Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Bulgaria (Ratification: 1960)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of the anti-discrimination legislation. The Committee notes with interest that the Commission on the Protection against Discrimination has been able to increase its level of activities, both in the area of prevention of discrimination as well as in the adjudication of cases. In 2006, some 389 complaints were filed with the Commission compared to 89 in 2005. In respect of 220 complaints of discrimination, proceedings were initiated and in 71 cases the Commission found violations of the equal treatment principle. The Committee notes that a number of cases related to employment matters, although the report gives no precise case information either as to the subject matter or the ground of discrimination in respect of each case. The Committee welcomes the efforts of the Commission to extend its activities to the different regions of the country which has led to increased awareness of the legislation and, as a result, an increase in the number of complaints received. The Committee also notes that the Commission has collaborated with the national workers’ and employers’ organizations and has signed framework agreements on cooperation on the prevention of discrimination in the field of labour with the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) and the Agency for Persons with Disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to:

(i)    continue to provide information on the activities of the Commission on the Protection against Discrimination as regards discrimination in employment and occupation, including detailed information on the number, nature and outcome of cases dealt with by the Commission and an indication of the level of compliance with its decisions;

(ii)   provide information on the Commission’s efforts in the area of awareness raising and prevention of discrimination, including its collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations and other public authorities, such as the Agency for Persons with Disabilities or the labour inspectorate; and

(iii) provide detailed information on the number, nature and outcome of court cases involving questions of discrimination in employment and occupation.

Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of national extraction or religion. Access to education, training and employment. In its previous observation, the Committee urged the Government to indicate any measures taken to assess the impact of the special measures taken to promote equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation of ethnic minority groups which are in a vulnerable social-economic situation. The Committee also asked the Government to provide information on the actual employment situation of persons of Roma and Turkish origin and the extent to which they were actually able to obtain jobs in the public and private sectors after having benefited from skills training or other assistance. The Committee further wished to receive information on the progress made in increasing the number of integrated schools, including the number of Roma children attending such schools.

With respect to these matters, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that in 2006 the Employment Agency had not gathered any statistics regarding the ethnicity of persons seeking employment. Accordingly, no information on the employment situation of ethnic minority groups could be given. However, the Employment Office Directorate sent a letter to the Employment Agency on 16 May 2007 providing a form by which employment seekers could identify themselves as members of ethnic groups. The Committee also notes that the Government’s report contains certain data on the level of participation of Roma in a number of programmes and projects implemented by the Employment Agency in 2006 in relation to the National Action Plan under the Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–15. The Government indicates that this data has been established through an expert assessment made by officials of the Employment Office Directorate. For instance, an estimated half of the 82,550 persons having participated in the “From Social Assistance to Employment” Scheme were Roma, while 9,729 unemployed Roma were included in vocational orientation courses. In addition, some 2,675 Roma acquired specific vocational qualifications through training. The report also states that the job fairs were held in areas with concentrated Roma population which offered a total of 4,560 jobs and led to some 3,000 persons obtaining employment. With regard to the access of boys and girls from Roma communities to quality education, the Committee particularly notes the information provided on the ongoing desegregation projects. While duly noting the information provided, the Committee requests the Government to:

(i)    continue to provide information, including statistical data, on the participation of the Roma or persons of Turkish origin in active labour market measures, and information on the extent to which persons from these groups have actually found employment after having benefited from such measures;

(ii)   continue and intensify its efforts to assess and to monitor the employment situation of members of ethnic minority groups, particularly the Roma and persons of Turkish origin, and to provide statistical information on the overall employment situation of these groups as soon as it is available; and

(iii) continue to provide information on the progress made in ensuring equal access of women and men from ethnic minority communities, in particular the Roma, to quality education at all levels.

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