem to work. And in Slovenia, one often hears that Roma are not interested in working. Maybe it’s the employers who are not interested in Roma…

Kosovo News Eastern Europe

Kosovo, Roma, and Discrimination

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Kosovo, Roma, and Discrimination

Members of the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities face discrimination in hiring processes, and even when they do get a job, they face an environment of exclusion, as they often become the object of ridicule and insults, due to their ethnicity. They mainly do temporary work, and usually manual labor, maintenance and street vending. Civil society activists say the situation is no better than in the private sector, even in the public sector, where quotas for marginalized communities are often abused.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe

Czechia and Roma Employment

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Czechia and Roma Employment

On Friday morning, a round table on the topic of Roma employment in the Moravian-Silesian region took place in the community center Vesnička sužítí in the Muglinov district of Ostrava. The main topic of discussion was the question of how to break down prejudices and improve cooperation between Roma workers and employers in the region. “The Roma want to work, and entrepreneurs in the Moravian-Silesian Region are also in demand for workers, but there is still mistrust and discrimination that prevents greater integration. We have to find a way to change this situation and encourage both sides to cooperate,” said MEP Zdechovský.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Jobs, and Roma

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Slovakia, Jobs, and Roma

A Roma NGO tested the anti-Roma racism in the Slovak labour market. They created 4 CVs (2 men, 2 women one of each being Rom), and sent these applications for 100 open jobs available in various platforms.

Well, Roma got a much lower response rate than non-Roma. Non-Roma man: 92% response; non-Roma woman: 89%. Rom: 68%; Romni: 62%.

Hungary News Eastern Europe

A Baker in Hungary

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A Baker in Hungary

Hungary’s favourite Roma baker has been nominated for a prestigious award. Alex Galamb, a Roma baker from Borsod, has chosen a new direction: he will work as a vocational teacher at his former school, the Márton Agricultural and Geographical Vocational School in Debrecen.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Work instead of Benefits

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Slovakia: Work instead of Benefits

The project of the current Slovak government to cut benefits of people who refuse job offers, clearly aimed at Roma, is receiving praise in some of the country’s press. Much is done of the “collaboration” and “approval” of the plenipotentiary for Roma.

Fact is, this is very much inspired from neighbouring Hungary where the so-called közmunka – communal work – sees people enrolled in 19th century type of work with 19th century results.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Unemployment, and Roma

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Slovakia, Unemployment, and Roma

Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family Erik Tomáš received the Government Plenipotentiary for Roma communities Alexander Daško. The subject of the labour negotiations on projects aiming to create job positions for low-skilled and long-term unemployed people, as well as a legislative proposal to withdraw or reduce benefits in material need for those unemployed who can work, but refuse a suitable job offer.

Daško doesn’t see anything discriminatory in those measures.

Bad.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Volvo, and Roma

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Slovakia, Volvo, and Roma

The first stage of the construction of a new factory in Eastern Slovakia is complete and work is proceeding according to plans. Volvo is preparing to recruit employees at the end of next year. Volvo has committed to hire and train Roma for this new factory.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Work

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Slovakia, Roma, and Work

There are many Roma in Slovakia under the long term unemployed. Many of them retrained, but employers do not want to hire them… And now the minister wants to stop the benefits if they refuse a job. The fear is that the jobs they will propose are menial work with 19th century technology like the Hungarian közmunka (public work).

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia, Roma, and Unemployment

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Slovakia, Roma, and Unemployment

Another Slovak article about the latest measures from  Minister of Labor Erik Tomáš to reduce unemployment and prevent abuse of the social system.

“We want to employ and get to work as many Roma as possible,” said the minister at the beginning of the press conference. How will it work in practice? If an unemployed person rejects a job offer, the material need benefit will be withdrawn or reduced for 12 months. According to the law, it still applies that it must be such an offer that is suitable for the person in question and corresponds to his abilities.

Well, how will it work with Roma? Since most companies do not want to employ them, how is this supposed to work? This is just another of those populists measures that bring nothing.

Belgium News Eastern Europe News Western Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Belgium: Spot the Difference

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Slovakia and Belgium: Spot the Difference

On Slovak TV, they are wondering why Slovak Roma in Belgium all work, whereas in Slovakia, this is not the case.

Well, it has to do with the prejudices of the employers …

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Work, or …

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Slovakia: Work, or …

“Everyone who can work should work.” The Minister of Labour Erik Tomáš (Voice) began Tuesday’s press conference with these words, which was aimed at reducing unemployment and specifically affects unemployed citizens abusing the system. Here, unanimously, read “Roma”.

“If an unemployed person rejects a job offer, the financial need benefit will be taken away or reduced,” he said, adding that this should work in the case of adequate offers that are appropriate to the abilities of the citizen in question. He added that it already works similarly in the case of works in the public interest.

Well, when you come from a Roma settlement, you will not get employed. So what else did they decide, very much like in Hungary, some local work for the communes (not paid to market prices). If it turns out like in Hungary, you get 19th century work with the very same results …

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Czechia, Work, and Roma

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Czechia, Work, and Roma

Roma in the Czech Republic are much more likely to receive a fixed-term (limited duration) contract at work. In the whole of the Czech Republic, about seven percent of employed people have it, half of Roma workers. Roughly every ninth Roma then works without a contract. This was shown by research on the socio-economic situation of the Roma population in the Czech Republic for last year and this year. The report with the results was published by the Research Institute of Labor and Social Affairs (RILSA).

This result has been interpreted somewhat differently in the Czech press, for example in the IDnes paper, which states in its title “Even if they work, they have no security. Half of the Roma have a contract only for a fixed period”.

The generalization of half of the people in Czechia who have fixed terms contracts doesn’t mean that half the Roma do.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia and Roma

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Slovakia and Roma

For a change a positive article about Roma. A employee of a supermarket about her colleagues who are all Roma. According to her, 90% of the team are Roma: They are hardworking and family-oriented. They also take the whole family to team building.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Slovakia: Car Workers

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Slovakia: Car Workers

Branislav Ondruš, State Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic, revealed more about a planned project to support the work integration of marginalized Roma communities and women from eastern Slovakia to the SITA agency.

News Eastern Europe Slovakia

Volvo, Slovakia, and Roma

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Volvo, Slovakia, and Roma

After the announcement by Volvo that in their new factory in Eastern Slovakia they will employ Roma, the Slovak Government is pitching in … Fact is, the car industry will need up to 25’000 new workers, and the Volvo factory needs 7’500 by itself. This will not be possible without Roma.

Czech Republic News Eastern Europe Slovakia

A Popular Slovak Singer on Roma Guest Workers

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A Popular Slovak Singer on Roma Guest Workers

In a post on the Instagram social network, the popular Slovak singer Paľo Habera shared a photo and expressed his pride in the group of Roma workers who have been going to the Czech Republic for work for several years.

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