To: EUROPEAN COMMISSION DG Employment and Social Affairs, office J27 1/4 Unit E2 Social Protection and Inclusion Policies B-1049 Brussels, Belgium
From: Group of non-governmental experts in the fight against poverty and social exclusion
Czech expert: Jiri Vecernik
Third Report: Regional and local implementation of the NAPs/inclusion 2004-2006
Czech Republic
Contents:
Acknowledgements
1. Regional structure, problems and research 1.1 General characteristics 3 1.2 The Strategy for Regional Development 4 1.3 Data and analysis 5 1.4 Inclusion process and partnerships 6 1.5 Research projects 8 1.6 Selection of five cases 9
2. The five cases 2.1 Ostrava: The Roma and the long-term unemployed 11 2.2 Usti nad Labem: Tackling poverty and social exclusion 14 2.3 Kladno: Substandard housing and social exclusion 17 2.4 Prague: Homeless people 20 2.5 Hradec Kralove: Community Planning 23 2.6 Several conclusions from the five cases 27
References 29 Tables 1-10 and Maps 1-4 31
1 Acknowledgements
In five case studies, I used experience and background papers of several junior researchers and one former journalist specialized on social issues, all of them familiarized with individual localities.
Ostrava Katerina Pavlickova, graduate student of the Health-Social Faculty of the University Ostrava and field social worker of the NGO Life Together.
Vendula Jaburkova, former field social worker of the NGO Life Together and currently head of the section of social work of the NGO Together–Jekhetane.
Usti nad Labem Lenka Budilova, graduate student of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University in Prague. She deals with problems of Roma family and kinship.
Marek Jakoubek, graduate student of the Faculty of Arts of the University in Prague and lecturer of the West Bohemian University in Plzen. He deals with hermeneutics of Gypsy cultures.
Kladno Lukas Radostny, graduate student of the Faculty of Human Sciences of the University in Prague. He deals with problems of social exclusion.
Praha and Hradec Kralove Zoja Fanklova, formerly journalist and RFE reporter on social issues, currently employee of the Research Institute of Professional Schooling.
2 1. Regional structure, problems and research
1.1 General characteristics Czech Republic is traditionally a highly urbanized, high-density country with a large number of municipalities. There were 6258 municipalities in 2001, 490 more than in 1991. In the late 1990s, the regional divisions were reformed to create a new arrangement of regional administrative units: 77 districts (NUTS level 4) form 14 administrative regions (NUTS Level 3). The new administrative arrangement is being established. For EU-related issues, administrative regions are grouped into 8 cohesion regions (NUTS level 2): Prague, Central Bohemia, Southwest, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast, Central Moravia and Moravia/Silesia.
The previous regime developed an intensive regional equalization policy, involving huge support particularly for the mining, metallurgy and heavy machinery industries. After 1989, when economic restructuring and other economic priorities were introduced, large disparities appeared. Instead of the purely industrial cities, Prague began to occupy the predominant position as the main centre of services, finance, top administrations and management. A large gap surfaced between Prague and the rest of the country. The peripheral regions in the border areas suffered from poor transport connections.
The formerly preferred regions of the mining, metallurgy, machinery and chemical industries declined, especially North Bohemia and North Moravia. Besides cities, there were also many towns that economically were fully dependent on the existence of one factory. Dozens of factories were closed during privatisation, or at least their production was substantially reduced. The insufficiently diversified economy failed to offer enough alternative jobs, and therefore differences in employment appeared. This has contributed to weak economic activity resulting in reduced labour demand and consequently high unemployment in the formerly preferred regions.
The deep structural changes were not balanced by migration, which hindered, among other reasons, by a non-existent housing market and the population’s embedded preference for stability. Also, many commuting channels were reduced with the elimination of the less frequented bus and train lines. Nevertheless, a large social safety net managed to compensate for at least a part of the mounting differences, keeping bottom income levels relatively stable. Regional differences in household income are thus much smaller than the differences in economic participation and in the earnings of the workforce.
There are few cross-national comparisons of regional disparities in the socio-economic area. Uniquely, the most recent OECD Employment Outlook presents an analysis in employment indicators (OECD, 2005). According to it, the differences in the unemployment rate between the worse and better performing regions were 4.7 in the Czech Republic (among 8 regions), like in Poland (among 16 regions), but greater than in Austria, Hungary or France. Even much bigger differences were identified in Italy, Spain and Germany (see Table 1). The number of regions matters in the comparison, of course.
Another comparative study was made recently by the Eurostat using financial data and mapping regional GDP, primary income and disposable income per inhabitant by 2002 on the NUTS Level 2. In the comparison, only Prague of all Czech regions nearly reached the EU average in primary income. In disposable income, however, the whole territory of the Czech Republic belongs to the same category between 6,000 and 12,000 in purchasing power consumption standards what is the third broad category of four applied in the analysis. In detailed
3 figures, the regional range in disposable income (after state redistibution) is very high in the Czech Republic (80%), similarly as in Hungary (79%) and Italy (75%), but in contrast with Austria (22%) and Ireland (11%) (Eurostat 2002).
1.2 The Strategy for Regional Development The harmonious development of regions is among the government’s key goals, and it has been outlined in a long-term strategy document, regularly improved and supplemented. The last draft of the Strategy for the Regional Development of the Czech Republic was released in July 2005. The final version is to be submitted to the government in the 1st Quarter of 2006. The document includes also one chapter on “problem territories”. The priorities here are the following: 1. Enhancing the economic performance of problem territories and attenuating not deserved disparities between territories with an inadequate economic structure and performance to bring them closer to the average of the CR. Measures taken involve: • Support for a diversity of economic activities in the problem territories that lack an efficient structure of production and services; • Support for activities and the development of technologies leading to the enhancement of the economic performance of subjects performing in economically weak regions. 2. Intervention in the labour market in territories with extreme unemployment. Reducing big regional differences in the rate and structure of unemployment. Measures taken involve: • Support for education, enhancing qualification, retraining and the development of the key abilities of job seekers, with a particular focus on long-term unemployed; • Tackling the increase in the number of long-term unemployed through benefits targeting and an efficient ALMP; • Placing persons at risk of social exclusion in the labour market, improving their opportunities in access to education and employment; • Developing programmes to support the creation of new jobs for long-term unemployed and persons at risk of social exclusion; • Establishing motivation centres, work rehabilitation and placements for socially vulnerable persons; • Prevention, motivational and activation programmes combating discrimination and placements for ethnic minorities in the labour market. 3. Supporting solutions to the specific problems of the countryside, the regeneration of the way of life and the housing in villages, the development of the off-production functions of agriculture, recreation and travel services. The measures taken involve: • Development of multifunctional agriculture and support for its off-production functions, in sub-mountain areas in particular; • Restoration of the countryside and rehabilitation of village housing. • Support for self-employment in the countryside, and in services for the public in particular. 4. Regeneration of city centres. Enhancing the quality of life in cities and towns, revitalizing urban centres, harmonizing cultural heritage protection with modern business. Special attention should be given to former industrial localities hit by restructuring (Ostrava, Karvina, Most). • Regeneration of territories and revitalization of economic life in cities hit by restructuring; • Improvement of the living conditions of the citizens and visitors in city centres; • Development of social and cultural life in the historical parts of cities; • Limiting the negative impact of transport and caring for public spaces; • Prevention of social exclusion and criminality.
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1.3 Data and analysis There are several national data sources about regional structure and localities. The database MOS/MIS of the Czech Statistical Office (CSO) has been using several hundred indicators for each of the 6300 localities since 1993. Localities can be aggregated for any higher clusters. The CSO database KROK has been using about 1200 indicators in 29 chapters for each administrative district since 1995. Indicators can be aggregated to administrative regions (NUTS 3) and cohesion regions (NUTS 2). The database of Euroregions, operating since 2004, includes agreed indicators for individual national parts of Euroregions. Several statistical indicators regularly released by the CSO are presented in Table 2.
Statistical surveys made on big samples can be used also for regional details at the level of NUTS 2 and NUTS 3. In particular, it is the Labour Force Survey, collected by the CSO using ILO methodology, which involves data on employment, unemployment and commuting to work on individuals from about 25,000 households. Microcensus data collected on several thousand households can be utilized in the same way. The last Microcensus surveys were collected in March 1997 and 2003 inspecting personal and household income indicators for previous years.
We failed to find any complex study describing socio-economic disparities by regions in a comprehensive way and at various levels. Only within the National Development Plan, currently under preparation, one chapter is devoted to “Regional disparities, cohesion and urban issues” where basic characteristics of NUTS Level 2 are also presented and described, but only with simple breakdowns and without any deeper analytical insight.
With this (rather surprising) neglect in mind, we used the last two social-statistical surveys conducted to compute and display a territorial picture of several basic indicators. The first was Microcensus 2002 and the second was the survey Social Situation of Households conducted in 2001 as a pilot survey for EU-SILC statistics (the Czech survey was again collected in 2005 but the data are not yet available). Unlike the common simple breakdowns by region only, we applied two-dimensional tables combining regions and the type of locality.
Regarding household income (Table 3), the differences between cities, towns and the countryside are very small, unlike regional differences. Prague is an outlier at the top. Besides Prague, there are three regions with extremely low average income (a difference of 10 or more percentage points from the average): Usti nad Labem, Olomouc and Moravia-Silesia. In the Olomouc region, there are also huge differences between the regional capital (which is an important cultural and economic centre) and the rest of the region. This is unlike the Moravia- Silesia region where the differences between the capital Ostrava and the rest are much smaller. A special case is Karlovy Vary region, where the disparities between prosperous Karlsbad and the rest of border region are huge indeed.
Regarding inequality in household income (Table 4), it is again Prague where the disparities are the biggest, followed by the capital’s “larger outskirts” - Central Bohemia. Obviously, the same is valid for Karlovy Vary. While some disadvantaged regions display quite high levels of inequality (Usti nad Labem and Moravia-Silesia), some prosperous regions (Hradec Kralove, Pardubice, Zlin) and even one rather poor region (Vysocina) display relatively little inequality in household income. Inequality can be produced at a higher as well as a lower economic level, which has important consequences for the perception of individual social situation.
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A picture of the situation is provided in regional figures on poverty (Table 5). The pictures given by official measurements (minimum subsistence threshold) and standard EU measurements are not necessarily the same. In both cases, however, there are four regions – Karlovy Vary, Usti nad Labem, Pardubice and Moravia-Silesia – that are the most exposed to poverty. On the other hand, the lowest poverty rate is in Prague, despite the large income inequality; the reason is that income disparities are broader toward the top not the bottom of the hierarchy. On the average, and in most of cases, there seems to be more poverty in cities than in towns and villages.
Regression analysis shows (Table 6) that while regional differences explain a small but still considerable percentage of the variance in household income (6%) and unemployment (3%), they almost fail to explain the poverty head count in both measurements used here. This is quite understandable, however, given the composite character of poverty indications, affected primarily by unemployment, but with a close reference to household size and composition (Vecernik, 2004).
Obviously, unemployed people are the most at risk of poverty – 20% by official threshold and almost 38% by EU measurement (Table 7). The regional figures differ much more according to the first indicator than the second. The regional unemployment rate matters here, because in economically weak regions the probability of occurrence of more unemployed persons in one family increases, while probability to compensate missing earnings by higher earnings from other household members decreases.
Unlike the Microcensus surveys, the Social Situation of Households survey provides figures on the subjective perception of financial problems and poverty. Surprisingly, the percentage of households declaring financial difficulties differs much less across regions than as “objective” indicators report. The regions having economic problems and declaring high poverty risk differ at most by 5% from the national average. Differences between cities, towns and villages are almost negligible (Table 8). Difficulties with paying rent, energy, and loans are differentiated more, but not consistently with the “objective indicators” of income level and poverty (Table 9).
Finally, we present a time series on the reported tolerance of a population sample towards various categories of the population, collected in opinion surveys produced regularly by the Centre for Public Opinion Research (CVVM) of the Institute of Sociology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (Table 10). In most cases, the tolerance level is enhanced over time, even if we skip the jump in 2003 that is difficult to explain. The most dynamic change seems to occur in the positive approach towards Roma, which almost tripled, although it remains the lowest in comparison with the tolerance for other groups. Nevertheless, the trend suggests an important strengthening of a general pro-inclusive climate in Czech society.
1.4 Inclusion process and partnership As stressed in the EC Commission Staff Working Paper Report on Social Inclusion 2004, “partnership and dialogue at local levels are important tools for delivering social inclusion. They can help with the identification of problems and disadvantaged groups, in directing social assistance and in activating people experiencing poverty and social exclusion. In addition to receiving national support they may also be supported from the structural funds”. The Czech Republic’s community planning is mentioned here, as well as local/regional
6 partnerships encouraged through employment legislation. The establishment of the Government Council for Non-State Non-Profit Organisations is also mentioned in the report.
The impact of the NAPs/inclusion at the regional and local level is as yet weak. Nevertheless, there have been some promising beginnings in individual areas. In Spring 2005, the NAPs/inclusion was widely distributed in printed form to the regions and all interested bodies. In 2005, two regional conferences under heading “Forum of social inclusion” aiming to prepare the new NAPs/inclusion for 2006-2008 were held in Prague (28-29 November) and Zlin (1-2 December). Activities connected with the use of the ESF became an important channel of the dialogue between the state, regions and localities. They serve as a useful lesson for all bodies and for building their synergy.
Community planning is already developing in all 14 regions. There are many concrete examples of its usefulness (in particular with regard to the accessibility of social services), but not a thorough analysis and evaluation. Unfortunately, the last Summary Report on Community Planning available on the MoLSA website refers to the 1st half of 2004 and nothing new is available. The SPD3 will be used e.g. to support the education of administrative officials in all districts of the city of Prague on the method, and to portray the social situation in detail via the City Centre of Social Services and Prevention. It is also expected that the JROP (3.2) will enable other towns to join community planning, e.g. in Plzen region. Recently, the MoLSA announced a tender for “Ensuring local and type of accessibility of social services” within the OP HRD (2.1), with the aim of creating a planning system and educational programmes for all regions and municipalities.
Regional Councils for HRD operate and also meet regularly, most recently in June 2005. At this meeting the limited publicity of their activities was discussed and better use of regional websites considered, if not even the establishment of websites of their own, which would be fully devoted to HRD issues. Special attention was paid to adult education, disregarded – as they state – by the Ministry of Education. Therefore, “Adult Education Week” should take place in all regions in Autumn 2005, organized in cooperation with the Association of Institutions for Adult Education.
The legislative framework of partnerships is established in the Act on Support for Regional Development (248/2000), which stipulates the cooperation of economic and social partners. NGOs were active in the preparation of SF use and their representatives participate in monitoring committees of individual programmes and expert groups. On the regional level, NGOs are members of the Committees of Regional Development established by the Regional Councils of individual cohesion regions. EU membership thus opened the gate for the application of partnerships and the involvement of NGOs into the planning and decision- making process in social inclusion (Vajdova, 2005).
Regional governments communicate with NGOs through various contact bodies, such as special departments, working groups, or coordinators for ethnic minorities. Regions prefer to contact individual NGOs rather than their associations. Regions perceive NGOs as partners for cooperation first and as advisors and providers of social services next. For NGOs, the regions are the providers of resources in the first place. Some regions have a plan of cooperation with NGOs, expressed also in their priorities regarding support for NGOs. In some regions, framework agreements regarding cooperation have also been prepared (Spiralis, 2003).
7 1.5 Research projects While not many analyses have yet been done on the social situation in the regional and local structure, a couple of concrete projects for the near future were launched.
Analysis of socially excluded Roma localities and the absorption capacities of subjects acting in this area MoLSA issued tender for the collection of relevant and up-to-date information on the state of social exclusion. The project should assess the experience gathered so far with the use of SF in the area of Roma issues and to serve the use of ESF in the programming period of 2007- 2013. The project will involve 1. conceptual apparatus of Roma social exclusion, 2. summary of already existing surveys, analyses and documents made since 2000, 3. new survey on territorial distribution, localities and their characteristics, 4. mapping the current situation regarding ESF use, 5. inventory of localities expected to submit a proposal in the next programming period, or asking already for such support, 6. inventory of subjects operating in the area.
Building methodological framework for developing local and regional action plans The MoLSA is one of the partners in an international project initiated by QEC-ERAN (European Regeneration Areas’ Network) and headed by the city of Venice. It started in November 2005 and is expected to run for two years. A total of 10 cities and other bodies are participating in it. The aim is to produce a framework and methodology for the creation of regional and local action plans for social inclusion. In the Czech Republic, community plans of social services serve as a starting point, to which other areas can be added, such as accessibility of transport, crime prevention, the problem of housing, etc. The MoLSA must establish an Action Group that will prepare a work plan and methodology outline in four workshops.
Social cohesion in a differentiated society In the framework of a larger project financed by the MoLSA, a research team at the Faculty of Social Studies of Masaryk University in Brno is assessing the implementation of individual NAPs/inclusion measures. This assessment is based on interviews with about 70 policy makers at central, regional and local levels in 3-4 selected regions and localities. The interviews deal with the perception of the importance and faces of social exclusion/inclusion, its causes and implications, possible solutions, the role of individual NAPs/inclusion measures, etc. The purpose is to assess approaches to solutions of social exclusion problems at various levels and the links between individual levels of policy making. The final report is to be completed by the start of 2006.
Longitudinal stationary field research on socially excluded localities A project conducted by the MoLSA and implemented by the Department of Anthropology at the West-Bohemian University in Plzen. Fieldwork is developing, in particular, in the city of Kladno, in special accommodation arranged for rent defaulters. The research refers to city housing policy and the social exclusion of Roma enclaves. This anthropological approach makes it possible to learn about the hidden mechanisms of Roma social organization, which is based on family and kinship. Membership in a family formation is a crucial part of the personal identity of people and shapes their values and behaviour. In Roma localities, interiorized patterns of values and coping strategies apply, and therefore people accustomed to these patterns prefer to stay within the limits of their kinship, with all the defective consequences it may have. This strengthens the boundaries of excluded localities from within.
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1.6 Selection of five cases Following the instructions for this report, priority should be given to those regions that can serve as an example of good practice at the national and also the EU level. In particular, partnership arrangements involving civil society and aiming at the implementation of policies at the regional level should be analysed. The selection of thematic priorities should make explicit reference to the “Challenges ahead” included in the country fiches of the EC Commission Staff Working Paper Report on Social Inclusion 2004 and to the six key common challenges.
Among the specific national challenges were - in brief - supporting disadvantaged regions, improving the situation of the Roma minority and other vulnerable groups such as the homeless, improving access to affordable housing, preventing spatial and social segregation, and supporting greater integration and reconciliation of the agendas of social and employment policy. While the latter issue concerns the entire society, the former issues could be tackled in particular territories, some of which are even quite small.
The report also stresses the six general key challenges for the eradication of poverty and social exclusion, which include: ALMP, social protection systems, policies to tackle child and family poverty, improving access to decent housing and tackling homelessness, enhancing the quality of and access to key public services and, overcoming the particularly high levels of exclusion and discrimination experienced by some ethnic groups, especially the Roma. Basically, we find a considerable overlapping of the key issue we focus on.
In the Report on Social Inclusion 2004, the Czech Republic was quoted as the country providing the highest number of examples of good practice (12). At the local and regional level, it was community planning and several pilot programmes targeting socially excluded localities and the Roma in particular. In fact, however, it is not easy to find examples of already functioning and verified good practices, unlike pilot programmes and plans for the future. Although community plans have already been outlined in all 14 regions, their accomplishment is still a task for the future. While new community plans are set, the former ones’ accomplishments are not analyzed and evaluated.
Following the instructions of the Commission and our previous experience, five localities were selected and their selection approved by the country desk. We tried to find also, within them, mini-localities or specific groups of particular attention.
1. Ostrava. A city seriously affected by economic restructuring and currently suffering from a very high unemployment rate. While many local job seekers prefer benefit dependency, foreign workers are working in their stead. Long-term unemployment overlaps with Roma localities in a great deal. Therefore, special focus is on one locality that is at risk of ghettoization. Various programmes have been applied, but with only limited success so far.
2. Usti nad Labem. A city hit hard by economic restructuring, but developing in new directions. Numerous different programmes are applied here, e.g. labour market motivation programmes, inclusion programmes also supported by EQUAL (disadvantaged groups) and Leonardo Da Vinci (life long learning). Ethnic segregation is developing on the city outskirts. Housing and housing ownership appear to be a key problem, which leads to a vicious circle of social exclusion.
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3. Kladno. Previously one of the most important “working class” cities and showcase of the communist regime with export metallurgy plants that employed thousands of low-skilled workers. Currently the local labour market is mostly dependent on Prague. The city provides the best example of a disabled accessible settlement, but its attempts to address problems relating to the Roma population are problematic. There has been a significant effort to segregate the Roma in temporary accommodation, which has a trapping effect owing to high housing costs.
4. Praha. The country’s capital was chosen here because of the concentration of homeless people. A total of 28 organizations are active in this field, whether they are city organizations or NGOs. Significant efforts have been invested in improving their situation during the winter. The NGO Nadeje has an integration programme and works to address the conditions that hinder integration activities. The NGO New Space publishes a weekly (currently bi- monthly) review sold by homeless people, who in this way are able to collect some resources for survival and starting normal life.
5. Hradec Kralove. A regional centre with 100,000 inhabitants, it is an example of a normal Czech city with “standard” problems. It has no extreme social problems, including unemployment. The focus is on priorities in social planning – which categories are considered vulnerable and what methods are there to prevent unfavourable situations. Besides the attention given to “standard” vulnerable groups, supplementing social services with re- socializing and re-educational activities, special attention is devoted to the phenomenon of bullying among school children and prevention of related social exclusion.
10 2. The five cases
2.1 Ostrava: The Roma and the long-term unemployed
The basic characteristics of the city and the region Ostrava is one of the main economic and administrative centres in the Czech Republic (the third largest), composed of 23 districts. Under the previous regime, it had the largest concentration of mining, metallurgy and heavy machinery. A typically Stalinist-deformed “iron” industrial structure developed under political imperatives. As such, however, the labour force was broadly supported and the wages were the highest in the country.
During the transition, mining activity stopped in 1994, and there was a reduction of the main manufacturing activities. The formerly “elite” workforce was hit by restructuring and shifted in part to small services and trade, in part to retirement, and in part to unemployment. Ostrava ranks among the regions most severely hit by unemployment (17% unemployment rate). In mid-2005, there were 26,600 registered job seekers, after having seen some recent improvement. On the demand side, only 900 jobs are available monthly.
Long-term unemployment is slightly decreasing in numbers, but is increasing in terms of the share of unemployed it represents – having already reached 56% by mid-2005. Among the long-term unemployed are especially disabled persons (average length of registration 48 months), persons over 50 years of age (38 months), people with low education (37 months), and also members of ethnic minorities. Cumulative handicaps affect young people without higher education and particularly Roma.
Territorially, there are increasing disparities within the city area. On the one hand, unemployment is stagnant or increasing in districts where the Roma population is concentrated (Slezska Ostrava, Moravska Ostrava and Privoz, Radvanice and Bartovice, Michalkovice, Vitkovice). On the other hand, unemployment is decreasing in districts with an overwhelming majority of family households/homes, where socially better-off categories migrate (Pustkovec, Plesna, Martinov).
To attenuate negative trends in employment, there are huge state subsidies that flow into retraining and job creation. ALMP created over 4,000 new jobs in the first half of 2005, most of them as supported jobs (so-called socially useful jobs) but also as self-employment (290 jobs). The attraction of job subsidies for employers is currently so high that the regional Labour Office needs to temporarily stop receiving new applications. The district labour offices have joined all possible EU-supported programmes and established partnerships in 33 projects.
Concerning the Roma population, only 691 persons declared themselves to be ethnic Roma in the 2001 Population Census. However, the estimate is that there are 30-40 thousand Roma that live permanently or temporarily in the city Ostrava (about 4% of all inhabitants). The unemployment rate among the Roma could also only be estimated – it may be as high as 80- 95%, based on estimates from social fieldworkers in socially weakest localities.
Municipal programmes The city Ostrava, which is also the regional centre, uses several instruments to prevent the rise of unemployment or even to reduce it. These include in particular advisory programmes, the
11 retraining and provision of further professional education for disadvantaged job seekers, and support for job creation for the long-term unemployed.
Community planning shelters the optimizing of the social network and the establishment of mechanisms and conditions for the coordination of social services aimed at preventing social exclusion. Preparations for this started in early 2003, and gradually 200 people came to be involved in the process, from city administration (Magistrat) and the district administrative authorities and also NGO representatives.
After a two-year analytical and planning process, the key document, the Community Plan for Social Services Development in the city Ostrava until 2006, was approved in December 2004 by the City Council. Targets and measures were developed in seven areas addressed by seven corresponding working groups: • mentally sick • mentally handicapped • otherwise disabled • children and family • inadaptable citizens • Roma localities
Inadaptable citizens, the Roma and the long-term unemployed are groups that are closely related – as municipality officers, Roma NGOs and field workers unanimously agree. The last two working groups indicated above took an integrated approach to dealing with their issue.
The “Inadaptable Citizens” working group aims to support employment through 1. Sheltered workshops for persons with poor employability and for those who do not make an active effort to seek employment (this means ergo-therapy, especially in post-penitentiary care), 2. Temporary employment for persons with reduced abilities, even topped by a relaxed attitude to work (this social and professional advisory is provided together with an educational programme).
Both measures are to be implemented starting in 2005 by the Magistrat and local NGOs. Unfortunately, there is no publicly available information on the achievement or fulfilment of these measures. In the city grant scheme, the measures of the Community Plan were involved, but only one NGO took the opportunity to ask for support – the NGO Kofoed’s School, targeting the unemployed and providing them with social and professional consultancy and training programmes.
The “Roma ethnic” working group has four targets, none of which, however, are directly oriented toward reducing Roma unemployment. Nevertheless, two of the targets at least indirectly support a long-term strategy for tackling the unemployment of Roma citizens and their very limited employability: first, support for pre-school education of Roma children, and second, Roma assistants.
Within the programme Support for pre-school education of Roma children, Roma mothers are taught to learn with their children and, indirectly, to demonstrate to the entire population the importance of lifelong learning, especially for employment. In 2005, 16 mothers and 18 children are involved.
12 This educational programme for Roma children and their mothers is run by the NGO Cohabitation. It is implemented through the group work, with specialists and the mothers, which is followed by mothers working with their children (this distinguishes the programme from preparatory classes assisted by the Roma directly targeting children). Another medium of its implementation is “the mother from the neighbourhood”, i.e. a Roma woman involved in the project passes her experience to other mothers in the locality. The project is run in community centres in three localities with a high Roma population (Zaruba, Hrusov and Liscina, all within the district of Slezska Ostrava).
Another related programme is the “anti-prejudice” training programme for teachers, which was prepared to start running in 2005 by the NGO Together–Jekhetane, which received the financial support of the city for this activity.
Roma teaching assistants help Roma children to manage their problems with school and learning. Currently, 29 assistants are involved (10 of them in the religious elementary school Premysl Pittr). In this way jobs are created for potentially unemployed Roma. Assistants are selected from among the Roma who have completed elementary school and who are thus also facing the risk of long-term unemployment. They are required to pass 80-hours of basic pedagogical training.
Social field assistants participate in the “Social Fieldwork Programme” supported by the Governmental Committee for Roma Community Affairs and the MoLSA. Within the programme, 3 assistants have been employed in the city of Ostrava since 2004 (one of whom is a health/social assistant). There are also field assistants employed in Roma and Roma- supportive NGOs – about 10 people, 2 of which are police assistants. Their jobs were originally financed out of ALMP resources but are now currently financed out of the city grant scheme related to the Community Plan. Social fieldwork training was organized in 2004, when 28 Roma persons participated, some of who found jobs afterwards.
The ghetto locality and the Community Centre in Zarubek This locality was originally built for engineers working in the local mine in the 1930s. Its status deteriorated after new settlements were constructed and finally after the mine was closed. Two streets of family houses disappeared, while shops and the school and nursery school were closed (only one shop is currently open). Many of the original inhabitants moved out, especially after Roma families started moving in following a decision by the district authorities to “solve” the problem of maladapted citizens this way. The remaining houses fell to ruin and were eventually destroyed.
About 235-260 people currently live in the locality, the absolute majority of them are Roma, and of them 113 are children aged 18 or under. Of the 40 families one-half are unmarried couples, and 3 are families headed by single mothers. The unemployment rate is about 95%, and all the unemployed are long term. Some of the unemployed were de-registered after they failed to fulfil requirements. No ALMP measures are applied here, with the exception of one person who passed a retraining programme for starting a business. One person (secondary school student) passed a course for field assistants. Several people have business licences, but do not carry out any kind of self-employment.
High unemployment is compensated by informal work activities. Typically, people collect the remains of junk iron in slag heaps and purchase iron in scrap-yards. Reportedly, this is a potentially quite lucrative activity. In addition, people collect scrap metal found anywhere, or
13 sometimes even steal it from railways or new distribution networks. They are often prosecuted for theft, but this is not enough to deter them from this means of survival.
Housing is basically good quality, and the provision of electricity and water operates well. The problem is the maintenance or upkeep of apartments and houses. Inhabitants dissatisfied with the company responsible for building maintenance were invited to establish their own firm, which would be contracted for such works. Despite the help of social workers, the project has not yet been taken off.
The locality currently has a bad reputation as one of Ostrava’s Roma ghettos. Since 1998, the NGO Life Together has been providing social fieldwork and that has led to the establishment of a community centre. The association has provided eight local citizens with job opportunities. However, they left the jobs because of conflicts in the locality, preferring to combine social dependency and informal work again as more advantageous in terms of finance and time.
The Community Centre in Zarubek was established in late 1999. Two members of the locality, three employees and two volunteers, work in the centre. The programme includes leisure activities for children and youth, and support for good school performance. It aims to activate the community and equalize opportunities. Early care is provided as well, focusing on the education of children aged 3-6 years, and with a special focus on psychomotor, cognitive, moral, personality and social development and language skills.
2.2 Usti nad Labem: Tackling poverty and social exclusion
Basic characteristics of the city and locality of Predlice Usti nad Labem, with 95,000 inhabitants, is a statutory city and the main economic, administrative, and university centre of North Bohemia, divided into four districts. It was an important centre of mining and chemical industry under the previous regime, and was heavily polluted. After 1989, restructuring aimed at a reduction in the number of mines and improving the environment. The chemical, glass and food industries continue to function and there has been no significant decline in the population number or fertility rates.
Only 296 citizens declared their nationality as Roma in the 2001 Population Census, but expert estimates put their number at between 10 and 15 thousand, or even 19,000 (10% of total inhabitants). There are several localities with a high concentration of the Roma population, and there is often aversion between individual Roma kinships, according to their origin. The Roma question is one of many tackled in Community Plans. Since 1997, the Magistrat has been cooperating with the NGO Centre of Community Work. Cooperation resulted in the first Community Plan for 2001-2003 (as the very first city in the country) followed by the second Plan for 2004-2006.
The most recent Community Plan, released in June 2004, develops various measures for assisting the vulnerable population, among them also measures supportive of the employment of members of ethnic minorities. A “Job Centre” is meant to be established and consultancy provided. Support should be given to help people launch their own companies and to employment in NGOs. Training for business beginners is to be developed and specific Roma or Pro-Roma NGOs should be established. Also, a special public organization employing members of ethnic minorities will be set up, providing jobs in low-skilled occupations, etc.
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The locality we are focusing on - Nove Predlice - joined Usti nad Labem in 1938 as a good district and a highly industrialized one. Roma from Slovakia (mostly from one “fajta” or clan) started to arrive in the 1970s, and they were either provided with state apartments or purchased family houses. In the 1980s and 1990s, a new wave of migration began, this time dispersed along kinship lines. As the proportion of Roma in the area increased, the original Czech population began to leave the district and it lost its prestige.
The process was completed in the late 1990s when the municipality sold houses to the family of “Moravians” (i.e. Roma originally coming from Moravia) for quite low prices. The “Moravians” are the group that took advantage of purchasing the buildings (they currently own 70% of the buildings in the locality). It is a hegemonic group that also owns firms and gets state contracts, but it is also known for dealing in organized prostitution, the drug trade and usury. Finally, a portion of the “old settlers” started to blend with the “Moravians” (through intermarriage) and share their illicit economic practices.
Through a combination of spontaneous development and deliberate measures a Roma ghetto has slowly established itself: currently, of the 1700 inhabitants about 1550 are Roma, not including the mobile population. Therefore, the Roma population is divided into “old settlers” who live in their own private apartments and form quite a compact group, and the “new settlers” who live in houses owned by the clan of “Moravians”.
Sources of persistent poverty Housing The key problem is housing and its ownership. While “old settlers” live in their own private apartments, most of “new settlers” live in houses owned by the clan of “Moravians”. This housing is expensive, despite its poor quality. The tenants are large families, without assets, and most of the resident adults are unemployed. Therefore, there is no chance of them moving away or even avoiding the power of the “Moravians”. People are captives in a vicious circle of dependency, as they are forced to sign new contracts that require they pay increasing higher rent. By addressing the problem of “inadaptable tenants” in this way many families have become trapped by rising housing costs, and their social problems are thus mounting. In addition to the locality Predlice, the selling of houses to the “Moravians” continues in other city districts as well (Strekov, Trmice).
Criminality There is a variety of criminal activity in the locality of Predlice: prostitution (sometimes combined with robbery of clients), theft in supermarkets or theft of metals sold in scrap metal yards. The illicit use of electricity and water is a usual practice. The distribution and use of drugs is common, both soft (toluene, diluents) and hard (pervitin, heroin). Another form of crime relates to transport. Most of the inhabitants do not have driving licenses and they often use false documents. Some people do not pay the fare when taking public transport and they do not pay penalties that then cumulate. The most important form of crime is usury and the subsequent dependency of persons on usurers, who feel sufficiently secure in their activities, as nobody is willing to testify against them.
Unemployment and illegal work While women spend their time at home, many men – officially unemployed – take temporary, illegal jobs. There are two entrepreneur families of “old settlers” in the locality that are subcontracted by companies and offer work as hired hands. The combination of unemployed
15 status and extra earnings is much preferred by these people, since taking a permanent work contract would mean they lose their benefit entitlement. If employed, the Roma who are burdened by debts would also risk having their salary diverted by court decision. Giving up on any effort to withdraw from benefit dependency is thus quite a rationale strategy.
Education The majority of the Roma population in Predlice has only elementary education. Paradoxically, education enjoys very limited prestige since it brings no money and is moreover costly. The only available jobs are heavy manual labour. The local elementary school is currently attended only by Roma pupils (230) and has lower requirements corresponding to their abilities. If a child does continue in education, he/she must face a non- Roma surrounding for the first time and often fails already in the first class of vocational school.
Generally, the key problem is the lack of motivation for education. It is that people see no sense in it, as they believe they have no chance of getting a good job anyway. Therefore, children receive no support from their parents in this area. Consequently, they are unable to keep up with the regular course of education and are sooner or later are shifted to a special education school. If one child already attends special education school, the parents consider it an advantage to send the other sibling(s) to the same school, because the elder child can look after the younger. Opportunities for further education are thus blocked for all.
Programmes and projects Labour Office There is no particular strategy that targets Roma, only as they appear within various vulnerable groups. There were only about 10 Roma out of 250 people undergoing retraining in 2004. LO officers report that it is useless to provide retraining for older Roma what have already been registered for 3-4 years, as they have a fixed life-style. The LO cooperates with three institutions that are willing to train Roma: the elementary school on Skolni square (the project “Small Crafts”), the NGO Ro&Sa, and a private vocational school providing 12- month training in trade and catering services.
School and educational institutions The elementary school on Skolni square, which is affiliated with programmes backed by UNESCO and the League of Community Schools, employs 5 Roma assistants who participate in schooling. Since 1994, there is also a preparatory class for pre-school children. The NGO Kheroro was established in this locality and organizes leisure activities in afternoons, aimed at preventing criminality. Within the project “Small Crafts” several workshops have been developed and there are 20 Roma participating in the project – the result has, however, been considered unsuccessful. The NGO Black and White organizes soccer matches with the aim of bringing together the “minority” and the “majority”. Voluntary groups teaching Roma language, history and culture have failed – Roma parents object that the task of the school is “to make children White”.
The Magistrat Since 1999, the Coordination Group for the Care of Ethnic Minorities meets every month. Roma and non-Roma organizations participate. The targets in the Community Plan include: education in the social work standards designed for current or potential managers of NGOs (Roma in particular), developing a network of consultancy centres and enhancing the quality of those already functioning, the development of social fieldwork, support for employment in
16 areas with ethnic minorities, the establishment of an NGO for the employment of members of ethnic minorities and foreigners, the development of low-threshold centres, the inclusion of daily school tasks in the programme of the community centres.
The Magistrat’s Coordination Group for the Care of Ethnic Minorities takes the following approach: SF resources should be given to the Roma themselves since “they will solve everything among themselves”. However, the problem is that it is hard to submit good proposals owing to the lack of skilled and responsible Roma advocates. Also, Magistrat officials show limited willingness to approve Roma-led owing to a lack of confidence in them as a result of previous experiences when resources were on several occasions unlawfully appropriated. On the other hand, there is also only limited willingness to accept proposals from non-Roma experts that target Roma issues.
However, there is no publicly available information about the achievement of targets set earlier. The second Community Plan lacks any reference to achievements stemming from the first Plan. This suggests the document is rather declaratory in character. People active in Predlice (teachers and school employees, policemen, social fieldworkers) all report that the Community Plan and the Coordination Group that is meant to monitor the plan’s fulfilment have no real control over the situation.
NGOs There are several organizations in Roma localities that provide information and consultancy services on legal and social matters. Information and Consultancy Centres are located in Trmice, Mojzir and Krasne Brezno. The NGO Budoucnost-Future in Predlice organizes soccer matches and a Children’s Day. The NGO SoRo supports the employment of Roma. The NGO Karika organizes leisure activities and cleans the public space in Predlice. The NGO Rami performing in the locality Maticni/Novy svet (established by People in Need) runs a Community Centre in Maticni street. The Community Centre Svetluska in the locality of Strekov provides education and organizes leisure activities for children.
Social fieldwork The NGO People in Need is currently the main provider of social fieldwork in the city, mainly in the localities of Predlice and Maticni/Novy Svet. Fieldworkers either visit clients or offer their services in the office. They assist in dealings with administrative officials regarding housing, benefits, nationality documents, etc. The aim is not just to assist in situations of need, but also to teach clients to solve problems actively on them own. Fieldworkers therefore try to prevent long-term problems relating to rent debts, children’s school attendance, prostitution, drug abuse and usury. For them a client is characterized not by his/her ethnicity (=Roma) but by specific needs.
2.3 Kladno: Substandard housing and social exclusion
Kladno and its Roma inhabitants Kladno, with 73,000 inhabitants, is the biggest city in the region of Central Bohemia; it is located only 25 km from Prague. From the mid-19th century it was an important centre of mining and metallurgy industries, which flourished under the communist regime. Given that heavy industry employed a low qualified workforce and offered good salaries, housing, and social protection, in the 1950s it began attracting Roma families from Slovakian settlements
17 to migrate to Kladno. In the 1960s and 1970s alone a total of 15,000 people migrated to the city, many others commuted.
After 1989, manufacturing production was considerably reduced, and the most important company in the city, Poldi Kladno, went bankrupt after privatized incorrectly in 1996-1997. Many employees found their new jobs in or near the city of Prague, but unemployment is still high in Kladno – 4000 registered unemployed. The transformation processes led to growing inequality, which, after decades of socio/spatial homogeneity, has also begun to reveal itself on the territorial map of the city. This particularly concerns the Roma population.
According to estimates, 7000-7500 Roma live in Kladno. There is, however, a high degree of mobility, with Roma from Slovakia visiting their relatives, which makes population estimates very uncertain. During recent years, the trend has developed of the Roma population concentrating in several localities at the outskirts of the city. Formerly, Roma families occupied houses in the city centre or in proximity to the centre, but many houses were reconstructed and the original tenants were moved out. Also special elementary schools, attended mostly by Roma children, moved from the centre to the periphery.
It is not only in Kladno that the municipality has established “naked apartments” or special “temporary accommodation” for rent defaulters. There are several types, and they differ by costs of housing, defined in particular by costs of heating. However, it is not just “rent defaulters” who are moved and who must stay in such places. A typical example is the so- called “Masokombinat”, established in the late 1990s by the Magistrat out of an old pre-fab panel building as accommodation for rent defaulters and currently the place with the highest concentration of Roma families. There are currently about 25 Roma families (150-200 people) living there. Their stories vary: • only one group fits the rent-defaulter label well – these are Roma families who lost their right to the municipal apartment they occupied because they did not pay rent; • another group are Roma families who never had an apartment (and therefore no debt) and were sheltered provisionally here; • yet another group are Roma families who were shifted here while the municipal apartments were undergoing renovation, with the promise of being able to return after reconstruction; but the renovated buildings were eventually privatized or rented at market rent levels.
The trap of social exclusion There are several dictums and routine procedures the Magistrat follows that contribute to the vicious circle of insolvency. In reality, low-quality housing is expensive enough that after residing for some time in the excluded locality or in “temporary” accommodation everybody is in debt and with they are unable to leave through just their resources and effort. Thus it becomes impossible for them to meet the main condition for obtaining a permanent apartment in the municipality, which is that they owe no debt to the city.
Taking the example of “Masokombinat”, the financial burden is created mainly by the costs of heating, which are very high owing to expensive electricity heating combined with the poor thermal isolation of the buildings. After debts to the provider accumulated, almost all apartments were deprived of the supply of electricity. People solved the situation by hooking up illegally to the common electricity networks. Now the building manager adds its own fee for service to the final bill and distributes costs evenly among families. The costs of heating thus mount, and the families’ insolvency does as well. A similar situation relates to the water
18 supply. There are no individual water meters for families, just a shared metre for the entire building. This results in unlimited usage of water, and very high costs and accumulated bills.
Compounding the problem of having little chance of escaping this vicious circle is the high rent level in the new apartments. While their former apartments had still been under regulated rents, new or reconstructed apartments are offered at market rents, which are exponentially higher than regulated rent (also owing to the lack of a single housing market). Moreover, due to bad experiences with and the bad reputation of Roma, most building proprietors are reluctant to rent an apartment to a Roma family. The trapping effect of the excluded locality is strengthened further by the appeal of having relatives nearby, which provides them with some assurance and with a sense of support.
Institutions and projects Municipality Thus far Kladno has no comprehensive official concept of social policy that could serve as a guideline for municipal officials. Therefore, they dispose of considerable individual discretion in their decision-making. Nevertheless, a community plan was prepared recently that also covers the issue of social exclusion. It was approved in July 2005 despite votes by a large number of city council members arguing against the need for any such concept. Its implementation and fulfilment may be expected to be somewhat complicated.
There are some very positive features of municipal policy. The city of Kladno got a silver medal from The International Awards for Liveable Communities. The city has a large complex for the disabled: META – Centre for the Disabled. The city is a leader regarding its disabled accessibility. Regarding the Roma issue, the city established the position of advisor for ethnic minorities. The role of this official is to mediate between the inhabitants of segregated localities and the Magistrat in a broad set of problematic situations. As an employee of the Magistrat, the person is considerably limited in the tasks that they can perform.
In the official discourse, there is no explicit ethnic tone in decision-making, and politically neutral vocabulary is used – such as “rent defaulters”. Nevertheless, there is an implicit concept of the ideal structure of the city, which affects concrete decisions regarding the allocation of apartments by the municipal Housing Committee – leading to spatial segregation. The media discourse also supports this, being selective about information and corresponding to the current public image of Gypsies=rent defaulters. This is not just true of the local media (including regional supplements of the national dailies) but applies also to national radio and TV stations that also report this way about cases.
NGOs There are several NGOs that work in the socially excluded enclaves. They have only recently become active in these areas and their possibilities are limited, but they are nonetheless important despite this. • The NGO Rosa runs the “Centre of Assistance to Children at Risk”, which organizes preparatory schooling for children of pre-school age. • The NGO People in Need conducts social fieldwork and consultancy in legal matters – this is provided at a high professional level and efficiently. It also uses the results of anthropological surveys in the locality.
19 • City Police have tried to employ Roma as policemen engaged to keep order in Roma enclaves, but this failed. The two selected candidates appeared unable to perform the activity. • The Roma Centre is intended to serve as a leisure and cultural centre that also provides education to prevent drug addiction and related criminality. The project went bankrupt and it has since been used by municipal officials as a negative example of activities designed in favour of the Roma. • The NGO Strep prepares projects on foster parenthood for the adoption of children at risk of social exclusion and living in families unable to care for them.
2.4 Prague: Homeless people
After 1989, homelessness expanded in Prague much more so than in other cities. The city remained attractive for homeless people, as it appears to them a place to better solve their problem than elsewhere and a place where they can retain anonymity. For the city administration it is a tricky problem, since most of them are newcomers and the public is averse to them, considering homeless persons to be people who do not work, or who abuse alcohol and drugs and bother decent citizens. Only under pressure has public administration had to deal with the problem.
An ad hoc census of homeless people conducted on 19 February 2004 over two hours and with the assistance of 242 volunteers found 3096 persons (2662 men and 434 women) apparently without shelter in the streets, metro premises and other public spaces, along with those hosted in institutions for the homeless, hospitals, prisons and mental homes. According to estimates, 77% were 25-60 years of age, 14% were younger and 9% older. 23% of them were in institutions with beds, 13% in daily care centres, 3% in other institutions, and 10% in public transport facilities. As survey could not involve all places, the overall estimate is 4500 homeless people in Prague. Only some 37% of these people use a shelter, while the capacity of shelters was utilized fully.
In the framework of preparatory work on the Community Plan, the Magistrat of the city of Prague (Magistrat hereafter) surveyed also providers of social services. Of 245 organizations participating in the survey, 12% focus on homeless people. There are altogether 27 organizations, of them 17 civic NGOs, 5 church institutions and 5 organizations established by city or some of city district. Most of them are active in advisory activities, and only six institutions provide shelter. City institutions provide two asylum centres with 102 beds (only for men), one of them with 42 beds is open only in winter. NGOs provide another 16 asylum homes with 634 beds, and two of them are open only during winter.
To obtain more details we chose the three organizations that are the most active in the field: 1. the Centre of Social Services and Prevention, 2. the Nadeje (Hope) and 3. the NGO Novy prostor (New Space).
City Centre of Social Services and Prevention The City Centre of Social Services and Prevention (MCSSP) is a contributory organization of the city of Prague that acts as an umbrella for several institutions, among them the Consultancy Centre for Homeless People. Some 2500 visitors are reported to attend the centre yearly, most of them in the age cohorts 30-39 (about 700 persons) and 40-49 let (600 persons). Services provided include:
20 1. Crisis social intervention – assistance in the case of acute social need (lay-off, loss of housing, situation after being robbed). A person can rest there and is provided with documents and, if needed, also a voucher for clothing. 2. Social-legal consultancy – assistance in administrative affairs such as entering into a job, having a court hearing, mediation of asylum housing and any information regarding training and employment. The centre can serve as mail post address for the official mail. 3. Providing documents – assistance, payment of fees, provision of pictures and, if needed, provision of background documents for an identity card or for pension entitlement. Services are provided also for people living outside Prague. 4. Assistance in the provision of housing and jobs – the centre cooperates with various institutions and employers. When starting a job, it also pays for the medical exam required by employers and asylum homes. 5. Re-socialization programmes – those are oriented towards the matters of finding and keeping a job and housing, and strengthening the self-confidence of people. It takes place in open teamwork led by social curators and organized two times per week. Programmes involve also English courses and various lectures.
Statistics on performance are not available, especially because the duration of “normal life” is never guaranteed. Even those people who do start work and find accommodation often fall back into homelessness because of their psychological disposition, an absent family background and other circumstances. Head of the centre Pavel Penkava said: “The main problem of homeless people is not to that they miss something but the fact they are not able to maintain better conditions that they are not able to solve even simple problem situations and they choose to escape instead.
The MCSSP provides accommodation for 102 persons at very low fees: • Winter reception centre for men. It provides also contact with social services. It operates November-April, 7p.m.-7 a.m. • Reception centre for men without shelter. Shelter with social and legal consultancy is provided on the recommendation of a social curator. It is reserved for permanent residents of Prague with identity and health care cards. • Home of training housing abilities. Studios for people without shelter and mothers with children. Priority is given to people who already have the ability to live in independent housing. It serves as a 12-month “bridge” towards standard housing. Permanent residence in Prague and recommendation from an organization are required. • Consultancy centre for people without shelter. This is the only disabled-accessible institution. It provides services also for Prague non-residents.
The NGO “Nadeje” The NGO Nadeje (Hope) is a Christian-based organization, but not related formally to any church. It develops numerous programmes across the country. In Prague it focuses on homeless people only (the integration programme). The assistance is provided to all people, there is no inquiry regarding religious denomination. But clients can meet a missionary and participate in Bible discussions and Sunday meetings.
The main activity is related to the Daily Centre that is located near the main Prague railway station, where homeless people from the countryside arrive and where many of them spend their time. The Centre provides meals, showers and health care. All clients and services provided are carefully documented. If visits repeat, the client can meet a social worker with
21 the possibility of getting assistance in the obtaining documents, seeking a job, placement in a home for retirees or another institution. Assistance may continue in the provision of accommodation of various types: • reception centres, only for night lodging • asylum houses for men and women, providing a long-term accommodation • stable accommodation for clients who work for Nadeje and others who have a job but who are not able to pay for better housing owing to debts.
The integration programme also involves a centre that focuses on the prevention of drug addiction and a “halfway house”. Both assist particularly boys coming from children’s homes in order to prevent them from ending up on the street or in prison. They can take advantage of sheltered housing and trained in the skills required for normal independent living in housing. Another place is the “House of Peaceful Old Age”. Nadeje also has two field workers, who contact people with problems in the streets, the metro, and squats. It also employs a psychologist, who together with a social worker assists homeless people.
Basic data of 2004: New clients 826 Average daily visits 206 Number of meals 79,097 Number of lodgings 51,377 Number of medical exams 9,884 Average number of employees 78
The number of clients of the daily centre is continuously rising, currently about 150 people use the centre daily. The yearly estimate is 1200-1400 people; of them about 800 are new clients. Altogether Nadeje has about 200 beds, provided for small fees, and in necessary cases free of charge. During winter period the capacity is not sufficient, clients are thus selected on the basis of health and age. On freezing nights, people even sleep sitting or lying on the ground. There are still about 200-300 crisis beds missing. The Magistrat has announced a call for offers on its website to look for land to put up an inflatable hall for 100-120 people. This would still not be enough to solve the problem, however.
The estimate of Nadeje employees is that only 20% of assisted homeless people are able to start working and find normal housing. Some 30% of clients have psychiatric problems, and another 30% have spent time in prison and do not have the skills for a normal life.
The NGO “Novy prostor” Since 1999, the NGO Novy prostor (New Space) has been publishing a street paper sold by homeless people, helping them to collect some resources and, later on, find a permanent job and housing. It operates also in other Czech cities. Currently 80 persons are active in distribution, but there are over 800 persons registered as candidates for this job. The NGO also provides some background for the vendors, and its employees cooperate with them and assist them in problem situations.
If a person is interested in the job, s/he starts with three copies of the weekly provided free of charge to get money for additional copies which should be purchased - and so on. Only some two of ten people return after the first try and continue further. The issuing room is open six hours per day (three two-hour intervals) and there is also an Internet cafe. Computer literacy courses are organized and the NGO has a website where all the vendors can present brief
22 autobiographies. It is assumed that there will be a response from the public and thus vendors are motivated to learn computer skills and establish social contacts.
Vendors must follow the rules and they are monitored. Hours are set in a contract and monitored twice a day. This is in order to avoid a situation where vendors stop once they have earned just some money for a meal, drink and accommodation. If somebody does not follow the rule, s/he is removed from a lucrative vending spot to a less lucrative one. The procedure corresponds to the purpose of the project, which is to include people in society and normal life. Some vendors indeed do find jobs, while others continue this work, requiring them to maintain a decent appearance, personal hygiene, etc.
The issuing room is financed from grants from MoLSA and the Magistrat, together with other sponsors. The MoLSA’s 2005 grant was only half in comparison with previous years, which has resulted in the magazine being released only once every two weeks instead of its former weekly periodicity, and its look is more modest. Also, special vouchers for vendors (for the number of copies sold and the strict following of rules) will be removed. With these vouchers vendors were able to purchase basic goods in a special shop. It is regrettable that there was a reduction of the resources for such a useful and successful activity.
2.5 Hradec Kralove: Community Planning
The city Hradec Kralove (HK) is the capital of the Kralovehradecky (KH) region, one of 14 in the CR. It is a centre of administration, where various industries and also branches of three Czech universities are located. Traditionally, it is a well-built, quiet city located in a green area. In 2001, there were 97,000 inhabitants, but population has been decreasing since then. There are no extreme social problems, unemployment is quite low (about 6% in a long-term perspective), and the proportion of national and ethnic minorities is low. Thus HK can serve as example of a “normal” Czech city, with common problems that need coping with.
The city administration’s approach to solving problems is quite active. In the last 15 years, the network of social institutions has developed considerably: 47% of these social institutions were established in 1990-1999 and 21% in 2000-2003. On the list of the Community Plan, there are 97 organizations providing social services, of which 43 are civic associations, 6 physical persons, 4 public beneficiary organizations, 3 foundations, 3 limited companies, and 2 church organizations. Social integration is among the priorities of the Strategic Plan of the City.
A survey among the population (quota sample of 1000 respondents) showed that regarding provision and accessibility of social services the general problem is the lack of information. Specifically, people ask for more social housing and temporary accommodation, better disabled accessibility, still far from complete disabled. Also more assistance in job search and more help for families are required. Regarding satisfaction, 71% of respondents are fully satisfied with the quality of social services provided and 24% are partly satisfied, while only 5% are dissatisfied. The most satisfied are seniors; the least satisfied are families with children (Appendix 4 of the CP).
The forms and instruments of support for social inclusion Systematic support of NGOs Unlike other cities that prefer contributory organizations, most of the social services in HK are provided by non-profit organizations, financed by grants. In 2004, HK supported 17
23 NGOs operating in the social sphere. NGOs also try to seek resources from other sources. The city provides NGOs with interest-free credit to bridge the period of waiting for money. This way is how asylum houses for people without shelter and mothers with children, operated by Regional Charity, were established in 2002-2003. The city contributes to NGOs also in connection with elaborating high-quality proposals for SF grant schemes.
Support by personal assistance The city HK and the KH region support personal assistance workers from their budgets. Several dozen persons provide assistance to disabled children to enable them to attend special schools. The service is provided in spite of the fact that such school assistance lies between the social and educational spheres and whose responsibility it is to finance the service has not been fully resolved.
Community Planning Preparatory work on a Community Plan started in HK – as one of the first cities in the CR – in September 2003. Two years later, a project aimed at enhancing the quality of KP started, financed from JROP. Priorities were set according to the results of a survey among the population and a survey among providers of social services and according to a socio- demographic analysis. The Community Plan for 2004-2007 was elaborated in cooperation between the city Magistrat and providers and users of social services.
The Community Plan ensures not only the amount but also the quality of services provided. For this purpose, the standardization of services is made by the regional administration. Standards are adjusted to the needs of the region, and audits and certification of all services are also to be made by the region. The city expects several-years financing of social services, to avoid a situation in NGOS are subjected to a sense of insecurity. Once a service fits the Community Plan and the provider obtains a quality certificate, it should also receive a guarantee of financing for the next several years.
Principles applied: • engagement of all stakeholders; • regular monitoring of real needs and service planning well-suited to personal requirements; • preference of services allowing clients to stay in their familiar environment (shift from institutional to community care); • regularly informing the public about the process and outcome of community planning; • interconnection of social services, both among themselves and with other services; • introducing quality standards for the social services of providers.
After analyses and surveys, the following categories of the population were determined as those at risk of social exclusion:
1. Families with children and youth. The number of marriages has declined by one-third in the last 10 years, while the number of single parents is increasing (with the more frequent need for social intervention). Objectives include the strengthening and better accessibility of consultancy and therapy, the reintroduction of social workers in the field, the cultivation of leisure activities, more low-threshold centres in the localities requiring them. The establishment of a “halfway house” is expected in 2007. Other projects are the prevention of bullying, “Safe class” for pupils, and “Triangle” for youth.
24 2. Seniors. This is the biggest category of interest – in 2001 there were 20,000 people 60 and over (21% of inhabitants), and 2,300 over 80. The ageing trend is increasing. Targets include support for living in a familiar environment, the use of volunteer work, more opportunities or openings in assisted housing, modernization of the network of crisis care during 2005. The housing capacity for seniors and the disabled will expand, with one building (“Harmonie I”) to be reserved only for them.
3. Disabled. There are an estimated 22,600 persons living in HK, about 5,000 persons get a partial or full disability pension, about 1,000 persons with limited work ability are among the unemployed, and the share of the latter is increasing. Targets include the creation of a disabled-accessible environment, the establishment of new sheltered workshops, spreading out day centres and outpatient services, establishing 20 new beds in sheltered housing by 2006. Crisis beds, training housing and sheltered housing should be interconnected.
4. People in difficult life situations and non-adapted. Among these people are victims of domestic violence, homeless people, and persons in post-penitentiary care. Targets include extending asylum accommodation and related services.
5. Foreigners, national minorities. The number of minorities is negligible, and about 5,000 foreigners live in HK. Roma ethnicity was declared by only 76 people in the 2001 Census, the estimated real number is between 1,900 and 2,900 people (2-3% of the population). The target is to establish a community centre offering leisure activities and high-quality social services, and the continuation of social work in the field.
6. Persons at risk of addiction. Among those using social services there are 601 with an alcohol addiction, 176 with a drug addiction, and 51 with a gambling addiction. The target is the completion of social services through re-socialization and re-education activities supportive to the restoration of normal life.
Examples of good practices
Regional Charity Hradec Kralove This NGO established by the Catholic Church provides a range of social services for the disabled, the elderly and sick persons, and for people in need or without shelter.
Charity Nursery and Care Service The nursery service is provided following a recommendation from a family or hospital physician. Care service is given to persons living at home but dependent on the assistance of other people. There is a wide range of activities care assistants perform, even in the evenings, and on weekends and holidays. The assistance is paid. The centre also rents out automatic wheelchairs, special beds and chairs. It also provides field consultancy for those who are not able to contact institutions themselves. The field care service has spread to cover the entire KH region.
Advisory Centre for People in Need The centre, established in 2002, is located in central city. It focuses on people who have been maltreated psychologically or physically, victims of domestic violence and crimes, women with involuntary pregnancies and persons in a family crisis or critical personal situation. Information and active assistance – from a psychiatrist, psychologist, or psychotherapist – are provided free of charge and anonymously. In 2004 the demand for services increased
25 considerably. This NGO also has a “Circle of Volunteers” and cooperates in setting regional standards of the quality of social services for asylum houses, reception centres and “halfway houses”. It is financed out of the HK city and KH region’s grants and from collections.
Regional Charity runs two new asylum houses, built by the HK Magistrat, as the quality and capacity of the old institutions no longer met the necessary requirements: the “House of Mother Theresa”, and the “House for Mothers with Children and the Marianek Children’s Club”.
House of Mother Theresa – Social Services Centre for Men without a Home The house (opened in 2003) serves as a day centre and provides accommodation and crisis beds. The purpose is to assist people who lose their housing and help integrate them back into society in terms of finding a job and housing. Clients are young men who come from children’s homes, prison, anti-alcoholic or psychiatric treatment or after a divorce. The re- socialization programme “Step by step” is offered, with three reception centres – the first is for crisis situations, the next to arrange the necessary documents, social benefits, and labour office registration, and the last for bridging the waiting period before placement in a Retirement Home or another institution. In 2004, 184 clients were assisted and 58 provided with accommodation.
House for Mothers with Children and the Marianek Children’s Club The asylum house (opened in 2002) provides temporary housing especially for women with children, who for serious reasons have lost their own housing. During a period of a maximum of 3 months, they must find their own housing. The services provided include crisis assistance (urgent help, medical service, contacting the police, accommodation, psychological support), standard accommodation and related consultancy, leisure activities, education and activation programmes. In 2004, 193 clients were assisted, of which 52 were mothers with children, 3 single fathers with children, 29 single women and 109 children in total. Victims of domestic violence constitute more than one-third of the asylum’s clients.
The NGO Salinger This NGO complements the social network of the city with low-threshold and community centres. It operates the field of primary and secondary prevention and helps children and youth in searching for their identity and managing difficult life situations, and supports their integration into society. It has also established a Community Centre to support the Roma inhabitants of HK and the surrounding KH region. Specifically, it acts in two localities, where it offers assistance, consultancy, educational and leisure activities as well as the maintenance of Roma customs and culture.
Another activity is the Low-threshold Centre for Children and Youth. It provides shelter space for leisure activities and support in managing difficult life situations, offering separate services for children 7-14 years of age and for youth 14-21 years of age. There are no charges and no limits to accessibility, and the service is provided regardless of ethnic or social origin. Also, anonymity is guaranteed for all clients as there is no registration, and people can come and go at their own will, with no obligation to participate in the offered activities. Expansion into more localities is expected in the Community Plan.
Centre for the Disabled in the KH Region The Centre provides social-legal consultancy, organizes computer training, rehabilitation courses, etc., for the disabled. It also helps with a job search, cooperates with shelter
26 workshops, contributes to solving housing problems and finding a placement in disabled- accessible apartments (over 100 are available in HK) or in the “Harmonie I” building reserved for seniors and the disabled. It also organizes sporting activities for disabled children and adults, offers psycho-rehabilitation courses, etc. It involves also the Centre for Mental Health, which is a daily outpatient premise designed to help the mentally ill with the most serious diagnoses to become self-sufficient again. Various daylong therapy programmes and courses are provided, including training in social abilities.
The Centre also provides a programme of personal assistance, which is a unique programme in the Czech Republic with regard to its region-wide scope. 72 personal assistants participate (20 in the city alone), another 12 should start in 2006, financed from SF. Assistants mostly take care of disabled children, and only 4 adults use the service (the reason is that they must co-finance the service more). Resources are not sufficient, however, and out of 160 applications only 72 people can be chosen. Although this assistance is less expensive than institutional care, it is still missing a system of financing.
2.6 Several conclusions from the five cases
Three of the cases refer to the Roma in some sense. The reason is that this is the only larger and seemingly compact population category that is imminently exposed to social exclusion. In the regions, this category evokes concern and a considerable attention is devoted to it. At regional administrative authorities, Roma coordinators have also been appointed and are active in various degrees. Activities connected with the use of the ESF have also become an important source for tackling Roma issues.
It is no surprise, however, that such an important issue produces conflicting opinions. Field workers, social workers and anthropologists consider the problem to be structural in character, and therefore it is systemic change that is required to improve the situation and not just individual interventions that appear to be insufficient. People working on Roma issues are rather critical of the approach taken by public administration. For instance, with regard to the practices of the Magistrat in Usti nad Labem, they see two problems: • First, they consider the principle “the Roma should help themselves” as erroneous. The social organization of the Roma population excludes any other formation except those based on family relationships and kinship. However, public resources are usually (however involuntary) channelled to a particular family clan, while other groups are thus skipped. This has already led to scandals and financial fraud in the past. Moreover, Roma leaders – the people that are the main voice of the entho- emancipatory movement – often do not express and preserve the real interests of Roma population. • Second, the strategy to allocate resources massively to “high culture” is considered a mistake. In the procedures that are applied much attention is paid to Roma culture in its folkloric manifestations – many NGOs focus on Roma festivals and support for cultural and sport activities (Together-Jekhetane, Romano Jasnica, Budoucnost- Future). Such events have certainly some attraction and make the Roma population visible among the general public, but they have in fact no real effect on the socio- economic situation of the Roma localities.
Exclusion of Roma has a cumulative character, as it starts with a lack of cultural and social acceptance and necessarily results in spatial segregation, symbolic rejection, the deprivation
27 of political rights and the minimalization of chances to find a permanent job. Such a bundle of factors shapes the life strategies of the excluded, which serves to strengthen exclusion even further – giving up on the search for a regular job and instead choosing to combine welfare dependency and informal economic activity. Under the given circumstances and with the given opportunities, this is quite a rational strategy.
Experts having direct contact with the situation agree that all problems are basically socio- economic and not ethnic in character. Thus, ethnic emancipation is not the right way out and people affected are not interested in such assistance. The need is to avoid the situation where Roma people are fully in the hands of “Roma leaders” who administrate Roma-targeted money. The right way is through an ethnically indifferent provision of services, as the NGO People in Need tries to apply. Therefore, sufficient attention must be paid to the principles of Roma social organization.
In some localities (such as Predlice in Usti nad Labem), the specific problem is housing and its ownership. The kinship structure of the Roma population plays a key role when one particular family clan owns all the houses. The relationships between owners and tenants are heavily biased to the disadvantage of tenants, even going beyond the limits of legality. Until the ownership structure is normalized there is no chance of solving the “standard” difficulties that similar localities have, such as unemployment, low education, usury and discrimination. In Kladno, too, the informal Roma “social safety net” copies the kinship structure.
Regarding homeless people, attitudes are ambivalent. Politicians feel that the attention and care given to homeless people is not very popular and they are rather reluctant to support decisions in their favour. City of Prague officials (and the most of citizens) consider them to be newcomers from the countryside and make them responsible themselves for being in the situation they are in. In the section on housing policy in the strategic plan of the city for 2000- 2006, social housing for homeless people is also mentioned, but only in the case where they had a permanent residence in Prague before falling into homeless status.
On the other hand, NGO representatives believe that it is necessary to offer assistance to all homeless people, regardless of their original place of residence. If not assisted, these people will not leave Prague anyway, and the probability that they will return to a normal life-style will only decrease and, simultaneously, potential criminality will increase. The Magistrat mentions the serious lack of shelter and social housing in its documents. When all the people in need of social housing are taken into account, the estimate is that there is a need for 13,000 beds - although not all cases have to be considered acute. Currently, the situation is critical as the lease of Nadeje’s daily centre was terminated and a new shelter is desperately sought.
Regarding “standard” social services in normal cities such as Hradec Kralove, they are on quite a good level and still improving. Community planning was used to enhance their quality and targeting, and expand their capacity. Although the process is still in the beginning, it is evidently producing better connectedness in the social sphere and is helping the development of the most needed social services. A wider range of sources of financing is being used, and money is spent more efficiently. The Community Plan of the HK provides a comprehensive foundation for the provision and coordination of services. NGOs providing services corresponding to the Community Plan have better conditions for their work as well.
28 References
General: Report on Social Inclusion 2004. An analysis of the National Action Plans on Social Inclusion(2004-2006) submitted by the 10 new Member States. EU Commission Staff Working Paper. Conception of Roma integration. Office of the Government of the Czech Republic 2005. Eurostat 2002. Private household income in the regions of the European Union, 2002. Statistics in Focus 2/2002. General and regional statistics. Luxemburg: Eurostat. National programme of reforms of the Czech Republic. Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economics. Draft version August 2005 (in Czech). OECD Employment Outlook 2005. Paris: OECD 2005. Strategy of regional development of the Czech Republic. Ministry for Regional Development. Draft version July 2005 (in Czech). Vajdova, T. (2005). Czech civil society 2004: after 15 years of development. Report of the Civicus Civil Society Index for the Czech Republic. NROS and Civicus (in Czech). Vecernik, J. (2004). Who Is Poor in the Czech Republic? The Changing Structure and Faces of Poverty after 1989. Czech Sociological Review No. 6. Ways to efficient communication between NGOs and regions. Spiralis, 2003 (in Czech).
Usti nad Labem (all in Czech): First community plan of care in the city and district Usti nad Labem for 2001-2003. Services for city citizens (L. Krbcova-Masinova, M. Polesny, D. Kaderabkova). 2001. Second community plan of care in the city and district Usti nad Labem for 2004-2006. Services for city citizens (L. Krbcova-Masinova, M. Polesny, D. Kaderabkova). 2004. Cichy, M. (2004). Phases of Roma migration to Usti nad Labem. Mgr thesis, University in Usti nad Labem. Husak, J. (2005). The biggest problem of some Roma are Roma themselves. Not published study for the NGO People in Need. Vinopal, J. (2004). Situation in social area in Usti nad Labem. Survey report, January.
Ostrava (all in Czech): First community plan of the development of social services in the city Ostrava until 2006. Magistrat of the city Ostrava, dpt. of social services and health care, 2005. Conception of social services of the Moravian-Silesian region. http://www.kr- moravskoslezsky.cz Strategic plan of the development of the statutory city Ostrava for 2005-2013. http://www.mmo.cz/plan/pdf/spr.pdf Scheinderova, A., Solansky, O. and Poboril, M. (2002). Socio-demographical analysis of the city Ostrava in relation of the development of social services – 2nd phase. University of Ostrava.
Kladno (all in Czech): Press news and comment in national dailies Pravo, Blesk and local newspaper Kladensky deník Radio news, comments and debates (BBC, Czech radio).
29 Hradec Kralove (all in Czech): Community plan of the development of social services in the City Hradec Kralove for 2004- 2007. Appendix 4 of the CP: Survey of queries and needs of users of social services. Reports of various organizations active in social area.
Personal contacts: Marek Simunek, Head of the dpt. of social services and health care, Magistrat of the City of Hradec Kralove Petra Groulíkova, Coordinator of comunity planning, Magistrat of the City of Hradec Kralove Jiri Moravek, Director of the Centre for the Disabled in the KH Region Aneta Maclova, Director of the Regional Charity
Praha: Strategic Plan of the City of Prague. Magistrat of the City of Prague. Conception of housing Policy of the City of Prague. Magistrat of the City of Prague.
Personal contacts: Jan Kadlec, Deputy Director of the NGO Nadeje Ladislav Varga, Head of the Daily centre of the NGO Nadeje Pavel Penkava, Head of the Consultancy Centre for Homeless People Michaela Novotna, journalist of “Novy prostor”
Internal documents of NGOs: Vzajemne souziti (Life together) Spolecne–Jekhetane (Together–Jekhetane) Budoucnost (Future)
Surveys used Microcensus 2002 The survey was conducted on 0.25 percent random sample of 7,678 households in March 2003 and included annual income for 2002 (sample was re-weighted for the entire population). In each household, each adult person was investigated. No subjective indicator is used in Microcensus surveys.
Social Situation of Households 2001 The survey was conducted by the CSO in May-June 2001 on a sample of 10,870 households (re-weighted for the entire population). In each household, each adult person was investigated. Besides household characteristics and income, people were also asked about various opinions on employment and family standard of living.
30 Tables and Maps
Table 1 Comparison of unemployment rate and participation rate between less and better performing regions in 2003 by country
Differences Ratios Country Number in average of average of regions Unemploy Participa- Unemploy Participa- ment rate tion rate ment rate tion rate Czech Republic 8 4.70 -2.96 1.90 0.96 Austria 9 2.47 -2.05 1.67 0.97 Belgium 11 5.86 -5.34 2.16 0.92 Finland 4 3.50 -4.76 1.39 0.94 France 22 2.43 -4.36 1.30 0.94 Germany 36 6.21 -2.68 1.96 0.96 Ireland 2 1.26 -2.44 1.30 0.96 Greece 13 1.06 -3.67 1.13 0.94 Hungary 7 3.29 -7.81 1.77 0.88 Italy 20 13.00 -10.58 4.31 0.84 Netherlands 12 -0.04 -3.11 0.99 0.96 Poland 16 4.10 -4.66 1.23 0.93 Portugal 5 3.22 -3.10 1.75 0.96 Slovakia 4 7.37 -1.58 1.55 0.98 Spain 16 5.72 -6.12 1.65 0.91 Sweden 8 1.53 -4.79 1.31 0.94 UK 11 2.26 -6.27 1.60 0.92 Source: OECD Employment Outlook 2005, p. 84.
31 Table 2 Basic characteristics of administrative regions in 2003
A. Population, age structure, wages and unemployment Avg wage Popula- Unem- in Job Region tion in 0-14 15-64 65- ployment thousand seekers thousands rate CZK Prague 1165.6 12.7 71.5 15.8 21.1 25.4 4.0 Central 1135.8 15.3 70.6 14.2 16.1 43.9 7.4 Bohemia South Bohemia 625.5 15.6 70.6 13.8 14.9 22.1 7.0 Plzen 550.1 14.9 77.7 14.4 15.8 21.6 7.6 Karlovy Vary 304.2 15.9 71.8 12.3 14.5 17.4 11.0 Usti nad Labem 820.9 16.1 71.6 12.2 15.3 76.5 18.0 Liberec 427.7 15.9 71.3 12.8 15.1 21.1 9.5 Hradec Kralove 547.6 15.4 69.9 14.7 14.7 22.1 7.9 Pardubice 505.5 15.9 69.9 14.2 14.6 24.2 9.4 Vysocina 517.5 16.1 69.8 14.1 14.5 23.8 9.2 South Moravia 1122.6 15.0 70.5 14.5 15.2 65.5 11.4 Olomouc 636.3 15.4 70.7 13.8 14.3 40.8 12.4 Zlin 591.9 15.3 70.5 14.1 14.7 31.6 10.6 Moravia-Silesia 1260.3 15.9 71.4 12.7 15.8 106.3 16.8 Total 10211.5 15.2 70.8 13.9 16.9 542.4 10.3
B. Social institutions, pensioners and criminality Pensio- Other Beds in Beds in Old-age Other Crimi- ners’ social in- pensio- other pensioners benefit nality per Region houses stitutions ners’ social in- receivers ,000 houses stitutions Prague 19 25 2831 2091 165.6 124.2 85.3 Central 47 63 4234 3571 145.1 143.6 34.1 Bohemia South Bohemia 28 34 2735 1581 79.0 75.8 25.2 Plzen 17 36 1445 2727 74.9 66.2 29.4 Karlovy Vary 8 28 630 1835 38.1 31.7 34.8 Usti nad Labem 35 63 4142 4131 100.6 99.7 37.7 Liberec 15 31 1497 1261 52.6 51.9 36.7 Hradec Kralove 29 34 2365 1757 74.5 70.4 23.2 Pardubice 16 34 2069 2137 68.7 61.7 20.8 Vysocina 24 32 2484 1264 69.8 62.9 16.8 South Moravia 30 94 3687 5090 152.1 145.3 30.6 Olomouc 27 52 2712 3225 84.1 77.1 24.9 Zlin 27 63 2559 3280 78.8 75.7 18.6 Moravia-Silesia 47 110 4929 4989 158.6 162.3 29.6 Total 369 699 38315 38939 1342.4 1248.4 35.0 Source: CSO regional tables.
32 Table 3 Household equivalized income by locality type and administrative region in 2002
A. In thousand CZK monthly Region Total Cities Towns Villages Prague 15.5 - - - Central Bohemia 12.6 - 12.9 12.3 South Bohemia 11.5 13.0 11.3 11.4 Plzen 11.9 12.4 12.5 11.0 Karlovy Vary 11.1 16.9 11.3 9.5 Usti nad Labem 10.4 10.1 10.5 10.3 Liberec 11.6 10.7 11.4 12.2 Hradec Kralove 10.6 12.6 9.8 11.3 Pardubice 10.6 13.0 10.4 10.3 Vysocina 11.1 12.6 11.5 9.9 South Moravia 10.9 11.0 11.0 10.9 Olomouc 10.3 11.8 10.2 10.1 Zlin 10.8 11.8 10.9 10.6 Moravia-Silesia 10.2 9.9 10.6 9.6 Total 11.6 11.4 11.1 10.9
B. In percent of the average Region Total Cities Towns Villages Prague 134.1 - - - Central Bohemia 109.3 - 111.9 106.8 South Bohemia 99.5 112.0 98.1 98.3 Plzen 103.1 107.5 108.3 95.2 Karlovy Vary 96.2 146.2 98.0 82.5 Usti nad Labem 90.0 87.3 91.1 88.8 Liberec 100.1 92.8 98.6 106.0 Hradec Kralove 92.1 108.8 84.7 98.1 Pardubice 91.3 112.4 90.4 89.0 Vysocina 95.9 108.7 99.7 85.4 South Moravia 94.6 95.3 95.0 93.9 Olomouc 89.4 101.7 88.1 87.3 Zlin 93.7 102.5 94.1 91.9 Moravia-Silesia 88.3 85.3 92.0 82.8 Total 100.0 98.6 96.1 93.9 Source: Microcensus 2002, CSO survey, own computations.
33 Table 4 Inequality of household disposable income per equivalent unit by administrative region in 2002
Region Decile ratio Quartile ratio Prague 3.55 1.99 Central Bohemia 2.99 1.84 South Bohemia 2.56 1.69 Plzen 2.62 1.65 Karlovy Vary 2.96 1.65 Usti nad Labem 2.88 1.75 Liberec 2.61 1.62 Hradec Kralove 2.35 1.54 Pardubice 2.46 1.56 Vysocina 2.28 1.63 South Moravia 2.35 1.54 Olomouc 2.48 1.54 Zlin 2.46 1.56 Moravia-Silesia 2.79 1.67 Total 2.84 1.68 Source: Microcensus 2002, CSO survey, own computations.
34 Table 5 Percent persons poor by locality type and administrative region in 2002
A. By official threshold (minimum subsistence amount) Region Total Cities Towns Villages Prague 1.5 - - - Central Bohemia 2.3 - 0.9 3.6 South Bohemia 3.1 . . 7.6 Plzen 1.3 1.4 . 2.0 Karlovy Vary 8.3 . 10.9 6.8 Usti nad Labem 7.0 . 8.3 6.0 Liberec 4.7 . 7.4 . Hradec Kralove 3.7 4.7 5.0 1.8 Pardubice 6.2 . 4.4 8.8 Vysocina 1.4 . 1.6 1.6 South Moravia 4.4 8.7 2.6 2.9 Olomouc 2.8 2.6 2.8 3.0 Zlin 4.9 6.0 6.0 4.0 Moravia-Silesia 5.8 7.1 5.1 6.0 Total 3.9 4.6 4.2 4.1
B. By EU threshold (60 percent of equivalized income) Region Total Cities Towns Villages Prague 4.3 - - - Central Bohemia 6.3 - 5.7 6.8 South Bohemia 5.3 1.8 2.5 10.1 Plzen 5.1 7.0 3.9 3.9 Karlovy Vary 14.0 7.4 13.5 16.2 Usti nad Labem 14.0 5.8 16.8 11.0 Liberec 8.5 2.6 11.1 4.3 Hradec Kralove 7.9 4.7 12.5 2.7 Pardubice 13.5 5.6 11.9 16.6 Vysocina 3.3 2.5 2.4 4.8 South Moravia 8.3 11.9 5.8 7.8 Olomouc 8.9 6.4 9.5 8.6 Zlin 6.8 7.8 7.7 5.9 Moravia-Silesia 12.5 19.5 9.0 12.4 Total 8.3 10.5 8.8 8.4 Source: Microcensus 2002, CSO survey, own computations.
35 Table 6 Regression analysis of equalized income, poverty and unemployment by administrative region in 2002
Poverty by Poverty by EU Persons Ln eq income official threshold measurement unemployed Region Unstand Signi- Unstand Signi- Unstand Signi- Unstand Signi- coeff ficance coeff ficance coeff ficance coeff ficance Constant 11.985 .000 1.437 .011 .044 .000 .073 .000 Central Bohemia -.162 .000 .882 .276 .019 .096 .038 .036 South Bohemia -.238 .000 1.543 .108 .010 .469 .044 .039 Plzen -.199 .000 -.123 .903 .007 .611 .017 .455 Karlovy Vary -.310 .000 6.721 .000 .096 .000 .089 .001 Usti nad Labem -.364 .000 5.550 .000 .096 .000 .223 .000 Liberec -.261 .000 3.304 .003 .041 .009 .014 .571 Hradec Kralove -.291 .000 2.174 .030 .035 .013 .030 .177 Pardubice -.330 .000 4.758 .000 .092 .000 .100 .000 Vysocina -.261 .000 -.116 .910 -.011 .444 .046 .044 South Moravia -.275 .000 2.976 .000 .039 .001 .092 .000 Olomouc -.332 .000 1.354 .156 .045 .001 .131 .000 Zlin -.289 .000 3.417 .000 .024 .088 .065 .003 Moravia-Silesia -.352 .000 4.402 .000 .081 .000 .220 .000 Adj R2 .060 .009 .014 .029 Source: Microcensus 2002, CSO survey, own computations.
Omitted category: Prague.
36 Table 7 Percent persons, children, pensioners and unemployed poor by locality type and administrative region in 2002
A. By official threshold (minimum subsistence amount) Region Total Children Pensioners Unemployed Prague 1.5 3.5 0.0 6.5 Central Bohemia 2.3 4.5 0.8 10.5 South Bohemia 3.1 4.9 0.0 23.8 Plzen 1.3 3.2 0.8 . Karlovy Vary 8.3 14.3 30.2 26.7 Usti nad Labem 7.0 11.4 10.2 24.3 Liberec 4.7 9.8 10.1 14.3 Hradec Kralove 3.7 6.5 . . Pardubice 6.2 14.2 0.0 16.7 Vysocina 1.4 1.5 10.7 5.9 South Moravia 4.4 8.7 0.8 27.3 Olomouc 2.8 4.8 0.7 17.1 Zlin 4.9 5.3 20.3 38.7 Moravia-Silesia 5.8 10.7 0.7 19.3 Total 3.9 7.3 0.8 18.8
B. By EU threshold (60 percent of equivalized income) Region Total Children Pensioners Unemployed Prague 4.3 7.4 3.1 29.0 Central Bohemia 6.3 10.6 6.2 21.6 South Bohemia 5.3 6.8 5.0 33.3 Plzen 5.1 10.3 3.3 22.2 Karlovy Vary 14.0 20.8 8.1 56.3 Usti nad Labem 14.0 20.8 7.2 45.7 Liberec 8.5 14.2 5.6 38.5 Hradec Kralove 7.9 13.0 2.5 25.0 Pardubice 13.5 25.7 1.9 50.0 Vysocina 3.3 5.2 2.6 16.7 South Moravia 8.3 13.5 4.5 42.9 Olomouc 8.9 12.9 5.0 41.5 Zlin 6.8 7.3 5.3 38.7 Moravia-Silesia 12.5 17.7 7.9 39.1 Total 8.3 13.2 5.0 37.6 Source: Microcensus 2002, CSO survey, own computations.
37 Table 8 Percent household declaring financial difficulties by locality type and administrative region in 2001
Region Total Cities Towns Villages Prague 37.2 - - - Central Bohemia 39.6 - 40.8 38.3 South Bohemia 33.5 36.0 33.4 32.5 Plzen 40.4 41.2 40.6 39.3 Karlovy Vary 50.0 39.7 51.1 54.1 Usti nad Labem 44.6 42.9 45.6 43.0 Liberec 38.5 35.4 37.8 41.9 Hradec Kralove 31.6 34.7 27.3 35.6 Pardubice 45.0 38.1 34.4 55.8 Vysocina 39.6 37.7 40.3 39.4 South Moravia 42.3 46.3 33.6 45.4 Olomouc 45.3 42.4 47.3 44.5 Zlin 46.8 39.4 45.1 51.6 Moravia-Silesia 45.7 45.9 43.5 49.5 Total 41.3 41.8 40.6 43.3
Table 9 Percent household declaring difficulties with paying rent/energies/loans by locality type and administrative region in 2001
Region Total Cities Towns Villages Prague 12.0 - - - Central Bohemia 10.1 - 11.2 9.1 South Bohemia 11.5 17.4 10.9 9.7 Plzen 14.3 17.9 10.0 13.2 Karlovy Vary 20.7 20.1 18.2 25.4 Usti nad Labem 13.7 13.2 13.5 14.3 Liberec 12.3 13.6 12.6 10.8 Hradec Kralove 8.2 10.5 9.0 6.3 Pardubice 9.2 8.0 8.5 10.2 Vysocina 5.6 3.5 7.6 4.6 South Moravia 10.6 13.0 10.7 8.8 Olomouc 14.4 13.8 17.2 12.1 Zlin 9.8 6.2 10.3 10.8 Moravia-Silesia 11.3 11.8 13.1 7.5 Total 11.5 13.0 11.9 10.0 Source: Social situation of households, CSO survey, own computations.
38 Table 10 Tolerance of Czechs towards various categories of population (% reporting to be tolerant)
Category 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2003 2005 Youth 70 65 74 75 73 73 82 78 Old people 62 63 64 68 63 67 82 67 Poor people 62 58 60 62 59 58 74 64 Foreigners living on the CR 61 59 68 61 61 54 56 62 Rich people 41 40 49 44 43 40 62 59 People of other skin colour 42 37 49 49 50 43 52 55 Gays 29 27 44 38 42 39 42 49 Roma 13 16 27 30 28 24 21 36 Drug addicted * * * * * * 23 36 Source: Centre for Public Opinion Research (CVVM), omnibus surveys.
39 Map 1 Household equivalized income in percent of the average in 2002 by administrative regions (categories by quartiles)
Map 2 Percent persons poor by official threshold in percent of the average by administrative regions in 2002 (categories by quartiles)
40 Map 3 Percent persons poor by EU measurement in percent of the average by administrative regions in 2002 (categories by quartiles)
Map 4 Unemployment rate in percent of the average by administrative regions in 2003 (categories by quartiles)
41