Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

The Committee notes the information provided in the Government’s report.

1. Article 1 of the Convention. Legislative developments. In its previous comments, the Committee noted with interest the adoption of legislation expressly addressing direct and indirect discrimination in employment. The Committee notes that this legislation, the Employment Relations Act, came into force on 1 January 2003. Further, the Committee notes with interest the adoption and entry into force in May 2004 of the Act Implementing the Principle of Equal Treatment, which prohibits direct and indirect discrimination "in every field of social life", including education, employment and labour relations, on the grounds of any kind of personal circumstances. An indicative list of "personal circumstances" is provided in the Act: "such as nationality, racial or ethnic origin, sex, state of health, disability, language, religion or other conviction, age, sexual orientation, education, financial state, social status or other personal circumstances." (Article 1(1)). This Act also establishes the position of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality, working in the Equal Opportunities Office, to hear cases of discrimination covered by the Act. The Committee expresses the hope that this machinery will be given sufficient visibility, authority and resources to promote equality effectively. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of these two Acts, as well as the Act on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women, 2002. It further requests the Government to provide information on the functioning of the Advocate of the Principle of Equality, and to forward a copy of the annual report.

2. Article 2. Equality between men and women. The Committee, referring to comments of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), asked the Government to indicate positive measures undertaken to improve women’s employment opportunities. The Government states in response that within the framework of the active employment policies, it was decided that special programmes specifically for women would not be formulated; rather, within the framework of every measure there is a determined share of women that must be included. The Government acknowledges that in future special attention will need to be devoted to the prevention of vertical and horizontal segregation based on gender. In this context, it refers to a system of labour market indicators developed by the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs, which will make it possible to monitor disparities between women and men in the labour market and plan future measures. Reference is also made to a programme under the European EQUAL initiative, which aims, inter alia, at developing and testing new solutions for combating discrimination in the labour market. Specific gender objectives are also included in the National Employment Action Plan, the National Programme for the Development of the Labour Market and Employment, and the Single Programme Document for Structural Funds. The Committee requests the Government to provide information regarding the progress and results of these various initiatives.

3. Equality of opportunity and treatment of the Roma. In the context of comments by the ICFTU that Roma suffer disproportionately higher unemployment than other groups, the Committee requested information on positive measures to target specifically the Roma, and to improve the level of educational attainment of Roma children. The Government acknowledges that the current labour market situation is not favourable to the Roma, due to a lack of basic qualifications, functional illiteracy, and prejudice of employers. The unemployment rate of the Roma continues to be relatively high. The Committee notes the wide range of measures to which the Government refers, including the establishment of an inter-ministerial commission for the protection of the Roma, special programmes of active employment policy for unemployed Roma, programmes of social inclusion, national public works programme on "increasing Roma employability", expansion of local public works programmes, and a project on "Roma in processes of European integration/the position in Slovenia, Austria and Croatia: development of models for education and training." Measures targeting Roma children are also mentioned, including granting of additional teaching hours, decreased class size, scholarships for teacher training and the establishment of a special working group for the preparation of a strategy for the integration of Roma into the education system. The Committee encourages the Government to continue to pursue measures to promote equality of opportunity and treatment of Roma, and requests it to provide information on the progress and results of the various initiatives. The Committee also suggests that efforts be made to address the prejudicial attitudes of employers noted by the Government, through, for example, awareness-raising campaigns, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.