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European Network against Racism: Ethnic, religious minorities face labor discrimination in Europe

21 March 2014
3 minute read

For immigrants to the EU from non-EU countries, Muslims, Romani people, and women from ethnic minorities, discrimination represents a fundamental barrier to finding work. The situation does not improve for many minority group members even if they do manage to gain employment. 

These are the findings of the Shadow Report by the European Network against Racism (ENAR) on discrimination and racism in employment which were published today to mark the occasion of the International Day against Racism. The section on the report discussing the Czech Republic was authored by Multicultural Center Prague. 

The situation with respect to discrimination against immigrants and minorities has deteriorated during the economic crisis, which has intensified the differences in educational achievement between ethnic minorities and majority populations. For example, in Belgium and Finland, the unemployment rate is three times higher among those born outside the EU than it is for local populations.

The section of the report focused on the Czech Republic discusses two groups:  ethnic Roma and foreigners. Both groups encounter discrimination on the labor market here. 

This discrimination often manifests itself during hiring tenders – for example, when job candidates are selected according to surname. As a recent study by the Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education has shown, job-seekers with Czech-sounding surnames have a much greater chance of being called for an interview than candidates with non-Czech surnames who have similar qualifications. 

Some foreigners are even "Czechifying" their surnames in the hopes of increasing their chances of finding employment. The most common manifestations of employment discrimination also include the impossibility for a minority worker to advance, minority workers being paid lower wages, being subjected to demanding and precarious work conditions or harassment, and being illegally dismissed.    

Czech NGOs have long been warning that foreigners there are subjected to precarious job conditions. Discriminatory practices are rather widespread despite the existence of EU legislation banning discrimination in employment.  

The ENAR Shadow Report emphasizes that such legislation is not as effective as it could be. "This has to do in particular with obstacles to accessing the courts and providing evidence of discrimination, with a lack of faith in the justice system, low levels of awareness about options for legal protection, and the expense and length of court proceedings. This concerns the Czech Republic as well. Victims of discrimination often cannot access legal aid and do not know how to effectively defend themselves against discrimination," notes lawyer Alexandra Dubová, one of the authors of the report’s section on the Czech Republic. 

Unemployment represents another big problem. While no official data on minority unemployment is available in the Czech Republic, regional research conducted by the European Commission, the UNDP, and the World Bank, as well as estimates provided by the Czech Labor Office, clearly show there is fundamentally higher unemployment among young Roma in particular compared to the majority population.

City planner Jakob Hurrle explains this is not solely due to discrimination:  "The high unemployment rate of Romani people can also be attributed to the education system and its regional distribution. Romani people often live in areas with the highest unemployment rates overall. Romani people are increasingly experiencing problems finding housing, and the dangerous trend of Romani people moving into impoverished regions characterized both by cheap housing and by a lack of job opportunities is just worsening the situation."    

The ENAR Shadow Report criticizes the Czech Republic in particular for its restrictive policy against foreigners in the area of employment, for its long-term failure to address the issue of unemployment among members of the Romani minority, and for its dysfunctional mechanisms providing legal protection to the victims of job discrimination. The report recommends the Czech Republic improve its data collection mechanism and its creation of work opportunities for the members of disadvantaged groups, that it adopt laws on free legal aid and social housing, that it reject its restrictive policies targeting foreigners, and that it further develop its anti-discrimination legislation by increasing the powers of the Public Defender of Rights to investigate discrimination. 

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