Roma people in Jaroměř, Czech Republic are losing work due to budget cuts

The Labor Office in Jaroměř, Czech Republic has no money to employ people as part of a community service program that has had a great deal of success. There will be fewer such jobs offered this year and the situation is having a negative impact on projects to improve Roma inclusion. A significant portion of the population of Jaroměř are members of that community and had managed to find work through the community service program, Czech Television reports.

Last year the town’s technical services employed 16 people as part of community service arrangements. This year they employed only four. When the town hall wanted to hire more people, Vice-Mayor František Vrabec said the Labor Office told them there was no funding to supply more candidates.

“We won’t be able to clean up many places in the town of Jaroměř,” Vrabec warned Czech Television. “At the start of the year there was a lower budget for the active employment policy than we wanted,” admits Martin Horák, the Labor Office director in Hradec Králové.

Rudolf Polák’s firm, which hires mostly Roma workers to take care of street cleaning in the Josefov neighborhood of Jaroměř, is having the same experience as the town hall. He has hired only half of his usual 12 people.

“I would like all of these people to have to work. That would lead their children to work,” Rudolf Polák said.

“If the community service work wasn’t here, they wouldn’t work at all. People would like to work, but there are no jobs,” worker Miroslav Kotlár emphasized to Czech Television. Two Roma women, who in addition to street cleaning used to supervise hygiene and order in the most attractive tourist areas of the town, have also been let go from their community service in the Josefov quarter.