Campaign Against Prejudice in Employing Roma Supported by 120 Firms
Bratislava, April 10 (TASR) – A total of 120 firms in Slovakia have joined the call to support the employment of people from the Roma minority during the two months since its launch, TASR learnt on Wednesday.
The firms thus publicly espoused the idea that prejudice and any form of discrimination has no place on the labour market.
The campaign called prijatelni.sk (acceptable) is organised by the Dive maky (Wild Poppies) civic association. “When we were planning this initiative, our greatest concern was whether enough firms would join the list of responsible employers. A few days after its launch, however, the list has begun to swell quickly, making it clear that there’s a great number of responsible companies in Slovakia that embrace the idea of providing employment without prejudice,” stated Barbora Kohutikova of the association.
The association points out, however, that only small progress has been reached in the employment of marginalised Roma communities on the labour market, with the employment rate of Roma standing at one-third in comparison to that of the majority population. Even the OECD’s latest analysis established that if the employment and productivity of Roma rose to the level achieved by the majority population, Slovakia’s GDP would grow by more than 12 percent by 2060.
The campaign, supported also by President Andrej Kiska, calls upon the employers to evaluate Roma job-seekers based on their expertise, skills and qualifications and not skin colour or ethnic origin.
