Study to map unemployment, suggest possible solutions to disadvantagesfaced by Roma on Czech labour market
This week the Minister for Minorities and Human Rights Džamila
Stehlíková announced the preliminary results of an ongoing study on
difficulties faced by the Roma on the Czech labour market. Unemployment
among many Roma remains high although the Czech average overall it is lower
than the European Union’s. Czech officials hope they will be able to map
out long-term solutions to help curb unemployment and to limit the number
of drop-outs in schools in marginalised communities. They also hope to
reinforce new skills to improve chances on the jobs market.
Christian Bodewig is an economist for the World Bank involved in the
project:
“The important thing to note in the Czech Republic, like in many other
countries in the region, there is very little data on Roma, because there
is no breakdown of enrolment in schools or participation on the labour
market by ethnic group. So it’s very difficult to actually say in detail
- statistically sound detail – what the situation looks like. As part of
this research we are conducting a survey amongst marginalised localities
around the Czech Republic, where many Roma reside, in order to get some
hard data as to how difficult the situation really is.
“We know that overall there was a high number of Romany kids in special
schools. for children with lower learning abilities. A lot of Roma who were
in these schools, who left after the 9th grade, don’t have the skills to
make it on the labour market and also lack confidence.”
You seemed to suggest that a number of different solutions needed to be
applied, on the one hand making unemployment benefits less attractive, on
the other extending a stronger helping hand.
“The message is that you need to have a balance: for individuals to be
motivated on the one hand, but also a labour office capable of helping
people with multiple disadvantages on the other. There is no single
important reason why many Roma don’t do well on the labour market: it’s
not just the skill level, there are many factors that come together. For
example, the availability of child care. If there are no kindergartens in
communities where many Roma live, then what can they do? You can’t work
and look after your child at the same time.
“Another element is debt. Many want to work but have multiple debt and
don’t know how to deal with it, worried that if they accept a job –
even if it pays a little better than unemployment benefits – the debt
collectors will immediately show up and take everything away. The solution
to this is a very integrated and targeted and individual approach, where
the schools and the labour office and social welfare come together. You
know, you can easily see how people get into a vicious cycle where they
can’t deal with it anymore. Even if you wanted to, there’s nobody there
at this current point who is really effectively trying to help you.
“At the end of the day we’re not talking about a huge number of people
– the group is relatively small – who are really lagging behind. But in
order to provide more equal opportunities in the Czech Republic as a whole,
you need to really look at the specific group which is really way
behind.”
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