WEB engleska verzija end.indd - UNDP Croatia

CHAPTER 3THE SOCIALLY EXCLUDEDemployed as assistants in teaching, but mostly basedon part-time contracts, although the contracts are extendedfor several years consecutively.It seems that the employment strategies for the Romaare based on a more “traditional” approach, which isalso applied in the case of other vulnerable socialgroups, such as those with physical and intellectualdisabilities. Such strategies, present in the last severalyears, have not produced the expected results. It ispossible that one of their shortcomings is that theydo not pay enough attention to the aspirations of theRoma concerning employment. There also seems tobe a lack of innovation in the creation of measuresand application of best practices from the neighbouringcountries (see Box 3).Box 3: Employment of the Roma: A view from the business sectorIn 2005, UNDP Bratislava conducted a poll of 14 companies in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic,and Spain. The purpose was to open a dialogue on possible actions that could be taken to eliminatediscrimination against the Roma and to develop initial guidelines to promote positive action. The basicmessages of the report was:- The business sector should consider the whole picture. Namely, the Roma are mostly long-term unemployedand they are frequently concentrated in specific geographic areas. It should be taken into account that thispopulation is mostly young, and that this segment of the population is growing in relation to the totalpopulation. If the Roma are not integrated into the labour market, the economic consequences will be, interalia, the loss of labour force and increased social transfer costs.- Measures promoting diversity are important, but they are not enough. There is a need to create specificmeasures, within the companies themselves, to employ the Roma. For example, a company in Slovakiawon a series of recognitions as a socially-responsible employer in the area of employment and adjustmentof the working process to women, but nothing has been done for the Roma.- The practice of the company’s management structure is critical to success. The example of a company fromHungary shows that the management structure needs to be ready to assume the risk of employing theRoma and that it should work actively on the elimination of prejudices of other employees towards them.- Companies should enter new partnership relations in order to find adequate labour force. The polledcompanies established connections with the educational programmes in Roma settlements and withRoma associations, they organised the necessary education together and selected the most appropriatecandidates.- Cooperation with the media. The media have a significant role in the elimination of prejudices. The Czechtelevision employed three qualified Roma as reporters and announcers, thus creating positive examples forthe Roma and for the non-Roma. (Taken and adapted from: Employing the Roma - Insight from Business,UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and the CIS, 2005.)48