Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Croatia (Ratification: 1991)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. Noting the adoption of the new Labour Act of 18 July 2014, the Committee hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the specific issues raised in relation to the Labour Act, and other matters raised in its previous comments.

Repetition

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Gender equality in employment and occupation. The Committee recalls section 11 of the Gender Equality Act concerning the adoption of action plans for promoting and ensuring gender equality. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that guidelines for the application of section 11 were sent to all the parties concerned and that, until mid-2010, all ministries, central state offices and many legal entities predominantly owned by the Government had produced their respective action plan proposals.

With regard to women’s entrepreneurship, the Committee notes that strengthening women’s entrepreneurship has been set as one of the key activities and measures in the newly adopted National Policy for Gender Equality 2011–15. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of Economy, Labour and Entrepreneurship has been conducting a project entitled “Women Entrepreneurship”, and that a total of 1,001 grants were approved amounting to 10,540,000 Croatian kuna (HRK) (approximately US$1,734,928) in 2010. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the measures defined in the National Policy for Gender Equality aim at promoting the employment of women in the information and communications technology sector, which according to the Government will contribute to the elimination of occupational segregation in the area. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that the National Employment Promotion Plan 2011–12 has as key priorities increasing the level of employability and the rate of labour market participation of women with low or inadequate education, and women belonging to national minority groups. As regards education, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the rate of girls enrolling in the industrial and artisan school programmes increased in comparison to 2007 and reached 36.3 per cent. The number of female students in 2009 who enrolled in public colleges and who completed their university education also increased to 56.3 per cent, and 58.6 per cent, respectively. The “Implementation Activities Plan of the Economic Recovery Programme” of the Government also aims at increasing interest of the students in maths and natural sciences which have traditionally been considered “male fields”. As regards the public sector, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that a total of 22,980 women and 29,862 men were employed in the Government in 2009, and the share of women rose to 43.49 per cent in 2009; the rate of women in state administration’s managerial positions increased to 3.2 per cent in 2009. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to promote women’s access to a wider range of jobs, including posts of responsibility and management positions, both in the private and the public sectors, and to provide them with a wider choice of educational and vocational opportunities, and their impact. The Committee also asks the Government to provide more specific information on the number and proportion of female civil servants and civil service employees in posts of responsibility.

Equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation of the Roma. The Committee notes the measures taken in 2009 and 2010, pursuant to the National Programme for the Roma and the Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion, 2005–15, relating to the employment and training of persons belonging to the Roma national minority. The Committee recalls the Government’s indication that the main obstacle for members of the Roma to access employment is their low level of education. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in this respect that 824 Roma children engaged in pre-school education in the years 2009–10, and 4,435 Roma children were engaged in primary education at the beginning of the school year 2010–11, both of which showed an increasing trend compared to previous years. A database on the integration of members of the Roma national minority in the education system has also been developed. In addition, the Ministry of Science, Education and Sport has encouraged the involvement of Roma children in pre-school education, including through sharing of costs paid by parents. The Government also indicates that the adoption of the National Curriculum for Pre School Education and General Mandatory and Secondary Education in July 2010, in combination with the external evaluation of Roma educational results, would make it possible to adequately assess problems and improve the education of the Roma. With regard to Roma women, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that a research study entitled “The lives of Roma women in Croatia with focus on the approach to education” was conducted, which aimed at raising awareness in the Roma community and in society as a whole concerning the problems Roma women were facing with regard to access to education.

With regard to the employment service, the Government indicates that 4,553 members of the Roma community were registered in 2010, although the Government also indicates that due to a tendency of the Roma not to disclose their Roma identities, and due to the fact that the employment service does not collect unemployment rates disaggregated by ethnicity, there is a problem in establishing a database of unemployed Roma. The Government further indicates that the Roma have been provided with assistance in drafting their job profiles and developing individual plans on job search, and that the employment of the Roma for a period of 24 months is subsidized. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure equal access to education, including pre-school education, for Roma children, without discrimination. The Committee also asks the Government to strengthen its efforts to promote employment opportunities and to ensure equal treatment of the Roma in employment and occupation, including by adopting specific measures concerning the employment of Roma women. Please also provide specific information on the impact of the assistance concerning job search provided for the Roma by the employment service.

Article 3(d). Access of minorities to employment under the control of a national authority. The Committee notes the adoption of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities for the period 2011–13, which includes the adoption of a long-term civil service employment plan with the goal of 5.5 per cent share of persons belonging to national minorities in the total number of civil servants. The Government has adopted the Civil Servants Employment Plan for persons belonging to national minorities for the period 2011–14. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that persons belonging to national minorities are given priority in employment in state administration. In regional and local self government units, only municipalities and cities where the rate of national minorities exceeds 15 per cent of the total population, and counties where the rate of national minorities exceeds 5 per cent, are obliged by law to adopt civil service recruitment plans. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that a study on the share of national minorities in the public sector was conducted in the year 2011, which showed that no under-representation of national minorities was observed in five counties covered by the study, namely Osijek-Baranja, Vukovar-Srijem, Bjelovar-Bilogora, Sisak-Moslavina and Istria. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the following:

• (i) the efforts made by the Government to promote and ensure access by members of national minorities to public employment in the framework of the Civil Service Employment Plan;
• (ii) the progress made in achieving recruitment targets concerning minorities; and
• (iii) the current ethnic and gender composition of the civil service.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.