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

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Czechia (Ratification: 1993)

1. Discrimination on the basis of race and national extraction. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the different measures taken to implement its policies aimed at the integration of the Roma community, particularly through achieving better levels of education and vocational qualifications. The Committee notes, for instance, the programme to support Roma students in secondary schools through which financial assistance was provided to some 8,000 students between 2000 and 2004. Programmes have also been carried out to train members of the Roma community to enable them to have greater access to employment in the state administration. Under the framework of the European EQUAL initiative, some projects focused on racial discrimination and awareness raising on minority issues in a multicultural society. The Committee also notes that a draft Anti-Discrimination Act is currently pending in Parliament which will reflect the requirements of the European Union directives on discrimination, including on the basis of race and ethnicity. Recalling its previous observations concerning the need to assess the impact of the measures taken on the actual situation of members of the Roma community in education and employment, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that a major problem in the evaluation of governmental action taken was the absence of statistical data. The current legal situation did not allow the collection of data concerning the ethnicity of students. Further, the labour offices, at the request of Roma representatives, no longer registered the ethnic origin of jobseekers, which was done previously on a voluntary basis. However, the Government states that depending on the region concerned, between 30 and 70 per cent of the persons registered by the labour offices as "persons with job placement difficulties" are Roma. The Committee is concerned that only a small part of the Roma community wished to reveal their ethnic origin in the 2001 census, as this may be an indication of continuing mistrust between the different parts of the population and of intolerance and discrimination still experienced by the Roma.

2. The Committee urges the Government to put in place and apply appropriate methods to assess the progress made in the realization of objectives and targets set concerning the social integration of the Roma, and to supply to the Committee any results of such assessments. In addition, the Government is requested to: (1) continue to provide detailed information on the specific measures taken to promote access of members of the Roma community to education, training and employment, including in public works schemes and self-employment; (2) provide information on the implementation of programmes targeting "persons with job placement difficulties", including the number of enterprises that have received tax deductions or direct payments in return for employing such persons; (3) step up its efforts to combat prejudices and discrimination against members of the Roma community and to build trust between the Roma and other parts of society, in collaboration with workers’ and employers’ organizations and Roma representatives, and to provide information on the specific action taken in this area; and (4) to provide detailed information on any cases or situations involving instances or allegations of ethnic discrimination in employment or occupation dealt with by the competent authorities, including the labour inspectorate and the courts.

3. Discrimination on the basis of political opinion. The Committee recalls that Act No. 451 of 1991 (Screening Act), which lays down certain political prerequisites for holding a range of jobs and occupations, mainly in the public service, had been subject to representations under article 24 of the ILO Constitution (in November 1991 and June 1994) and the Governing Body committees deciding on the matter invited the Government to repeal or modify the provisions in the Screening Act that were incompatible with the Convention. In its previous observation, the Committee noted that Parliament had extended the Act, despite the dissent of the Government and its efforts to avoid such action. While the Government previously stated that the Civil Service Act of 2002 was intended to replace the Screening Act, the Committee notes from the Government’s report that Parliament declined to repeal the Screening Act when adopting the Civil Service Act, and another proposal for repeal was rejected by Parliament in 2003. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the status and application of the Screening Act.

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