For decades at the labor office - Roma and Egyptian women find it difficult to find work

The moment she got a job as a mediator in an elementary school in Nikšić, Velbana Naza points out that she spent more than half of her life at the labor office. Unlike many others who also graduated from high school, today fifty-year-old Naza had one more obstacle on her way to employment - she is a member of the Roma and Egyptian population.

"What does a gypsy want to do at work? That phrase will continue to stand, I don't know when they will stop using it," she summed up her experience with job hunting for Center for Investigative Journalism of Montenegro (CIN-CG) this native of Nikšić, who graduated from trade school in 1992.

Her example illustrates the position of many women from Roma and Egyptian families on the labor market, who have a harder time finding work than men from the community. Data from the Employment Service (ZZZ) show that in recent years, almost the same number of men and women from the RE community got the opportunity to get a job, but that the percentage of women in the office is about a sixth higher than that of men from the same population.

On the last day of June, there were 555 men and 643 women from the RE population on the institute's records. Although the dominant number is made up of women with completed primary education, there were also two Romani women with university degrees at the bureau at that time.

The results of regional research also show that there is a non-negligible share of employers who continue to believe that the employment of Roma would negatively affect the working environment in their company.

From the institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms, they said that the employment rate among marginalized Roma is still worrying, while their informal employment continues to be the dominant model.

"As a result of discriminatory practices, Roma and Egyptians have access, in most cases, exclusively to the informal economy and to precarious work occupations that are very poorly paid. According to a UNDP survey from 2017, it was determined that in Montenegro 61 percent of Roma and Egyptians work in informal jobs, compared to 33 percent of members of the majority population. CEDEM's research from 2019 showed that the degree of overall ethnic distancing towards the Roma is the highest, which shows the low level of willingness of employers to provide employment and the opportunity to work to members of the RE community," he told CIN-CG. Sokolj Beganaj, head of the Department for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Roma and Egyptians in the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights.

Patriarchy a problem on the way to employment

CIN-CG interlocutors' statements indicate that men are the ones who work, that is, they have some form of employment that provides financial resources for the family.

It is difficult for women to get a job. In addition to the fact that women are forced to stay at home and take care of a large family, the problem with employment is prejudice, low educational status and insufficient level of trust of the general population towards Roma and Egyptians. There is an attitude that a woman should be at home with the children.

Members of the Roma and Egyptian nationality are discriminated against multiple times, and therefore also within the community itself, given that patriarchy still rules, which affects equality between men and women, points out the executive coordinator of the Center for Roma Initiatives (CRI). Fana Delia.

"Roma and Egyptian women depend on male family members in 90 percent of cases, considering that there is a high degree of illiteracy. Also, more than 90 percent of women from this population are unemployed. Roma and Egyptian women start marriages at an earlier age, become mothers very young, so they are not given or limited the opportunity to improve themselves, finish high school or college. It is even sadder that their ability to finish primary school is often limited," says Delija.

All this keeps them in poverty, which prevents integration and a better future.

Delija points out that members of the community who complete secondary education are rarely employed in the profession, and that they most often end up in utility companies or in seasonal jobs.

Discrimination does exist

Discrimination is most present when you go to look for a job, is one of the conclusions of research through focus groups, which was done for the needs of CIN-CG and CRI.

"Here I am, when I go to look for a job, I go to a salon to ask about a job and they tell me: 'You know what, we'll let you know.' Maybe because of the headscarf, maybe because of the first and last name, discrimination really exists," said a participant in the focus group from Podgorica, who graduated from high school.

It was observed that the low level of self-initiative in the search for a job is one of the factors responsible for the fact that a woman cannot provide herself with the conditions for employment.

Naza told CIN-CG that she herself paid for going to the trainings, which helped her get a job.

"I took the chance myself," she told CIN-CG, adding that her desire was to work in education and that she was persistent.

The interlocutors point out that, in order to provide adequate support to women, it is necessary to develop and improve support models based on practical training. However, it is not enough to organize and implement trainings after which their sustainability will not be established. It is necessary that after the completion of the training, the women are really engaged in work and that this engagement lasts longer than a few months.

To the questions related to salaries, the interviewees from the focus groups answered that there are two types of payments - to the bank account and "in hand".

"Well, more through the account, and there are those who work privately, so they are paid in cash," said a focus group participant from Nikšić.

The field in which Naza works, education, is seen by the institution of the Protector of Human Rights and Freedoms as a special opportunity for employment of Roma and Egyptian women. The Government and the competent ministries have been requested that co-workers for RE students can establish an employment relationship for an indefinite period of time.

"The goal of the recommendations was to move the occupation of associate in social inclusion RE in the field of education from the category of occasional and unforeseen jobs to the category of permanent and systematized jobs. The recommendations were made in 2020 and still have not been implemented," the institution warned in an interview with CIN-CG.

Rare examples of employment in public administration

The representative of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights, Sokolj Beganaj, told CIN-CG that apart from him, one person from the community works in the Ministries of Internal Affairs, European Affairs and Labor and Social Welfare, and three in the Ministry of Health "in the Health Centers Podgorica, Nikšić and Berane , to the position of associate in social inclusion RE in the field of health".

Beganaj adds that the Ministry of Education hires 20 to 22 collaborators in the social inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in the field of education for an indefinite period of time every school year, based on a public competition, but that all hired persons are not members of the community at the same time.

The Capital City pointed out that, for example, among the mayor's assistants Ivan Vuković works for three representatives of the RE population - an associate in administrative affairs of the Mayor's Office, an associate in administrative affairs in the city office and an associate in the technical department of the Information System Center.

The capital city also has a special Office that deals with issues of importance for fellow citizens who are part of the RE population.

Secretary of the Municipality of Bijelo Polje Haris Malagić he said that one member of the RE population was employed by them for an indefinite period in the Office for Roma in the Secretariat for Local Self-Government. In Communal "Lim" one man works for an indefinite period, and four for a fixed period.

One member of the RE population works in the Municipality of Berane, while an employee from this community is employed in the Secretariat for Culture, Sports, Youth and Social Welfare of the Municipality of Nikšić for faster and more efficient communication with the community itself in solving their needs.

The Municipality of Nikšić points out that there were projects related to the employment of members of this population, but that their work engagement was only during the implementation of the project, and not after. The Municipality adds that last year a project began with the implementation of a project that included the awarding of grants to entrepreneurs in order to train and employ a new workforce, and within it the emphasis was on encouraging the employment of members of the RE and PWD population. However, not a single member of the RE population was employed.

In Tivat, the procedure for drafting the "Local Action Plan for the Social Inclusion of Roma and Egyptians in the Municipality of Tivat for the period 2022-2026" has begun. year" but, as the Municipality said, it was not adopted due to the unstable political situation in the city.

However, their Secretariat for the Economy had several trainings this year and last year related to the promotion of employment, which include a competition for female entrepreneurship, measures to support agriculture, workshops on irrigation and land cultivation...

The Municipality said that they do not have members of this population employed in the administration, that there are about 10 of them in the Tivat Waterworks, and at least 20 in the Municipal.

"In both companies, members of the RE population are mostly employed, and that in operational jobs. Members of the RE population are mostly employed in the catering industry", it is stated in the answer to the question about gender representation.

"Based on observations made in the work with the RE community, as well as through conversations with users of various forms of support, we conclude that Roma women, as members of the minority community in Montenegro, are in a worse position than men," the coordinator told CIN-CG organized by HELP for projects related to the RE population Diana Andjelic.

Among the reasons for this, she cites the fact that underage Roma girls enter extramarital unions more often than young men, are victims of violence in large numbers and in many different ways, and are also in a worse state of health.

In the previous period, the Help organization implemented several projects aimed at supporting the employment of the RE population, especially Roma women. The projects were realized with the financial support of the German government and the European Union in the amount of around 700.000 euros. Help said that through their programs they provided support to around 400 Roma women.

A special business incubator in Konik

When asked by CIN-CG how the position of members of the RE population can be improved in the employment process, Delija said that this can be achieved "by introducing subsidies for employers that would encourage employers to hire a certain number of members of the RE nationality." .

Bearing in mind that a large number of adults in the community do not possess a certain level of qualifications that are competitive on the labor market, it is necessary, in Delia's opinion, to develop employment models in accordance with the degree and knowledge they possess - craft jobs, agricultural jobs, etc. It is also necessary to work on the promotion of young people who have completed a certain level of education in order to be employed in accordance with their profession, as well as to connect them with employers.

The Ombudsman institution stated that the application of affirmative action measures in favor of members of RE communities will be necessary until the unfavorable position in which members of this population find themselves is not sufficiently changed.

As one of the positive examples, they pointed out the opening of the first business incubators for members of the RE population in Konik, for whom "the conditions were created to independently and legally earn money for their families as carpenters, hairdressers, beauticians, electricians and carpenters".

The Red Cross of Montenegro (CKCG) said that at the very beginning the business incubator consisted of nine members of the RE population.

They had previously successfully completed training for trades that they had registered in the business incubator. At the end of the training, CKCG, in cooperation with partners, provided them with support during the registration process. The goal was for these persons to no longer be registered with the Social Security Administration, but to become independent entrepreneurs.

In addition to support during registration, CKCG also supported the furnishing and adaptation of the space that we gave them for use. In addition, members of the business incubator were exempted from paying utilities, and they were also provided with support when it comes to paying taxes for the first two years of engaging in craft activities.

Currently, four members of the RE population are part of the business incubator, providing tailoring, hairdressing and beautician services.

"We have to say that this was a big step forward, because by the fact that they are no longer on the records of the Institute, they lose the right to be beneficiaries of social benefits. They showed the courage to take care of the economic betterment of their families on their own," the CKCG told CIN-CG.

The lowest rate of employed Roma women in the region

The UNDP report from 2018 on the employment of members of this community in the region shows that Roma women in Montenegro have a five times lower employment rate than Roma, and about eight times lower than non-Roma women in the immediate vicinity.

Montenegro had the lowest employment rate of Roma women aged 15 to 65 in the region - only three percent. Among non-Romani women, that percentage was 24 percent.

That difference was smaller in Kosovo and BiH, where the ratio is four compared to six and four compared to 15 percent. In Serbia it is nine compared to 30 percent for non-Romani women, in Albania it is 11 compared to 22 percent, and in North Macedonia it is 13 compared to 26 percent.

The data showed that one out of two working Roma women did not have health or pension insurance.

The previously published Roma Integration Index from 2015 showed that, for example, in Montenegro, compared to the general employment rate, it is 11 percent lower in the case of Roma, and if only Roma women are considered, that percentage is lower by 39 percent .

When it comes to informal work, it made up five percent of the total population, for Roma it was 56 percent, and in the case of Roma women 51 percent.

When it comes to unemployment, compared to 20 percent of the general population, that percentage was 30 percent for Roma, and 41 percent for Roma women. The rate of long-term unemployment in the general population was 16 percent, among Roma 24 percent, and among Roma women 47 percent.

When asked from the survey whether they have any representatives of vulnerable groups in the company, among the countries of the region, Montenegro had the lowest percentage of respondents who said that they have Roma - only four percent. At the regional level, that percentage is 17 percent.