Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

Access to education, training and employment. Equality of opportunity and treatment irrespective of national extraction or religion. The Committee welcomes the detailed information, including statistics, provided by the Government regarding training and employment programmes, including measures taken with a view to promoting self-employment, for persons from the Roma community and on the results achieved in terms of participation in these programmes. The Committee notes that measures have been taken in order to improve the skills of Roma people and to support Roma entrepreneurs. In addition, employees from the Employment Agency have received specific training to work with representatives of the Roma community and other ethnic minorities.

The Committee notes with interest the measures taken to monitor the programmes and measures aimed at promoting equal access to employment, training and education of the members of the Roma community. It notes the Government’s indication that the monitoring of the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on the initiative “Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005–15” is carried out by an interdepartmental working group which prepares on a regular basis a monitoring report identifying the remaining challenges. The following main challenges were identified for Roma people in the field of employment: high unemployment rate (in particular long term unemployment), high number of discouraged persons, need to broaden the scope of active employment measures for long term inclusion, high number of persons working without a formal employment contract, and lack of initial capital to start a family business. The monitoring report also contains recommendations, focusing on the need to improve the coordination between the various institutions and municipalities for joint action, the creation of a Coordinating Council to monitor the implementation of the NAP, and continuation of the collection and analysis of comparable data to monitor the progress made.

With respect to access to education, the Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the various measures that are being taken with a view to removing Roma children from special kindergartens and schools and integrating them in the school system. According to the Government, the number of integrated schools has increased from 262 in 2006–07 to 298 in 2007–08 and activities are carried out on a permanent basis to facilitate mutual adaptation of Roma children and other children in their new educational environment and to build positive attitudes among all children, parents and teachers.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to take concrete measures to foster equal opportunities of Roma people, particularly with respect to access to employment and education and to provide information thereon, including statistical information concerning their situation in the labour market. The Committee also requests the Government to continue and intensify its efforts to assess and to monitor the progress made in this respect, and to provide information on measures taken further to the recommendations of the monitoring reports. The Government is asked to provide information on the measures taken to promote equal access to employment and occupation in the public and private sectors of persons from other ethnic, religious and linguistic minority groups, in particular persons from Turkish origin, Bulgarian-speaking Muslims (Pomaks) and persons of Macedonian origin.

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