IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
FINAL REPORT
PROJECT JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711 IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! OF THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND SOCIAL POLICY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA
MODULE I Round Tables for young men and women from homes for children deprived of parental care, employers, and representatives of the local self- governments, recruitment agencies and representatives of the central administration under the slogan "Tolerance, Respect, Understanding and Equality in the Workplace"
Preparation and Holding of Round Table in the town of Sandanski From 20 to 21 March 2014, a Round Table was held in Sveti Nikola Hotel in the town of Sandanski under Project JUST/2012/PROG/AG/AD/3711 It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use! of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy funded by the EC under the Programme EU PROGRESS. The Round Table was attended by young men and women from homes for children deprived of parental care (HCDPC), employers, representatives of the local self-governments, recruitment agencies and representatives of the central administration. Before the beginning of the event a team of speakers and employment agents from the Employment Agency made contact with employers in Blagoevgrad District to discuss the opportunities for employment of the young graduates from the HCDPC and for their participation in the Round Table. The following employers expressed willingness to create jobs depending on the qualifications and aspirations of the youth and to participate in the Round Table: Energoremont - Kresna AD - Metal Casting Activity Piros Ltd - town of Sandanski - Clothing Industry Activity Bor Dimitrov 06 EOOD - town of Sandanski - Woodworking Activity Mariya Dimitrova - Meri Sole Trader - town of Blagoevgrad - Catering Industry Activity Liliya Jo EOOD - town of Blagoevgrad - Trade Activity. All employers were personally given a formal notice to which they responded with interest and desire. Representatives of the municipalities and Social Assistance Directorates (SAD) in the region were officially invited and attended the Round Table.
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
The meeting was also attended by 25 young graduates from the social institutions in the region accompanied by social workers and by officials from the Labour Office Directorates (LOD) which territories housed a social institution and which worked actively with the youth on their career development. Before the beginning of the event a modular training programme which was an integral part of the report was developed. A presentation on the topic "Promoting the Diversity and Non-discrimination in the Labour Market and Characteristics of the South West Region in terms of the Need for Employment" was made at the Round Table. Discussions of case studies related to the topic were made. In addition, all LOD officials shared their good practices implemented in this and previous years with the young graduates from the HCDPC. On 21 March the youth from the social institutions and the other participants in the Round Table visited the following employers: Piros Ltd - town of Sandanski - Clothing Industry Activity Bor Dimitrov 06 EOOD - town of Sandanski - Woodworking Activity Interhotel Sandanski - Hotel Industry Activity The visits were arranged in advance. The visit of each company lasted 1 hour. The time was spent for review and introduction to the company's activities. Mr. Volodya Stoyanov, director of Piros Ltd, personally presented the company's activities and showed all workshops. The company produces knitted garment. The production is mainly exported; only a little part thereof is traded in the domestic market. Mr. Stoyanov expressed willingness to employ a youth from HCDPC. Mr. Iliya Dimitrov also presented in person the activities of his company which produces wood and PVC furniture. The company operates in the foreign markets. Mr. Dimitrov was very friendly and said that he would be very pleased if some of the youth started to work in the company. All participants in the Round Table had the opportunity to visit Interhotel Sandanski. It offers hotel services and spa treatments. The opportunity for direct communication between the youth and employers at the Round Table and during their visits to the companies was extremely useful and effective. They received valuable information about the companies' activities and became aware of the terms and conditions and specifics of the work. The youth had the opportunity to personally present themselves to the employers, to receive the information needed and to negotiate their employment opportunities. Gyurgya Vladimirova Stoyanova from Petar Dimitrov HCDPC in the village of Parvomay will apply to South-West University of Blagoevgrad and if she is enrolled she will spend her free time looking for a job in the town of Blagoevgrad. As a result of these meetings Gyurgya Vladimirova Stoyanova was employed in Liliya Jo EOOD - town of Blagoevgrad and Denis Georgiev Chamishki from HCDPC in the town of Blagoevgrad was employed in Energoremont - Kresna AD.
Supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity PROGRESS (2007-2013)
IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
Thirteen of the 16 youth from Asen Zlatarov HCDPC in the town of Yakorouda shared their desire to apply to university. Depending on whether or not they are enrolled in the university they will consider the jobs which they will seek. Three of the youth who do not plan to apply to university will be directed to employment programmes or measures upon their graduation. This was decided after a conversation with the management of Yakorouda Municipality. One of the youth showed interest in joining the training organised by Bulgarian- German Vocational Training Centre, speciality Hairdressing. Two of the young graduates from the HCDPC in the town of Gotse Delchev will start working in Malev EOOD and Pirintex Production EOOD upon their graduation. Conversations with Petar Mingov Sole Trader, Vanita EOOD and Ivan Ezhkov Sole Trader were made. The companies are willing to employ youth who show interest in the work under employment programmes and measures. One of the girls is 17 years old and will be placed in sheltered housing in the town of Novi Iskar. The experience shows that every year, thanks to the sponsors of the HCDPC, all young people prepare themselves for their prom and the employers willingly give a hand to these young people and employ them by advertising jobs in the primary labour market or under employment programmes and measures. In 2013, eleventh youth from the social care homes in the region completed secondary education. Five of them continued their education in a university. Two youth were employed under National Programme "From Social Benefits to Employment" and four youth were employed on jobs advertised in the primary labour market through the support of the labour offices. The youth will be invited to participate in the Youth Job Fair which will be organised in June in the town of Blagoevgrad and in the planned general job fairs which will be organised in the town of Gotse Delchev in June and in the town of Razlog in September, where the youth will also have the opportunity to meet and talk with employers. The tutors and psychologists in the social institutions should focus on the learning of work habits by the young people, since large part of them leave work and wish to be directed to another employer after being employed. Extremely important and useful is the collaboration with the SAD officials in the work with the youth from social care homes. They support the youth in their placement in residential housing and work with them during their stay in the social institutions. The work with the youth will continue in the future in order to support their career development and their involvement in free vocational training.
Characteristics of the South West Region in terms of the Need for Employment Blagoevgrad District In the recent years the total number of population in the area has shown a trend toward gradual decrease. As of 2011, it includes 323,552 inhabitants and represents 4.39% of the population in the country. The economically active population is 151,033 people. The following LODs and their branch offices operate in Blagoevgrad administrative district: LOD - Blagoevgrad with a branch office in the municipality of Simitli; LOD - Razlog with branch
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria offices in the municipalities of Belitsa, Yakorouda and Bansko, LOD - Gotse Delchev with branch offices in the municipalities of Garmen, Hadzhidimovo and Satovcha, LOD- Sandanski with branch offices in the municipalities of Kresna and Strumyani and LOD- Petrich. The labour offices and their branch offices serve the adjoining localities. In the first quarter of 2014 the average monthly unemployment rate in the region of Blagoevgrad is 15.3%. The indicator has increased by 0.4 % compared to its value - 14.9% - reported in the same period of 2013. In the recent years, the trend toward higher unemployment rate in the total number of unemployed registered with the labour offices has remained unchanged in the LOD - Razlog (29.4%) and LOD - Kyustendil (16.5%) and in the other LODs the unemployment rate is below the average for the region - LOD - Blagoevgrad (10.2%); LOD - Gotse Delchev (14.4%); LOD - Dupnitsa (12.9%), LOD - Sandanski (14.3%) and LOD - Petrich (14.2%).
Youth aged up to 29 In the first quarter of 2014, the average monthly number of unemployed youth aged up to 29 registered with the labour offices is 6,131; it has decreased compared to the number reported in the same period of the previous year by 413 persons (6.3%). The majority of unemployed youth have primary or lower education and no qualifications. In the first quarter of 2014, the efforts of the labour offices in the region were aimed at reducing the youth unemployment by implementing incentives and employment programmes for their job placement and better realisation in the labour market. The inclusion of the young people in employment through the National Youth Guarantee Implementation Plan is a good alternative to the beginning of their career development. The most popular professions sought by the employers from Blagoevgrad region during the period are cooks, bartenders, waiters, hotel receptionists, builders, tailors, etc. The companies in the region develop their business mainly in the clothing industry and in the area of construction and tourism. In the first quarter of 2014, 2,977 persons from Blagoevgrad district are employed; 1,891 of them have found a job in the primary labour market, 156 are employed based on measures under the Employment Promotion Act (EPA) and 366 of them are employed under employment programmes.
Feedback from the questionnaires filled in upon completion of the Round Table in the town of Sandanski under the project It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use! The participants in the Round Table were proposed to fill in a questionnaire containing 13 questions, which completion was anonymous and voluntary. The questionnaire was completed by 41 persons: 5 of them were employers, 12 - representatives of state institutions, 23 - young people (students) and one of them - representative of the local authority.
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
The discrimination occurs in the case of formal or informal division of the people into distinct groups based on a common ground, such as race, ethnicity, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, etc. where they are given or withdrawn certain rights, obligations and opportunities depending on the group to which they belong. The division of the people into groups based on a certain rational ground, however, is not considered as discrimination. All participants in the Round Table, excluding eight students, who filled in the questionnaire answered to the first question that they were aware of the existence of discrimination on all grounds. In terms of the second question: "Do you think that the Bulgarian legislation provides equal opportunities for all citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria?", 4 employers gave positive answers and one respondent answered that the legislation provided for these opportunities but they were not used in practice. Seven of the representatives of state institutions gave positive answers and five answered that the legislation did not provide equal opportunities for all Bulgarian citizens. The answers of the youth were also interesting: 11 of them gave positive answers, 10 indicated the answer "No" and 2 indicated the answer "Partially". The representative of the local authority gave a positive answer. The more developed is the discriminatory attitude the more rarely it is limited to a negative attitude due to only one ground. In this sense, the multiple discrimination may be defined as unequal treatment or disadvantaging based on multiple actual or alleged protected grounds of the affected persons or their related persons. This is possible, since each of the protected grounds characterizes certain aspect of the identity or personal and social functions of the people. For this reason, the inequality on any of them does not exclude the disadvantage on any other ground. In terms of the third question: "Do you know what multiple discrimination means?" the answers were distributed, as follows: Two employers gave negative answers and three employers only heard about the multiple discrimination and were not familiar. Five of the representatives of state institutions gave positive answers and seven only heard about the multiple discrimination, but were not familiar. Only one student gave a positive answer, 11 students gave negative answers and 11 students only heard about the multiple discrimination, but were not familiar. The representative of the local authority also gave a negative answer. In terms of the fourth question "In your opinion, on which ground discrimination occurs most often in the course of your work?" 18 youth did not answer to the question, 3 youth indicated the discrimination on ground of age, 1 youth indicated the discrimination on ground of sex and 2 youth indicated the discrimination on grounds of religion and race, respectively. Two employers did not answer to the question, 2 employers indicated the ethnic origin, 1 employer indicated the disability and 1 employer indicated all grounds. Four of the representatives of state institutions did not answer to the question, 2 representatives indicated the age, family responsibilities and health problems, 1 representative indicated the sexual orientation and 5 representatives indicated the ethnic origin as grounds of discrimination. The representative of the local authority also did not answer to the question.
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
In terms of the fifth question: "In your opinion, which is the area where discrimination most often occurs in the course of your work?", almost all youth (20) did not answer to the question, 2 of them indicated the answers "At work" and "The height of the person", respectively, and 1 youth indicated the race. Two employers did not answer to the question and three employers indicated the area of trade and services, all areas and ethnic origin and disability, respectively. Seven of the representatives of state institutions did not answer to the question, 3 representatives indicated the answer "At the employment" and 3 representatives indicated the answers "Religion", "In school" and "On the street", respectively. The representative of the local authority did not answer to the question. In terms of the sixth question: "Do you think that all citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria should have equal opportunities in all areas of the social, economic and political life?" the answers were distributed, as follows: all employers gave positive answers and only one of the representatives of state institutions gave a negative answer, while the others gave positive answers, as well. Nineteen youth gave also positive answers, while 4 youth gave negative ones. The representative of the local authority gave a positive answer. In terms of the seventh question: "Do you think that the Bulgarian legislation provides equal opportunities for all?" three employers gave positive answers and two employers gave negative ones. Six of the representatives of state institutions gave positive answers, 4 representatives gave negative answers and in the opinion of two representatives left a lot to be desired and not all employers complied with the law. The majority of the respondents (14 persons) gave negative answers and only 4 respondents gave positive answers, while the others answered that sometimes the employers complied with the law, but not completely. The representative of the local authority gave a positive answer. In terms of the eight question: "Do you think that the citizens of our country are equally paid for equal work?" almost all respondents gave negative answers and only 4 youth and 1 representative of state institutions gave positive answers. In terms of the ninth question: "Do you think that the information obtained during the workshop makes you think about the attitude to the different people (your and the institution where you work?)" almost all respondents gave positive answers, only 1 youth and 2 representatives of state institutions gave negative answers and one of them answered that in his opinion all people were equal, regardless of the differences. The representative of the local authority gave a positive answer. In terms of the tenth question: "Does the workshop meet your expectations?" almost all respondents indicated that the workshop met their expectations, while 1 employer, 3 representatives of state institutions and 7 youth indicated the answer "Not at all". The representative of the local authority gave a positive answer. In terms of the eleventh question: "Would you like to participate in another workshop and if so - what are the issues which best interest you?" all representatives of state institutions and almost all employers and youth answered that they would participate in another workshop, and only 1 employer and 7 youth gave negative answers. The representative of the local authority gave a positive answer.
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
In terms of the twelfth question: "Do you think that it is worth sharing with your colleagues / friends what you have learned at the workshop?" nine youth did not answer to the question and the others answered that they would share what they had learned, since the more people knew about these problems, the more youth would be given an opportunity for employment, because the information that they received was interesting and useful and because the others might think about how to behave with the "different" people; some of the respondents answered that the discussion of the problem always led to decision-making and that the information would be helpful. Three representatives of state institutions did not answer to the question and the others answered that they would share what they had learned with the others in order to be informed, since we all have to be tolerant and all people should have equal rights and because the information was useful and therefore the experience gained should be shared. One employer did not answer, another one would not share the experience with the others and the others would share what they had learned since the information obtained was beneficial. The representative of the local authority would disseminate the information obtained, but did not state the reason thereof. In terms of the thirteenth question "How do you evaluate the speakers - do you have any recommendations on the manner in which they have provided the information?" thirteen youth did not answer to the question and the others evaluated the information as very good, useful, interesting and comprehensive and had no recommendations to the speakers. Three employers did not answer and the others said that the information of the speakers was useful and was presented in the best way. Only one representative of state institution did not answer to the question. The others indicated that the information received was sufficiently comprehensive and was presented in the best way and that the organisation was very good, even perfect, for which they thanked. The only recommendation is to divide the module into two modules, one for the youth and one for the other participants, and to introduce them in a different time, since the level of awareness of the participants on the issue of discrimination is different. The representative of the local authority did not answer to the question. The results of the survey show that the Round Table has been successfully completed under conditions of excellent organisation and that the information received has been useful and the participants will share it with other people. Almost all respondents are willing to participate in other similar workshops to enrich their knowledge of the topics discussed. The participants said that all citizens of our country should have equal opportunities in all areas of the social, economic and political life.
Characteristics of the South East Region in terms of the Labour Market The South East Region covers the districts of Burgas, Yambol and Sliven. The region has an area of 1,465 square kilometres and constitutes 13.2% of the territory of the country. 10% of the population of Bulgaria lives there. We can definitely say that the whole region gravitates towards the Black Sea. The free access to the Black Sea defines its favourable transport and economic position which is mainly directed to Burgas regional centre.
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
The Black Sea coast favours the development of various types of tourism. The Burgas and Tundzha lowlands offer favourable soil and climatic conditions for the development of the agriculture. The share of the trade, services and manufacturing industry in the labour market is significant. At the end of April 2014, the unemployment rate reported is, as follows: - For Burgas District - 8.41%; - For Yambol District - 15.84%; - For Sliven District - 20.43%. The relative share of the unemployed youth aged up to 29 broken down by districts is, as follows: - For Burgas District - 18.62%; - For Yambol District - 19.93%; - For Sliven District - 22.84%. The children deprived of parental care in the region are covered by: - Yuriy Gagarin HCDPC - town of Yambol; - Mariya Roza HCDPC - village of Asenovets, district of Sliven; - Protected Home for People at Risk - city of Burgas; - Social Educational and Professional Centre (SEPC) - village of Bata, district of Burgas. The young job seekers are given opportunities for realisation in the labour market with the assistance of the LODs through: - The job vacancies advertised by the real sector in the primary market - unsubsidised employment; - The various schemes (First Job, New Job, etc.) under Operational Programme Human Resources Development. One of the main objectives of the schemes is to achieve higher levels of employment among the people and to increase the social inclusion; - Employment incentives under the EPA and national programmes and projects; - European Youth Guarantee. The purpose of this tool is to give an opportunity to the young people to receive a good job offer, continuing education / training, apprenticeship or qualification up to 4 months upon completion of their education or after losing their job, to reduce the number of discouraged young people and to return them back into the labour market. In April 2014, the number of youth aged up to 29 employed in the primary market is: - For Burgas District - 187; - For Yambol District - 57; - For Sliven District - 91. During the month the following number of youth is employed through subsidised employment: - For Burgas District - 97; - For Yambol District - 26; - For Sliven District - 19.
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
During the same period of time the number of youth dropped out of registration with the LOD due to failure to meet the recommendations of the employment agent is, as follows: - For Burgas District - 211; - For Yambol District - 108; - For Sliven District - 191. Prior to the holding of the Round Table in the city of Burgas contacts with the director of the HCDPC, social officer in charge of the youth from the social institution graduating this year and the youth themselves were made. Their future plans, desires, opportunities and professional skills were previously discussed. Profiles of all young people were created for the purpose of their better presentation to the employer in the job seeking. Similar to all inexperienced young job seekers they needed assistance in preparing the curriculum vitae. Contacts with the directors of Protected Home for People at Risk - city of Burgas and SEPC - village of Bata, Pomorie Municipality, whose graduates were beneficiaries under the project, were made. The Round Table was attended by two youth from Burgas and six youth from the village of Bata. In addition, individual meetings with the two youth from the city of Burgas and 21 youth from the village of Bata were held to clarify their opportunities, skills, desires and attitudes for professional development. The information collected was used as a basis for making additional conversations with other employers. The companies Marina Cape Management EOOD, Filipovi - 2000 AD and Active - 02 Ltd showed great understanding and willingness to support the youth. During the conversations the three employers shared their commitment to the problems of these young people, desire to help and willingness to employ representatives of the target group. At this stage, after preliminary discussions and conducting interviews with the young people who has expressed a desire to work an arrangement for employment of six youths - two from the city of Burgas and four from the SEPC - village of Bata - has been made. They will start to work upon completion of the school year. Perhaps later on other young people will also start to work. Subsequently meetings with employers were held. They were aimed at the proactive offering of jobs to the young graduates. Some employers definitely expressed their inability to employ workers without professional experience at the first conversation. Other employers only agreed with the need for support in the early social adaptation of this young people but did not express willingness to further work with them. Ms. Petkova, director of the company Bi Auto EOOD where a boy from a social institution was currently working, expressed sympathy to the cause. The representatives of the company Hegra D EOOD also expressed willingness to employ youth from the target group. The youth from HCDPC - Yambol visited the office of Mrs. Boncheva, Executive Director of Industrial Association -Yambol, to discuss their attitudes, expectations and opportunities for employment.
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
Mr. Kaloyan Kalimanov, representative of Bima - Ivanka Hristova Sole Trader and former alumnus of a social institution, also took an active part. Over the years lots of young people like him have started their working career in the company. At the Youth Job Fair organised by LOD - Yambol contacts with representatives of Duni Holiday Village were made. The youth from the social institution were invited to attend the Youth Job Fair. The meeting of the employers of Duni Holiday Village with the girls from HCDPC - Yambol ended with a proposal for their employment for the season immediately after the graduation of the girls in early June. The same proposal was made to the young graduates from Mariya Roza HCDPC - village of Asenovets. These young people sent their CV directly to Mrs. Krasimira Ivanova - manager of Duni HV - who committed to employ them for the season upon completion of the school year. The representatives of the non-governmental organisations Demetra Association, Ravnovesie Association, Regional Roma Union and Usmivka Association were actively working to support the youth from the target group and, if possible, they also employed them. A representative of Port of Burgas EAD attended the Round Table. He shared the company experience in working with youth from social institutions. Currently a young man is working in the company. Some employers apologized that they were unable to attend the Round Table, but expressed their willingness to employ the interested youth. These were Duni AD and Burgastsvet-90-Tanev EOOD. Besides representatives of the employers, the Round Table was attended by representatives of other institutions engaged with the problems of the youth from the social institutions - representatives of SADs and LODs in the South East Region and a representative of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination (CPAD) - city of Burgas. At the end at least 10 youth were employed. Although some of the young people will be employed only for the season, the job will enable them to assess the appropriateness of the choice of their professional development, to gain initial experience, to prove themselves to the employers and to rely on future support and assistance from them.
Feedback from the questionnaires filled in upon completion of the Round Table in the city of Burgas under the project It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use!
The questionnaire contained 13 questions and was offered for completion to the participants in the Round Table under the project "It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use!” which was held on 25 and 26 March 2014 in the city of Burgas. The questionnaire was anonymous and voluntary. 38 persons, including 29 women and 9 men, of all attendees of the Round Table filled in the questionnaire. These were 23 representatives of state institutions, 3 employers, 4 NGO representatives, 6 students, 1 representative of the local government, one other participant and a participant who did not identify himself. In terms of the first question - "Did you have any idea of the existence of discrimination on all grounds?", 33 persons answered "Yes" and 5 persons answered "No".
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria
This speaks about the fact that the Round Table is attended by people who are directly related to the issue of discrimination. In terms of the second question - "Do you think that the Bulgarian legislation provides equal opportunities for all citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria?", 21 persons gave positive answers and 17 persons gave negative ones. A person who indicated the answer "Yes" commented that the legislation was effective but not observed. In terms of the third question - "Do you know what multiple discrimination means?", 12 of the answers were positive, 8 - negative and 18 participants in the Round Table answered that they only heard about the multiple discrimination and were not familiar. The participants say that they receive information about the multiple discrimination: from their work which is related to the topic - 3 participants; from the presentation of the Round Table - 2 participants; from the literature - 3 participants; from the legislation - 2 participants; from the media and internet - 1 participant; one of the participants works for the CPAD. In terms of the fourth question "In your opinion, discrimination on which ground occurs most often in the course of your work?", 12 persons did not answer and the others answered, as follows: on ground of the age - 6 respondents; on ground of the disability - 3 respondents; on ground of the sex - 3 respondents; on ground of the ethnicity - 8 children from social institutions and 2 respondents; on ground of the race - 1 respondent and on ground of the appearance - 2 respondents. Five respondents indicated that there was discrimination on more than one grounds in their workplaces. In terms of the fifth question - "In your opinion, which is the area where discrimination most often occurs in the course of your work?", 19 persons did not answer and the others answered, as follows: 6 persons indicated the answer "Discrimination in employment"; 3 persons indicated the answer "Discrimination in the area of the social services" and 2 persons indicated the answer "Discrimination in the trade". In terms of the sixth question "Do you think that all citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria should have equal opportunities in all areas of the social, economic and political life?", 34 persons gave unanimous answer "Yes", 3 persons answered "No" and one person did not answer. "Do you think that the Bulgarian legislation provides equal opportunities for all?" was the question to which the respondents gave 17 answers "Yes" and 17 answers "No". Three persons did not answer and one person answered that it would be good to synchronise the law in theory and its practical implementation. The answers to the eighth question "Do you think that the citizens of our country are equally paid for equal work?" raised concerns, since 29 respondents thought that the payment was not equal, 8 respondents thought that the payment was adequate and 1 respondent did not answer. In terms of the ninth question "Do you think that the information obtained during the workshop makes you think about the attitude to the different people (your and the institution where you work?)", 35 persons gave positive answers, 2 persons did not answer and one respondent stated that he was working in a field that made him constantly think about this. The number of positive answers to this question gives us a reason to conclude that the topic of
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria the Round Table has reached the participants and that they will work even harder to the adoption of the different people and non-discrimination. The workshop fully met the expectations of 32 persons, 4 persons were not completely satisfied, the workshop did not meet the expectations of one person and one person did not answer. (Tenth question - "Does the workshop meet your expectations?") In terms of the eleventh question - "Would you like to participate in another workshop and if so - what are the issues which best interest you?", 35 respondents expressed willingness to participate in such workshops on other topics, as the topics which they indicated were various and sometimes did not relate to the main topic: - Discrimination on grounds of age and ethnicity - 3 respondents; - Institutional care for children - 2 respondents; - Diversity of the labour market - 2 respondents; - Improving the public attitudes toward the differences; - Equal rights and decent pay in employment; - Measures to prevent discrimination in employment - 2 respondents; - Meetings of the workers and employers; - Creating an operating economy; - Discussion of specific case studies and decision-making. Three respondents gave negative answers to the question. In terms of the twelfth question - "Do you think that it is worth sharing with your colleagues / friends what you have learned at the workshop?", 29 persons gave positive answers, as some of them indicated the REASON THEREOF: - In the opinion of 11 respondents the information is very useful and therefore it is worth sharing it; - In the opinion of 5 respondents the work on this topic is a part of their daily activities and therefore it is important to share it with their colleagues; - In the opinion of 4 respondents the sharing of the experience may contribute to attracting more people sympathetic to the problem and may help to achieve a positive change in the people attitudes; - Three respondents believe that this will help to improve the communication of the youth (there is one answer - they are like family to me). - In the opinion of 1 respondent the sharing of the experience is important since he works in the area of job placement and the knowledge on the topic will contribute to non-discrimination. Seven respondents gave negative answers to this question and two did not answer. 26 persons answered to the last thirteenth question ("How do you evaluate the speakers - do you have any recommendations on the manner in which they have provided the information?"). The majority of them (20) answered that the speakers did a good job; 1 respondent answered that the speakers provided the information in an appropriate and affordable way; 1 respondent answered that the information was presented in an interesting way; 1 respondent answered that the speakers were professionally trained; 2 respondents answered that the presentation was excellent; 2 respondents answered that they were satisfied
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IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria with the speakers and in the opinion of 1 respondent their presentation was at a satisfactory level. Based on the summaries of the questionnaires we may conclude that the Round Table has been successfully completed, that the participants are satisfied with the presentation and discussion of the topic and that the information is useful to them and they will share it with colleagues and friends, thus attracting more people sympathetic to the problem and contributing to non-discrimination on any ground. The desire of the participants to be included in future workshops on similar topics speaks about their interest and willingness to work and contribute to the development and consolidation of a real democratic society in Bulgaria by adopting the different people and by helping to ensure their smooth integration.
Feedback from Protected Home for People at Risk, city of Burgas, and the team of social workers Focus on the problems and challenges which the youth face: Some of the youth face difficulties in finding a job due to the lack of vocational training. Even if they have completed general education they do not have the specific knowledge and skills required by the professional fields, which turns the young qualified people into unqualified ones. When they are placed with us they are trained in the basic skills required for the job seeking - CV writing, interview preparation and how to behave at the meeting with the employer. In addition, the young people are in an unfavourable situation due to their social status. Often the employers do not employ them based on a prejudice and have neither wish to spend money, nor time for their training, i.e. the youth fall in a vicious circle. The youth are not employed since they do not have experience and expertise and for this reason they can not gain neither experience, nor expertise. This dooms the youth to prolonged job seeking and increases the risk of being dismissed first in case of deterioration of the labour market. As a consequence, the youth are most often employed on a temporary or seasonal basis which increases the risk of their physical survival. There are even cases when they remain on the street. Often the young people leaving the institutions have a wrong attitude to what is about to happen. They expect that everything will happen in the way it has happened before. Thus the first resistance occurs. Its overcoming is a major challenge for the social workers. Being in a new environment and establishing new relationships the young people often misinterpret them and find themselves in conflict situations which they provoke themselves, thus becoming victims. Often the young people form a closed community where they communicate primarily with each other. If any youth remains on the job more than a year it may be concluded that sustainability has been achieved. The major challenge that the youth leaving the institutions face is to learn to assert their right to dream and realisation and their right to a dignified life in the competitive environment where they will fall and where they will learn to survive, as is currently the situation in Bulgaria. The young people are not given emotional support, they have no career
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Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria guidance and a negative image to the public. It is therefore extremely important to attract more institutions, professionals and employers to take social responsibility and care, to support the youth and to give them a chance for professional development. Over the years, various initiatives have been launched, such as the idea of a guardian in the workplace - a man who is a colleague of the youth and who voluntarily agrees to monitor the work done by the youth in the workplace. The relationship with the employer is also very important. However, the most important are the attitudes of the young people that are most difficult to change and therefore joint efforts in this direction should be made and support in the difficult process of social adaptation and career development should be given.
Socio-economic characteristics of Plovdiv Region Plovdiv region covers three administrative districts - Plovdiv, Pazardzhik and Smolyan - and 39 municipalities. The region, which borders Greece, has extremely favourable and key geographical position. Its territory is crossed by a transcontinental road - from West and Central Europe through Sofia - Plovdiv - Svilengrad to Istanbul, Middle East, Asia and North Africa - which is very important for Bulgaria and Europe. The region has well-developed railway network which provides connection to the nearest port, airport that serves transport aircraft and duty free zone. Besides the advantageous transport and geographical position the region is characterized with an extremely favourable natural and economic geographical location which has had an impact on its economic development. The climate in the region is continental and temperate continental and favours the development of the agriculture, tourism and other economic activities. The region is rich in water resources. The soil in the region is suitable for growing perennial and industrial crops, such as vegetables, fruits and some industrial crop species. The forest resources constitute a large part of the forests in Bulgaria. The population of the region is the most important socio-economic resource in the regional development process. The people are both producers and consumers of material and spiritual wealth which makes them key and limiting factor for the development of each territory. As of 31 December 2011, the population in the region includes 1,075,143 inhabitants, as follows: 680, 884 in Plovdiv District, 273,803 in Pazardzhik District and 120,456 in Smolyan District. In the period 2006 - 2011 the population in the region has decreased by 57,282 inhabitants or by 5%, which per cent is the same as the per cent reduction of the population in the country for that period.
Economic Characteristics Plovdiv District The employment rate (which reflects the number of employed population aged 15 and over) in Plovdiv District is 47.8%.
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Plovdiv District is the second most populated area in the country and is an industrial and agricultural area with multi-sectoral economy. The district generates about 7% of the income from sales of goods and services at national level. Nearly 76 % of this income comes from the private sector. The industrial production provides about 62% of the income. There is a trend toward increase of the income generated from the sale of services. Nine key sectors of the industry in the area generate almost 90% of its gross income. These are: manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco products - about 28% share in the gross income from sales; non-ferrous metal industry - 14% share; metal casting, metalworking and production of machinery - 11% share; production of chemicals and chemical products - 9% share; etc. The district features favourable soil and climatic conditions that allow growing of large number of crops - more than 100 species. The most commonly grown traditional crops are cereals, vegetables and fruits, wine and table grapes, essential oil crops, rice, etc. Another important area where the district has a leading position is the balneology: in the town of Hisar is located a national spa centre and the spa resort Narechenski Bani is of national importance. The district centre houses 7 universities and lots of research institutes, the most significant of which operate in the field of agriculture and food industry.
Pazardzhik District Pazardzhik District covers 4% of the whole territory of the country. The leading industries in the economic structure of the district are the tourism, agriculture, timber industry and wood processing, engineering industry, clothing industry, furniture and food industries.
Smolyan District The leading industries in the district are the timber industry and wood processing, agriculture, textile industry and tourism. The small and medium enterprises have a large share in the municipal economy. The light industry, represented by textile and clothing factories and meat - and dairy processing plants, occupies a central place in the economic structure of Smolyan District.
Unemployment In 2013, the average annual unemployment rate in Plovdiv Region is 12.8%. The average unemployment rate is 10.0% in Plovdiv District, 16.6% in Pazardzhik District and 19.6% in Smolyan District. The lowest unemployment rate is reported within the territory of LOD - Plovdiv - 6.57% and the highest unemployment rate is reported within the territory of LOD - Velingrad - 34.42%. In 2013, the annual average number of unemployed in the region is 61,057. 30,427 of them are registered in the Plovdiv District. Youth aged up to 29
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In 2013, the annual average number of unemployed youth aged up to 29 registered with the labour offices in the region is 12, 632, which is 21% of the total number of unemployed.
Labour demand In 2013, the employers in the region have advertised 32,209 job vacancies at the LODs, which is 10% more compared to the previous year. 19, 864 job vacancies are made public in the primary labour market outside the employment programmes and incentives under the EPA. The private sector offers the majority of the jobs in the primary labour market. The private sector employers have advertised 12,063 jobs (61 %). The most popular professions sought by the employers from Povdiv Region during the period are tailors, workers in the footwear and leather haberdashery industry, cooks, waiters, construction workers, fitters, sellers, etc.
Activities performed by the LODs Services provided The LODs provide a range of different services to the registered youth: - Information and consulting on the services provided; - Agency in the employment; - Psychological support; - Career guidance; - Motivation training; - Inclusion in appropriate employment and training programmes. A new practice in the LOD activity is the employment workshop. In the employment workshop a team of psychologists offers to the young people to improve their skills for job seeking and for successful performance in the job application. In many cases the unemployed youth need assistance in a certain area of the job seeking. For example: How to prepare applications for employment; How to prepare for and behave on an interview with the employer; How to prepare my behavioural and career plan. A new practice in the LOD activity is the appointment of a Case Manager. The Case Manager supports the unemployed people from the vulnerable groups in seeking and finding job in the labour market by: - Studying the needs and potential of the individuals; - Identifying the main barriers; - Determining an appropriate range of services in order to overcome the identified barriers; - Giving institutions on their provision; - determining the conditions for access to these services; - Determining the actions on their receipt that should be taken.
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European Youth Guarantee 2014 - 2020 The term "Youth Guarantee" means all young people under the age of 25 who receive a good job offer, continuing education, apprenticeship or traineeship within four months after losing their job or after leaving the formal education system. The measures for implementation of the Youth Guarantee and for activating the young people in the labour market in terms of the employment system are: Making contact with the identified unemployed and uneducated youth and informing them about the services provided at the labour office; Creating interest of the young people in inclusion in employment, apprenticeships, traineeships and training; At least one recruitment agency specialised in working with youth is located in each labour office. - Preparing an individual action plan containing the youth profile; - Providing career guidance and motivation; - Holding specialised Youth Job Fair; - Enhancing the role of the career development centres at the Regional Employment Service Directorates (RESD) and at the EA Head Office. The employees of all labour offices in Plovdiv Region demonstrate a desire and initiative to support the professional development of the youth from the social institutions, taking into account the responsibility of this commitment, seeking the support of the employers and relying on their cooperation.
Preparation of the Round Table in the town of Hisarya The number of young graduates from the homes Olga Skobeleva HCDPC, Knaginya Mariya Luisa HCDPC and Tanyo Voyvoda Children Home, town of Asenovgrad, and the number of youth placed in sheltered housing and protected homes (Mladost Children's Village, Protected Home for People at Risk, Mladost Sheltered Housing, Sv. Georgi SEPC - city of Plovdiv) was determined in advance. With the active support of the LOD - Plovdiv expert-psychologist and the Case Manager all graduates were created profiles to clarify their wishes for further professional development and their specific physical capabilities, skills and qualifications. The main efforts of the LOD - Plovdiv officials were focused on the youth who planned their career development upon completion of the education and on providing more sustainable employment. The LOD psychologist made individual and group consultation and motivated the young people who had to be involved in the project. In the course of work the following difficulties occurred: Some of the young people expressed a desire to continue their education in a university, but also said that they would like to work, even part-time, to sustain themselves;
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In some of the young people the desired profession did not always coincide with the qualifications acquired upon completion of the secondary education. This required training in career guidance and motivation to be conducted. Highest interest was shown in the professions in the field of catering industry and trade; the youth showed lower interest in the production activities. Contacts with employers operating in various areas were made in advance with a view to exploring the employment opportunities for the youth. In the catering industry contacts with Happy Bar & Grill and Sunfoods Bulgaria LTD were made. In the trade sector contact with Dizma General Partnership, a company operating in the furniture trade was made. In the production sector contacts with United Milk Company AD (production of dairy products), Novomes Ltd, village of Novo Selo (production of meat products), Nematex Ltd (footwear industry), Filikon - 97 AD (canning industry), Ferocom AD (production of wire cloths) and Asima Ltd (production of reinforcing bars) were made. In the construction sector contact with Reststroy Ltd was made and in the field of cleaning and landscaping contacts with Parks and Gardens Municipal Enterprise and Chistota Municipal Enterprise were made. With the active support of the director of the branch office of Labour Office - Plovdiv - Maritsa, town of Hisarya, contacts with the following employers in the town of Hisarya were made: Augusta Hotel, Gaytani Hotel and Augusta Restaurant with a view to a possible site visit by the young graduates. In connection with the preparation of the Round Table contacts with representatives of various social institutions in Plovdiv District were made: RESD - Plovdiv, LOD - Plovdiv - Rodopi, LOD - Plovdiv - Maritsa, LOD - Asenovgrad, Career Guidance Centre, SADs, Olga Skobeleva HCDPC, Knaginya Mariya Luisa HCDPC, Tanyo Voyvoda Children Home, town of Asenovgrad, Mladost Children's Village, Protected Home for People at Risk, Mladost Sheltered Housing, Sv. Georgi SEPC - city of Plovdiv and IGA Centre for Social Rehabilitation and Integration. On 2 and 3 April 2014 Round Table for young men and women from homes for children deprived of parental care, employers, representatives of the local self-governments, recruitment agencies and representatives of the central administration was held in the town of Hisarya under the slogan "Tolerance, Respect, Understanding and Equality in the Workplace" and under Project JUST/2012/PROG/AG/AD/3711 It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use! of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. A presentation on the topic "Promoting the Diversity and Non-discrimination in the Labour Market and Characteristics of the South Central Region in terms of the Need for Employment" was made at the Round Table. The Round Table was attended by 13 youth graduating in 2014 and 2015 from Olga Skobeleva HCDPC, Knaginya Mariya Luisa HCDPC, Tanyo Voyvoda Children Home, town of Asenovgrad, Mladost Protected Home, Mladost Sheltered Housing and Sv. Georgi SEPC - city of Plovdiv who were accompanied by their tutors.
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Representatives of the central administration, district LODs, RESD - Plovdiv, SADs, the Mayor, representatives of Hisarya Municipality and employers of six companies took part in the work done at the Round Table. Part of the employers was unable to participate in the Round Table, but remained interested in employing young people who expressed a desire to work with them. The agenda of the Round Table included: - Presentation of the project It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use!; - Presentation on the topic "Promoting the Diversity and Non-discrimination in the Labour Market and Characteristics of the South Central Region in terms of the Need for Employment"; - Good practices of diversity and non-discrimination on various grounds established; - Perspective and certain proposals by all employers to the youth from the social institutions for their professional development upon completion of their education. In making direct contact with the representatives of the companies the young people expressed a desire to work in Happy Bar & Grill, Dizma General Partnership and Parks and Gardens Municipal Enterprise. On 3 April 2014 the youth visited Gergana Hotel in the town of Hisarya owned by Prevention, Rehabilitation and Recreation EAD and Kaleroya Hotel in the town of Hisarya - a sanatorium serving the Military Academy. The youth from the social institutions visited the various units of the hotel - medical centre, spa centre, hotel and restaurant units. The director of Gergana Hotel, Mr. Atanas Dimitrov, informed the participants in detail about the hotel history and activities, employment opportunities, professions sought and the requirements for employment. Information about the opportunities of the young people employed under employment contracts to use medical services was provided.
Activities performed and results achieved upon completion of the Round Table in the town of Hisarya The Round Table in the town of Hisarya enabled the young people from the social institutions to become familiar with the various forms of discrimination and to learn more about their rights and the services that the labour offices may provide to them upon completion of their education. The young people received information about the professions sought in the labour market and the requirements for employment and were given the opportunity to become familiar with specific jobs. The direct contacts between the youth and employers led to the following results: In April 2014, five young people - Stefan Vuchkov, Mariya Karadzhova, Mitko Ognyanov, Bozhidar Andreev and Angel Kostadinov - were employed on the position of kitchen assistant in the restaurant chain Happy Bar & Grill. After the end of the school year the company will also employ Krum Milushev. Three more youth will be directed to another restaurant in Sunny Beach Resort.
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In May 2014, Svetoslav Doshkov and Ivan Tenev were employed on the position of warehouse worker in Dizma General Partnership. Preliminary discussions with Parks and Gardens Municipal Enterprise on the employment of Ivelina Georgieva and Ivanka Atanasova upon completion of the school year were made. The work on the employment of other young graduates from the social care homes will continue upon completion of their education. They will receive the entire set of services provided by the LODs - employment mediation, inclusion in employment and training programmes and measures, psychological support, career guidance, motivation training, etc.
Good practices The team from the city of Plovdiv included a psychologist and employment agent who worked in the same labour office. They had experience in working with youth from HCDPC and were well familiar with the labour market and employers in the town. The team was also supported by the director of Mediation Services Department and the Case Manager of the labour office. It worked in cooperation with the management of the social institutions, including with the group tutors, social workers and some NGOs. We may say that the team have created good partner network. Unlike previous years when the graduates from the social institutions are mainly employed through inclusion in employment programmes and measures (including EU-funded programmes) now the young people are provided mediation services for the purpose of their realisation in the primary labour market. Elements of the supported employment are introduced, i.e. the monitoring of the adaptation and professional development of the youth upon their employment is continued. The employers themselves avoided the discrimination and were flexible and demonstrated understanding in the employment of the young people by offering them a part- time job by the end of the school year and by examining the situations and opportunities in order to prevent the youth from losing some benefits. The successful and effective cooperation of the state institutions - MLSP, Employment Agency and the social institutions - with the private companies and municipal enterprises led to successful employment of 7 youth. We expect that in June 2014 another 3 youth will be employed.
MODULE II Training workshops for the teams working with children in institutional care and the experts involved in the child protection system under project It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use!
Introduction
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Within the project It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use! a team of consultants who were involved in the study on the discriminatory attitudes of the society toward the children from the institutions conducted in 2012 prepared and conducted trainings for professionals working with children in institutional care. The consultants were authors of the study report. Two three day trainings for the employees involved in the child care system implemented in the South Central Region - city of Plovdiv and South West Region - town of Bansko were prepared. The training programme combined lectures, practical exercises (case studies and group work) and discussions on the problems addressed, taking into account the recommendations from other similar trainings conducted over the years. Before the beginning of the trainings the team conducted a brief study to update the information about the current legislation in the area of the institutional care and the information about the stage of development of the deinstitutionalisation in Bulgaria. Consultations with legal counsels, specialists from the State Agency for Child Protection and NGOs working in the area of deinstitutionalisation were made.
Participants in the trainings Two three day trainings were conducted, as follows: in the city of Plovdiv - form 7 to 9 April with 31 participants and in the town of Bansko - from 14 to16 April with 30 participants. The participants in the trainings were mainly social care teachers - tutors in institutions for children (HCDPC, family type accommodation centres, etc.), experts from the SADs and experts from the Child Protection Departments in the relevant regions who had diverse work experience and experience in the institutional child care. The training in the town of Bansko involved participants with over 25 years of work experience in the system. There was only one man among the participants in the training conducted in the city of Plovdiv. Objectives of the training 1. To familiarize the participants with key topics, such as: - The children's rights as a part of the human rights system; - The international and national standards for protection of the children's rights; - The universal standards for protection of the children's rights; - The basic concepts and definitions in the area of protection against discrimination; - The highlights of the national anti-discrimination legislation; - The role and authorities of the CPAD. 2. To familiarize the participants with the real situation of discrimination against the children living in institutions based on the results of the study conducted in 2012. 3. To familiarize the participants with the feelings of the children from the specialised institutions (using residential services) in terms of the various forms and grounds of discrimination against them.
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4. To share experience and to acquire practical skills to recognize the situations of discrimination and to resolve any conflicts caused by discriminatory attitudes or practices.
Conducting training sessions Each of the trainings began with an interactive session in which the participants had to identify the human right which was most important to them at this stage of their life. This session allowed the trainers to gain an idea of some major problems which the participants faced in their daily work. The following rights were identified and discussed: right to be heard, right to choose, right to decent work and decent pay, right to violence-free life, etc. In addition, this session allowed the participants to become familiar with the speakers and to form their expectations and concerns of the training, if any. The participants in the two trainings had positive attitudes towards the topics and the majority of them formed expectations related to the acquisition of knowledge and skills to tackle the forms of discrimination and to exchange experience in the work done within the context of the deinstitutionalisation process. Upon completion of the interactive introduction the trainers placed a brief practice session to evaluate the participants' level of familiarity with the concepts used in the area of non-discrimination. A number of statements to which the participants were asked to express their agreement or disagreement were indicated. These were: 1. The discrimination is unequal treatment of children or adults placed in the same situation. 2. The discrimination is equal treatment of children or adults placed in different situations. 3. The children living in institutions are not discriminated. 4. The parents are the best defenders of the children's rights. 5. The children's rights are reflected in the internal regulations of the home. 6. The adults' responsibility is to be familiar with the children's rights and to teach the children how to use them. This practice session enabled the evaluation of the audience's level of familiarity with the concepts and definitions used in the area of non-discrimination.
Presentation of the basic concepts - children's rights, discrimination, basic documents Upon completion of the practical session the first lecture on the child's right to protection from discrimination was delivered. The lecture presented the children's rights as a part of the human rights protection system. The lecture was accompanied by a multimedia presentation. During the lecture the participants asked clarifying questions and upon its completion a discussion on the instruments for protection against discrimination was made. The speakers provided additional materials - brochures containing interpretation of the Protection against Discrimination Act (PADA) - and practical examples to clarify the concepts. The lecture covered the following topics:
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The children's rights as a part of the human rights system; The international and national standards for protection of the children's rights; The universal standards for protection of the children's rights; The basic concepts and definitions in the area of protection against discrimination; The highlights of the national anti-discrimination legislation; The role and authorities of the CPAD. This lecture served as an introduction to the presentation of the results of the study which was divided into two parts: I. Presentation of the adults' attitudes and objective relations and practices in the society. II. Presentation of the subjective feelings of the children in institutional care in terms of the discrimination. Within the presentations the context and methodology of the study on the discriminatory attitudes of the society toward the children from the institutions, the participants therein and the main conclusions and recommendations of the various groups involved in the study were presented. It was emphasized that mainly Roma children were placed in the institutions, although there were some children of Bulgarian, Turkish, mixed or other background. In the opinion of the HCDPC staff these are children whose families are unable to provide adequate care and children who face violence in their family or outside the family. In general, these are children at risk, most of whom live in the institution only through the week and in the weekends they go home to their families. Most often these children come from families with very low income. However, there are children whose parents are unable to take care for health reasons. These are children from dysfunctional families - children who de jure have a family but de facto lack such. In some homes there are children whose parents have gone abroad and who have left them in the care of elderly parents or relatives who are unable to do this. There are children who have been abandoned at their birth and who have been raised only in homes. The reason "social indicators" (in terms of the child's placement) is so common that it can not be compared with any analogue. The children placed in the homes have parents who are usually poor, sick, unemployed, illiterate or in extreme poverty; they are mainly employed on a temporary basis. In the opinion of the tutors this is one of the reasons that prevent the children to return to their families. The areas of discrimination against the children were discussed: Living conditions Sentences Access to education Child labour Access to food and clothing Access to leisure, play and entertainment Access to information Access to medical care
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Relationship with the parents and family environment Access to future
Conclusions: The current legislation in the Republic of Bulgaria (both the national laws and the international documents to which Bulgaria is a party) imposes as a part of the legal framework a wide range of protected grounds which are relevant to the children living and placed in the specialised institutions in Bulgaria. The protected grounds do not include the grounds "child in the protection system", "children left without parental care" or "child in an institution"; however, there is no doubt that the ground social status may include an individual ground "children raised in the institutions" or the other relevant definitions. The interviewed tutors and teachers made the following recommendations: To overcome the discrimination in school the children from the homes should be incorporated to the other children in the mainstream schools. Another proposal that has already been made is to enable the children to work within the institution (other than to maintain the cleanliness of their living environment), thus preparing them for the independent life after leaving the institution. It is recommended that a complete change in the concept of the children's living environment should be made - more personal space and opportunity for expression should be provided, the number of the children in the groups should be reduces and the number of the tutors in the institutions should be increased. Both the teachers and tutors of the educational boarding schools think that the status of these institutions should be changed in order to give their graduates a chance to live without being offended and discriminated. The impact of the discriminatory factors on the children was identified. It led to the following consequences:
- Aggression The life in the institution creates a very high threshold of tolerance of the physical violence in the children. In practice, they easily accept the physical punishment and do not think that it is improper. The older children are tacitly tolerated by the adults in the home to impose physical punishments to the younger ones (mainly slaps) and the younger children remain silent, since they are convinced that their punishment is fair.
- Unwillingness to learn and lack of motivation for education The children who face some learning difficulties in the beginning easily give up the learning. They all think that the learning is an unpleasant duty and the lack of interest on the part of the adults (mainly the teachers) in their achievements further discourages the children. Another disincentive is the fact that the teachers have much lower requirements to the children living in the homes compared to these for the others. The children see no benefits from the learning.
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- Disrespectful attitude toward the elderly people Such attitude may be observed among the younger children. Due to the absence of a parent they are looking for maximum attention from the tutors and feeling their limited rights to impose order and discipline the children abuse of their trust, especially of the trust of the more tolerant tutors. The strict tutors enjoy more respect and perhaps fear.
- Learned helplessness The life in the institution does not contribute to the learning of work habits by the children. They expect to be surrounded with care. It is true that the children are committed to maintaining their living environment, but this is not enough to prepare them for independent living. The children often go to the shop but they are only aware of the price of the wafers and some other sweets. They have no idea of the money and life value and of the fact that when they leave the institution they will have to take care of more things.
- Desire for escape and salvation The escape as a way of salvation is not typical only for the children from the institutions. Nobody tries to escape when he is happy, pleased and feels good. Neither the adults, nor the children. The desire to escape is particularly strong among the children from the socio- educational boarding schools (SEBS) and educational boarding schools (EBS) who have limited freedom of movement. However, not only the children from SEBS and SBS try to escape. All who think that they have a place to go - the home of there parents, relatives, or some close friends - are trying to escape. No matter how pleasant the life in the institution is, the thirst for freedom is irresistible and the children escape to go home.
- Desire to grow and work Almost all children dream of a future in which they will have a normal family and job. The children wish to grow, to find a good job, often abroad, and to have children for whom to take care of. However, they rarely connect the job finding with the education. The graduates of the institutions made the following recommendations: The experience of the other countries transported by programmes offered by NGOs should be used. The number of tutors should be increased, thus allowing them to take care for fewer children. An environment that is closer to the family one, both physically and in terms of the relations with the tutors and those among the children, should be created in the homes. The children should be taught to be more independent. This will be useful to them when they leave the home. For example, they should learn to cook, wash, iron, sew and to take care for animals and useful plants.
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The institutions should be involved in more projects in order to expand the horizon of the children through international exchange and to increase their motivation to learn. After the presentation of the study a discussion on the conclusions and recommendations thereof, the current state of the institutions for children and the various programmes and projects aimed at accelerating the deinstitutionalisation was made. Upon completion of the discussion the participants proceeded to sharing of experience and to the next topic of the training.
Presentation of the international and European practice in the institutional care The team of speakers presented the following good practices:
Meeting for a cup of tea These are predetermined meetings where current issues are discussed and where all children are given an opportunity to speak, although the tutor knows the solution. The children participate in the discussion, thus understanding that something depends on them.
General Meeting Domestic problems, duties, repairs and furnishing ideas that adequately meet the needs of the "customers" are discussed at the general meetings. This is an idea borrowed from the Netherlands which is likely to be widely introduced to the practice of the institutions for children.
Campaign "Let's not leave the Bottle to rule over Us" The campaign is completely organised by children (Netherlands).
Creating history of each child Photos, memoirs, facts or assumptions about the personal life story of the child are collected and "Book of Life", which the child uses as support, is created.
Involving the parents in the work process Parents, if any, are asked about their desires and helped to become aware of them and to decide what they want to happen with their children in the future. Their interest in making more contacts and in the decision-making process is gradually created. The experience gained by Gender, Education, Research and Technologies Foundation in preventing the harassment and violence among the children in the institutions and the teaching materials to support the tutors were also presented.
Casework The second half of the trainings was dedicated to the practical work. Three case studies were presented: The groups were divided into three and each group worked on a case study with a primary task:
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- to identify the children's rights that were violated; - to identify the discriminatory factors (actors); - to propose solutions to eliminate the discrimination. Each group presented its solutions which were discussed by the other participants. Upon completion of the discussion on the case studies the participants in the two trainings were offered another practical session: "What does it mean to ensure in practice the children's rights" The speakers introduced the exercise by giving an example - "What does it mean to ensure the right to a family" of a child.
1. Right to information about the family - someone should find and provide this information to the children - a responsibility of the institution 2. Provision of contact - telephone, physical contact 3. Provision of physical location in order to make this contact, or at least a rule 4. Request for consent by the parents in connection with important occasions - coordination of the work plan with the child; school attendance; choice of school; choice of general practitioner, etc. 5. Visit at home - the children should be allowed to go home therefore they should be placed in close proximity to it The groups were divided into five and each group was assigned a task to list the steps to ensure the following rights: 1. Right to education; 2. Right to violence-free life; 3. Right to health and health services; 4. Right to information; 5. A child's right to express an opinion. Based on the example shown the groups presented the steps needed to ensure a certain right of the children placed in institutions or a residential service (outside the family). Upon completion of this practical session the groups were assigned an individual task: each participant had to make a brief presentation by playing the role of a child with whom he had worked over the years. The participants presented themselves on behalf of the child, describing their life and dreams for the future. This task was assigned at the end of the second training day. The presentations took place at the beginning of the next day and served as an introduction to the casework by using the method of forum theatre. The speakers presented the method of forum theatre to the groups and introduced the participants to two case studies which were prepared and consistently played out by two teams. After finding all solutions discussion on the effectiveness of the training methods applied by the team was made in the two trainings.
Evaluation of the trainings by the participants
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Upon completion of the training in the city of Plovdiv which was held from 7 to 9 April 2014 the participants filled in a questionnaire for feedback and evaluation of the training. This questionnaire gave the following results: 24 of all 30 participants were involved in training on this topic for the first time. Most of them learned new facts about the discrimination of which they were not aware before and in the opinion of all of them the facts learned would be useful in their work with children. In the opinion of some participants the topic of the discrimination was not discussed in their previous work with children. Regardless of whether they have had previous experience on the topic, all participants stated that they received satisfactory and comprehensive answers to the issues discussed and that the materials which they obtained would be useful for their future work. Most of the participants said that the duration of the training was sufficient; however some of them recommended that the duration of the future trainings should be increased in order to ensure more practical lessons, more time for discussions, real case studies and role- playing games and reliable information about the work of the institutions and in order to conduct similar trainings more often. Upon completion of the training in the town of Bansko which was held from 14 to 16 April 2014 the participants filled in the same questionnaire for feedback and evaluation of the training. The questionnaire was completed by 20 persons and gave the following results: 17 of the participants were involved in training on this topic for the first time. Regardless of whether they had already discussed a similar topic, all of them learned new facts about the discrimination of which they were not aware before and thought that the experience gained would be useful in their work with children. In the opinion of one third of the participants (8) the topic of the discrimination was not discussed in their previous work with children. All participants stated that they received satisfactory answers to the issues discussed and highly appreciated the materials obtained, since they would be useful for their future work. The participants involved in this training who filled in the questionnaire (14) believed that the duration of the training was sufficient, but recommended that the duration of the the future trainings should be increased in order to achieve better efficiency. The recommendations included also the desire for more practical exercises and role-playing games and an extension of the time for discussions and resolution of real case studies.
Participation in the closing conference under the project held on 13 and 14 May 2014 The team of consultants prepared a summarized multimedia presentation of the results of the study on the discriminatory attitudes of the society toward the children from the institutions which was presented at the closing conference under the project.
MODULE III
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National campaigns to raise awareness of the anti-discrimination Council Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC in the town of Kardzhali and in the town of Balchik
Introduction Within the national campaigns to raise awareness of the anti-discrimination Council Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC in the town of Kardzhali and in the town of Balchik the speakers presented the anti-discrimination legislation and practice of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination and the international anti-discrimination legislation and practice of the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Communities on various grounds of discrimination. During the national campaigns to raise awareness of the anti-discrimination Council Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC in the town of Kardzhali (23 and 24 April 2014) and in the town of Balchik (28 and 29 April 2014) representatives of the trade unions, employers, Bulgarian Industrial Association, small and medium enterprises, local authorities and regional structures of the Employment Agency took part. The two campaigns were attended by 28-30 representatives of the aforementioned institutions. The objective of the campaigns is to raise awareness of the following anti-discrimination directives: Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin and Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation.
The programmes of the events were divided into two parts: I. Summary of the existing laws prohibiting the unequal treatment in their statutory provisions by the adoption of the Protection against1 Discrimination Act (PADA) in Bulgaria. Presentation of the anti-discrimination legislation and the directives transposed in the PADA. Historical review of the contemporary understanding of the human rights and the protection against discrimination. Protection against Discrimination Act; The Council of Europe and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms; The European Union and the anti-discrimination directives; Content and scope of the directives; Directive 2000/43/EC to combat discrimination on grounds of race and ethnic origin (Racial Equality); Directive 2000/78/EC to combat discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in employment and in the workplace;
1 As amended in 2006 - Protection against Discrimination Act
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Proposal for a new directive to combat discrimination on grounds of age, disability, sexual orientation and religious affiliation or believes outside the workplace; Responsibilities of the EU employers in the area of non-discrimination; Rights and obligations of the EU citizens and contact persons in case of discrimination.
II. Structure, activity and practice of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination. Implementation of the anti-discrimination directives Structure and activity of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination; Practice of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination; Practice of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the European Court of Human Rights; Reasons for protection; Presentation of case studies on discrimination on grounds of sex, age and disability resolved by the European courts; Positive discrimination; Specific or special measures.
PART ONE: Summary of the existing laws prohibiting the unequal treatment in their statutory provisions by the adoption of the Protection against2 Discrimination Act in Bulgaria Such a prohibition was stipulated in Art. 57 of the Tarnovo Constitution - the Constitution of the Principality of Bulgaria adopted in 1879 proclaimed the principle of equality of all citizens before the law "All Bulgarian citizens are equal before the law. The class divisions in Bulgaria are not allowed."
Presentation of the anti-discrimination legislation and the directives transposed in the PADA With regard to: - The equal treatment of men and women in the access to employment; - The approximation of the laws of the Member States and application of the principle of equal pay for men and women; - The application of the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin; - The establishment of a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation; - The introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding; With regard to the equal treatment in social security:
2 As amended in 2006 - Protection against Discrimination Act
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- The application of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security; - The application of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in occupational social security schemes; - The application of the principle of equal treatment for men and women who work as freelancers, including in the agriculture, and protection of the women who work as freelancers in pregnancy and motherhood. With regard to the equal treatment in exercising liberal professions: - The application of the principle of equal treatment of men and women exercising liberal professions; - Council Directive 76/207/EEC which requires from the Member States to take appropriate measures to remove all provisions which are contrary to the principle of equal treatment. The Protection against Discrimination Act (PADA) was adopted in 2003 and entered into force on 1 January 2004. It governs the ban on discrimination in all areas of the public life and the means of protection against its various forms in the civil and administrative relations. In 2006 the title of the Act was amended. Now it is named Protection against Discrimination Act. The adoption of the Act is an important event in the process of approximation of the Bulgarian legislation and the international and European standards in the area of the equal treatment, equal opportunities and prevention and elimination of discrimination. The PADA provides protection against discrimination in three areas of the public life. They are stipulated in Chapter Two: - Protection in exercising the right to work (Section I); - Protection in exercising the right to education and training (Section II); - Protection in exercising the other rights (Section III).
What is direct and indirect discrimination - definitions, meaning and forms of discrimination. Direct discrimination (Art. 4, para. 2 of the PADA) The concept of direct discrimination fully meets that given in Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 which contains the general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation. Indirect discrimination (Art. 4, para. 3 of the PADA) In many cases the indirect discrimination is hidden and is difficult to establish. In this type of discrimination it seems that the provisions of a certain legal document are not discriminatory, but in fact the result achieved is counterproductive. Forms of discrimination: The meaning of each form of discrimination is detailed in § 1 of the Supplementary Provisions (SP), as follows: Multiple discrimination - (§ 1, cl. 11 of the PADA SP); Unfavourable treatment - (§ 1, cl. 7 of the PADA SP);
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Harassment - (§ 1, cl. 1 of the PADA SP); Sexual harassment - (§ 1, cl. 2 of the PADA SP); Persecution - (§ 1, cl. 3 of the PADA SP); Incitement to discrimination - (§ 1, cl. 5 of the PADA SP); Racial segregation - (§ 1, cl.6 of the PADA SP); Building and maintaining architectural environment which impedes the access of persons with disabilities to public places (Art. 5 of the PADA); Positive discrimination (it is not considered as a discrimination) - the definition of the positive discrimination is contained in Art.4, para. 1 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. These temporary measures should not lead to the preservation of unfair or differentiated standards; they should be annulled when the objectives for equal opportunities and equal treatment have been achieved. The measures laid down in Art.7 of the PADA may be considered as a positive discrimination. More specifically, these are the exceptions that allow the difference in treatment to be justified.
Historical review of the contemporary understanding of the human rights and the protection against discrimination The first part reviewed the occurrence and regulation of the concept of discrimination. The development of the legal framework of the United Nations, Council of Europe and the European Union which stipulated the protection against discrimination was followed. The achievements in the area of human rights - the prohibition of the different treatment of people based on the race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, sexual orientation, religion, disability, social status, etc. were presented. Focus was placed on the equality before the law and the protection against discrimination of all persons which is an universal right recognized in a number of international documents, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations (UN) Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the United Nations covenants on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. During the campaigns the audience was introduced to the contribution of the Council of Europe (CoE) to the fight against discrimination which dated back for years, starting from its establishment in 1949. Each CoE Member State shall respect the democracy, human rights and rule of law. The Council of Europe is an intergovernmental organisation (IGO) established after the World War II in order to promote, among other things, the rule of law, democracy, human rights and social development. In order to achieve these objectives on 4 November 1950 in Rome the Council of Europe adopted the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which was the first modern international contract on the human rights prepared on the basis of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Each
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Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria country which joins the Council of Europe should accede to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECPHRFF). The main objective of the convention is to provide universal and effective respect for the human rights, thus making possible their application though the European Court of Human Rights and the European Commission of Human Rights. The convention allows each person whose rights have been violated to file a complaint against the government guilty of the offence. The ECPHRFF establishes a legal obligation on the parties to the convention to ensure to all persons under their jurisdiction (not just its citizens) the respect for certain human rights. The application of the ECPHRFF is monitored by the European Court of Human Rights (which work was initially supported by the Commission). This court hears cases brought against the Member States. Since its adoption in 1950, the ECPHRFF has been amended and supplemented through the so-called "protocols". The most essential amendment of the ECPHRFF was made by Protocol № 11 (1994) under which the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) became a permanent body and the Commission was closed. The ban on discrimination is laid down in Art.14 of the ECPHRFF which ensures equal treatment in exercising the other rights provided for in the convention. The principle of non-discrimination is a guiding principle enshrined in a number of documents of the Council of Europe. The text of the European Social Charter of 1996 ensures the right to equal opportunities and equal treatment in employment and occupation and the protection against discrimination on ground of sex. Additional protection against discrimination is provided by the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Council of Europe Convention on Access to Official Documents. In addition, the Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention of Cybercrime provides for protection against the encouragement of discrimination. The issue of non-discrimination has had an important impact on the development of the legislative documents of the Council of Europe and is considered as a fundamental freedom that should be protected. The concept "European law in the area of discrimination" implies the existence of a uniform European system of rules related to the non-discrimination; in practice this right is composed of a variety of sources. The regulatory system of the ECPHRFF and the EU law are two systems of different origin both in terms of the time of their establishment and the reasons thereof. Focus was placed on the contribution of the European Union in the fight against discrimination through the adoption of the anti-discrimination directives. Even the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957) included a provision prohibiting the discrimination on ground of sex in the employment. The objective of the ban is to prevent some Member States that offer low pay or more unfavourable working conditions for women to benefit from a competitive advantage. Although the law in this area has developed significantly and has covered the pension insurance, pregnancy and compulsory social security, by 2000 the EU law against discrimination applied only to the employment and social security and covered only the discrimination on ground of sex.
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In 1999 the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community was amended. As a result thereof the Community was granted authority to pass laws in these areas. Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty (in force since 1999) gave new powers to the Community to combat discrimination on grounds of sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Based on this, in 2000 two directives were adopted: Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation or the so-called Employment Framework Directive which prohibited the discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, religious beliefs, age and disability in employment; Council Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin or the so-called Racial Equality Directive which prohibited the discrimination on grounds of racial or ethnic origin in employment and the access to the social care systems, social security and goods and services. This is a significant extension of the scope of the EU law against discrimination by which the fact that to realise their full potential in the labour market the individuals need to be ensured equal access to health, education and housing was reported. In 2004, with the adoption of Directive 2004/113 implementing the principle of equal treatment between women and men in the access to and supply of goods and services the area of goods and services was included in the scope of the provisions against discrimination on ground of sex. The protection against discrimination on ground of sex, however, is not sufficiently in line with the scope of protection under the Racial Equality Directive, since the Racial Equality Directive ensures equal treatment only in respect of the social security and not in respect of the overall social care system that includes the social protection and access to health and education. The two directives require that the Member States shall provide effective compensation for the direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation (persecution) and shall transfer the burden of proof to the person accused of discrimination. Moreover, the directives require that the Member States shall take preventive measures to combat discrimination by providing appropriate public information about the rights of the people in accordance with their provisions.
Directive 2000/43/EC to combat discrimination on grounds of race and ethnic origin (Racial Equality): Protects against discrimination on ground of racial or ethnic origin in employment, training, education, social protection, membership in organisations and access to goods and services. Provides definitions of the direct and indirect discrimination and harassment. Governs the affirmative action that should be taken to ensure full equality in practice. Allows for the filing of complaint through a judicial or administrative procedure for imposing adequate penalties to those who discriminate the others.
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Governs the limited exceptions to the principle of equal treatment (such as the cases where the difference in the discrimination on ground of race or ethnic origin constitutes a genuine occupational requirement). Distributes the burden of proof in civil and administrative procedures: the victim shall provide evidence of the alleged discrimination and the defendant shall prove that there is no violation of the principle of equal treatment. Requires that each Member State shall promote the equal treatment and shall assist the victims of racial discrimination.
Directive 2000/78/EC to combat discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in employment and in the workplace: Introduces the principle of equal treatment in employment and training irrespective of the religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Contains provisions identical to those laid down in the Racial Equality Directive on the definitions of the discrimination and harassment, affirmative action, right to seek compensation through the courts and distribution of the burden of proof. Requires that the employers shall make reasonable changes to enable qualified persons with disabilities to perform the work in question, to participate in training or to work for pay. Governs the limited exceptions to the principle of equal treatment (such as the cases where the nature of a certain religious organisation should be preserved or when the employer lawfully requires from the employee to belong to a certain age group in order to be employed).
Scope of the Directives Labour Occupation Social Health Education Access to relations Professional protection protecti public life on benefits and services Sex х х х х
Race and ethnicity х х х х х х
Religion and belief х х
Sexual orientation х х
Age х х
Disabilities х х
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PART TWO
Structure and activity of the Commission for Protection against Discrimination The Commission was established in 2005. It is a part of the national mechanism for protecting the human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Commission was established in accordance with the provisions of Art.41, para.1 of the PADA as an independent specialised state body for prevention of discrimination, protection against discrimination and provision of equal opportunities. The Commission monitors the implementation and compliance with the Bulgarian and European legislation governing the equal treatment and the international standards prohibiting discrimination. The Commission is entitled to adopt, repeal, amend or supplement regulations if they do not comply with the national and international rules for equal treatment. In carrying out these functions the Commission has made a number of recommendations to the state and municipal authorities, such as the National Assembly, Council of Ministers, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, the municipalities of Plovdiv and Vidin, etc. The Commission has its regional representatives in 18 cities which promote and support its activity. They provide methodological support and independent advice to the citizens and individuals, as required by the Act. The regional representatives investigate the files opened. This task is assigned to them by the rapporteurs of the files. The terms and conditions for their determination are set out in Art.23, para.2 of the Rules for the Structure and Activity of the CPAD. The proceedings before the Commission are initiated pursuant to Chapter Four, Section I of the Act and take place in two stages: investigation of the file opened and examination on the merits. After clarifying the legal and factual grounds the files are subjected to decision-making. In its decision the Commission members may: establish the violation; identify the violator and the affected person; determine the type and amount of the sanction; implement administrative coercive measures; find that the law has not been violated and dismiss the appeal. The Commission's powers to apply the administrative coercive measures include: giving instructions to the employers and officials to remedy the violations of the legislation on the prevention of discrimination which are binding on them; terminating the implementation of illegal decisions or orders of employers that lead or may lead to discrimination.
Other institutions and opportunities for protection against discrimination: When the employer has received a complaint from a worker or employee who believes to be harassment, including sexual harassment, in the workplace by another worker or employee it shall immediately verify, take adequate measures to stop the harassment and take disciplinary action. The employer is entitled to review the complaint; this may be done with the cooperation of the trade unions, if any in the administration.
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By lodging a claim - in the course of the court proceedings each person may request for the establishment of his violated rights both before the national court and the court in Strasbourg by invoking Art. 14 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.
Implementation of the anti-discrimination directives In the second part the audience was introduced to the interesting cases from the practice of the Court of Justice of the European Communities and the European Court of Human Rights, such as Mangold v. Helm (Case C-144/04), Palacios de la Villa v. Cortefiel Servicios SA (Case C-411 / 05), Defrenne v. Sabena (SEA 167), BilkaKaufhaus GmbH v. Weber Von Hartz, Hill and Stapleton, Ünal Tekeli v. Turkey, Zarb Adami v. Malta, Schwizgebel v. Switzerland, D.G. v. Ireland, Bouamar v. Belgium, Thlimmenos v. Greece, etc. After presentation of the case studies a detailed and heated discussion was held. Moreover, case studies of the participants in the meeting were presented. The participants showed great interest in the part related to the positive (special / specific) measures. The nature and implementation of the positive measures were clarified in addition. Moreover, additional case studies of the European courts were presented. They were subjected to lively discussions and analogies to the real situation in Bulgaria. The comments of the participants were quite controversial. Some of them expressed their negative attitude toward taking such measures and the others expressed understanding and explained that it was sometimes necessary. The conclusion from the discussions was that this topic was not yet known and the need for temporary special measures in certain areas was not largely understood. For this reasons the speakers proposed that in the future organisation of events on promoting the anti-discrimination legislation special module to clarify the nature of the temporary special measures and examples for their practical implementation should be provided for.
Feedback The participants in the two national campaigns and the closing conference were asked to fill in questionnaires. In the questionnaires they expressed their personal opinion on the level of the lectures and discussions held. Over 70% of the questionnaires contained high marks for the lectures and discussions held during the national campaigns. The participants expressed satisfaction with their participation in the meetings and indicated that the information obtained was very interesting since it expanded their knowledge and gave unusual insight to their daily work.
Conclusion Within the anti-discrimination field of Programme European Union Progress the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy implemented project JUST/2012/PROG/AG/AD It’s up to you to put discrimination out of use! The project activities were aimed to contribute to the
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Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria understanding, knowledge and application of the European and national legal framework for combating discrimination by the Bulgarian society. At the closing conference the work and interaction of the institutions in implementation of the anti-discrimination legislation were presented in order to improve the preventive work with children deprived of parental care. The need to inform the general public, employers and the young men and women of the target group about the effects that the anti-discrimination legislation may have on their lives was laid down in the project concept. Moreover, our objective was to convince the participants in all events and the general public that the equal opportunities policy applied by a certain employer brings economic and social benefits. It definitely was done with success. The informal ad hoc working network created during the project implementation continues to fulfil its role as a communication space and feedback between the target groups, institutions, NGOs, labour organisations and the certain employers who performed well and provided jobs. Diversity awards for Employers Champions in applying the equal opportunities principles including positive discrimination in favour of the job seekers – youth - coming out of the institutional care have been given to ten selected companies. It was a sign of honour for promotion of the equal opportunities policy and the business case for diversity. The Labour mediators and lecturers under the project who managed to provide jobs to 32 children as immediate result even before the end of the project, have also been awarded a special Sign of Honour for merits in promoting the equal opportunities policy and the business case for diversity. The topic was open for journalists, pupils from institutional care, who have been employed already part time and who attended the events in Sandanski, Burgas, Hisarya and the final event in Sofia. The project manager personally awarded the project “Champions” and the young men and women who attended the final conference. As an innovative measure, the project mediates between the interested employers and the young men and women who complete their education in homes for children deprived of parental care. Every one of them, to whom we give a hand today, will bring a chance for his family to get out of the vicious circle of poverty and social exclusion in the future. As a direct result of the project activities, at the closing conference 22 young men and women from different regions who are placed in institutions for children deprived of parental care and who will start to work before completion of the project were presented. The following employers were awarded: Duni Holiday Village AD; Restaurant Happy Bar & Grill Plovdiv (Happy Bar & Grill Novotel); Marina Cape Management EOOD - Aheloy; Energoremont - Kresna AD; Furniture stores Dizma (city of Plovdiv); Active 02 Ltd (water park in the town of Nessebar); Liliya Jo EOOD - Blagoevgrad; Parks and Gardens Municipal Enterprise, city of Plovdiv); Filipovi 2000 AD (Strandzha Hotel - Sunny Beach Resort); Industrial Association - Yambol.
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As a short-term result of the project activities, 9 more young men and women from different regions placed in institutions for children deprived of parental care started to work immediately upon completion of the closing conference under the project. The project promotes the fundamental principles of the Community law for non- discrimination and equal treatment irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation and for non-discrimination on ground of race or ethnic origin in employment, occupation and vocational training, as well as in areas other than the employment, such as: social protection, health, education and access to goods and services that are available to the public. The activities were structured in three different fields: 1. Round Tables involving employers, representatives of the local self-governments, local Labour Office Directorates, representatives of the regional homes for children deprived of parental care, etc. with a view to finding opportunities for employment of the graduating young men and women placed in institutions (HCDPC). Study visits of the HCDPC students to companies that are interested in their employment. 2. Trainings of the teams working with children in institutional care in preventing the discrimination conducted with the assistance of UNICEF Bulgaria. 3. National campaign to raise awareness of anti-discrimination Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin and Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation with the participation of speakers from the specialised administration of the MLSP and CPAD. Development, publication and distribution of information materials on the topic and presentation of report on the discriminatory attitudes and practices in respect of the children living in the institutions. The need to inform the general public, employers and the young men and women of the target group about the effects that the anti-discrimination legislation may have on their lives was laid down in the project concept. Moreover, our objective is to convince the participants in all events and the general public that the equal opportunities policy applied by a certain employer brings economic and social benefits. The informal work network created during the project implementation continues to fulfil its role as a communication space and feedback between the target groups, institutions, NGOs, labour organisations and the certain employers who performed well and provided jobs. Diversity awards for Employers Champions in applying the equal opportunities principles including positive discrimination in favour of the job seekers – youth - coming out of the institutional care have been given to ten selected companies. It was a sign of honour for promotion of the equal opportunities policy and the business case for diversity. The Labour mediators and lecturers under the project who managed to provide jobs to 32 children as immediate result even before the end of the project, have also been awarded a special Sign of Honour for merits in promoting the equal opportunities policy and the business case for diversity. The topic was open for journalists, pupils from institutional care, who have been employed already part time and who attended
Supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity PROGRESS (2007-2013)
IT’S UP TO YOU TO PUT DISCRIMINATION OUT OF USE! JUST/2012/PROG/AG/3711/AD
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of Bulgaria the events in Sandanski, Burgas, Hisarya and the final event in Sofia. The project manager personally awarded the project “Champions” and the young men and women who attended the final conference. Tackling discriminative attitudes against children in institutional care is the best practice of the project to be shared and spread. We made tailored Diversity awards for successful enterprises promoting diversity as a tool for growth in the current circumstances of global financial crisis that jeopardise the socio-economic and human rights achievements at national and global level. 53 young men and women were directly involved in the project events. The concept and the positive effects of the phenomenon of resilience was introduced by the lecturers and the team of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. This is concept developed by the representatives of the modern psychology, child neurology and social sciences and we presented in the context of the problems of the children in institutional care with a view of giving them strength and resilience for the future. The modern psychology seeks answers in the overall image of the man - his stable personality characteristics, potential for adaptation and encounter with life difficulties. The project covered 509 people in total; however, our mission is to spread the message to a larger number of people. We hope that everyone of them will tell and convince the people, he works and communicates with in the everyday life, about the damage of the discrimination and the results achieved in this few months under our project, which is also yours.
This publication is supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity - PROGRESS (2007-2013). This programme is implemented by the European Commission. It was established to financially support the implementation of the objectives of the European Union in the employment, social affairs and equal opportunities area, and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Europe 2020 Strategy goals in these fields. The seven-year Programme targets all stakeholders who can help shape the development of appropriate and effective employment and social legislation and policies, across the EU-27, EFTA-EEA and EU candidate and pre-candidate countries. The information contained in this publication does not necessarily reflect the position or opinion of the European Commission".
Supported by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Solidarity PROGRESS (2007-2013)