CMNT_TITLE

1. Legislative measures to address discrimination in employment and occupation. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 365/2004 Coll. on Equal Treatment in Some Areas and on Protection Against Discrimination and Amending and Supplementing Certain Acts (the Anti-Discrimination Act). The Act prohibits and defines direct and indirect discrimination and harassment, protects against victimization and incitement or instructions to discrimination, and provides for the adoption of measures for the protection against discrimination. More specifically, the Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex, religion or belief, racial, national or ethnic origin, disability, age and sexual orientation with respect to access to employment and occupation and other gainful activities, including recruitment and selection, conditions of work, including remuneration, promotion and dismissal, access to vocational training and guidance, professional upgrading and participation in labour market policy programmes, and membership in employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee further notes with interest that, in order to harmonize the legal framework, the Anti-Discrimination Act directly amends other Acts, including Act No. 311/2001 Coll. the Labour Code, Act No. 312/2001 Coll. on the Civil Service, Act No. 73/1998 Coll. on the Police Force, Act No. 315/2001 Coll. on Fire and Rescue Service and Act No. 5/2004 Coll. on Employment Services. As such, the Act introduces for the first time comprehensive protections against direct and indirect discrimination in employment and occupation in both the public and private sectors on the abovementioned grounds as well as the additional grounds of "marital status, family status, skin colour, language, political or other conviction, trade union activity, national or social origin, property, lineage or other status". The Committee further notes that section 8(8) of the Act provides for specific positive action to prevent disadvantages linked to racial or ethnic origin. However, according to the report of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights of 2004, the Government has contested the constitutionality of this provision and a decision of the Constitutional Court is still pending. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the implementation of the Anti-Discrimination Act and the non-discrimination provisions in the abovementioned Acts, as amended, including relevant judicial and administrative decisions, and to keep it informed of the decision of the Constitutional Court concerning section 8(8) of the Act.

2. Discrimination on the basis of race or national extraction. In it previous observation, the Committee expressed concern over the discrimination in employment and education of the Roma community and the serious problems related to their integration in the labour market. It had requested the Government to provide full information on the measures taken to improve their situation and to promote respect, tolerance and understanding between the Roma communities and the other parts of the population. The Committee notes with interest the adoption of a National Action Plan on Social Exclusion 2002-06, which includes a comprehensive approach to tackling exclusion of the Roma communities. It notes in this respect, that the Integration Policy for Roma Communities (2003) comprises a set of short-, medium- and long-term solutions and concrete steps to support the inclusion of the Roma communities in the areas of education, employment, welfare, housing, health, human rights and culture; with respect to employment, programmes under the "Sectoral Operational Programme - Human Resources" primarily focus on creating equal opportunities for Roma in the labour market, with an emphasis on women, in the areas of skills development, job creation and alternative employment services. With respect to access to employment, the Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that, by virtue of Act No. 5/2004 V Coll. on Employment Services, measures have been taken to increase the employability of disadvantaged jobseeker groups, which could include members of the Roma communities if they meet the characteristics of those groups. The Committee requests the Government to indicate, in its next report, the number of men and women jobseekers from Roma communities who have entered or re-entered the labour market as a result of the measures taken under the Employment Services Act, and to provide information on the extent to which the abovementioned programmes have increased the skills and employment of the Roma men and women. Please also continue to provide full information on the efforts made to promote equality of opportunity and treatment and to eliminate discrimination against members of the Roma community, including measures to promote respect, tolerance and understanding between the Roma communities and the other parts of the population.

3. Equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the overemphasis on legislative protection and cultural promotion of traditional roles of women. It also noted the Government’s recognition that the labour market was highly segregated, that women continued to be concentrated in the health-care and education sectors and that their educational and qualification potential was not utilized. The Committee notes that the statistics provided by the Government for the years 2002 and 2003 continue to confirm this trend, but that the Government is taking measures to improve the situation of women in the labour market. It notes in particular that the "Sectoral Operational Programme - Human Resources" and its measure 2.2 "Elimination of barriers which prevent equality between men and women in the labour market, with emphasis on reconciliation of work and family life" will be used as a tool to eliminate discrimination in the labour market. The Government indicates that these and other projects are expected to address the low remuneration of women, the feminization of certain sectors, the phenomenon of the "glass ceiling", the under-representation of women in the business sphere, the traditional occupational segregation into so-called typically female and male occupations, and obstacles to harmonizing work and family. The Committee welcomes these initiatives and requests the Government to provide further details in its next report on the results achieved, as well as how effective they have been to facilitate access of women to a wide range of occupational training and employment opportunities and to reduce discrimination against women in the labour market. Please also continue to provide information on labour market participation, disaggregated by sex, occupation and sector.

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