EQUAL program "FOR IMPROVING THE LABOUR MARKET SITUATON OF THE ROMA POPULATION OF THE HERNÁD VALLEY"

REASONABILITY AND BACKROUND OF THE PROGRAM

Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County is situated in the north-eastern region of Hungary, and, in economic terms, is one of the most underdeveloped region of Hungary. In the early nineties, the closure of large industrial companies made a substantial number of employees redundant, and only few jobs were created instead. The proportion of Roma people (10.8%) far exceeds the national average, nearly 20-25% of Hungary's Roma population lives in this region[1].

The closer target region of the project, that is, the micro-region of Encs has a typical structure made up of small villages. 36 of the region's 55 settlements have a population of fewer than 500. The micro-region has a mixed economy: it is characterized by arable land, however, a majority of the population used to work in the industrial sector before the economic changes. A substantial part of agricultural cooperatives were dissolved, the land parcels formerly owned by the cooperative were privatized, so the jobs in the cooperatives were lost. The number of residents of the micro-region of Encs is a little over 36,000, and, the number of active workers is 8558, that is, 23% of the population are officially employed. (The average national index is 39%). The rate of unemployment in the micro-region of Encs is 33.8%, and, according to the data provided by the employment centre, 80%' of the registered unemployed people are permanently unemployed. 10.3% of the registered unemployed people have not completed the 8 elementary classes, and the highest level of education of 35.9% of them is the elementary school. This micro-region is one of those where people are the most undereducated: the local population completed an average of 7.8 school years, that is, are below the basic level of education. According to estimates, there are some 20,000 people, who are completely excluded from the labour market, that is, they have absolutely no contact with employment organizations and are not registered anywhere. Since there are few jobs available even for those, who have just left school and become active workers, the local Roma communities have a serious lack of motivation.

For most of the local Roma the only means of living are social benefits and allowances, as well as temporary or black work. As the number of vacancies is neglectable in the micro-region, (there are a total of about 1000 registered business organizations operating in the micro-region), they can only find jobs in more distant locations of the county and the country. The secondary labour market is only available for those who have completed at least the elementary school. The others belong to the aforementioned group of 20,000, for whom no labour market program, support or opportunity is available.

The primary goal of the project was to help the Roma population of the micro-region of Encs reintegrate into the labour market, create and develop the conditions necessary for the permanent employment of the Roma minority, as well as to prevent and eliminate their ethnic discrimination. Basically, the program focused on three settlements (Korlát, Mèra és Vizsoly), however, through the participants and workers of the program, it involved nearly 20 local settlements.

The Autonómia Foundation has been supporting agricultural and labour market programs in the said micro-region for years, which were successfully implemented by the local Roma organizations. This has led to the development of a stable and fruitful cooperation between Autonómia and the partner organizations, and, on the other hand, to the establishment of exemplary grassroots, income-generating initiatives, which could further be developed in both organizational and economic terms. Most financing programs begin with a local survey of needs, which is less formal in the case of basic programs, while in the case of development programs it takes place with a formal questionnaire. By completing this questionnaire, the applying Roma organizations get a structured and thematic view of the local labour market, the most important community needs, the opportunities offered by the main employers, as well as the training and employment programs already available in the region. (To collect data we need the help of the local governments, employment centres and educational institutions). The organizations plan their own programs on the basis of the collected information. This is coupled with the professional assistance and regular monitoring provided by the Foundation. As a result of the above, the surveys have already been completed in the above-mentioned settlements in the planning stage of the program. The grant application summarizes these needs and opportunities.

In order to implement the program, the following organizations set up the Development Partnership of the Hernád Valley in 2002.

Autonómia Alapítvány (Autonómia Foundation)

1137 Budapest, Pozsonyi u. 14.

Director: Ms Anna Csongor (36)-1 237-6020

Phralipe Független Cigány Szervezet Korlát (Phralipe Independent Roma Organization of Korlát) 3886 Korlát, Kossuth u. 3

Leader of the Organisation: Mr József Tama (36)- 46 308-136, (36)- 30 328-6567

Lungo Drom Országos Cigány Érdekvédelmi és Polgári Szövetség Mérai Tagszervezete (Lungo Drom National Roma Advocacy and Civil Association, Member Organisation in Méra)

3871 Méra Kázsmárk út 4.

Leader of the Organization: Mr János Bancsók (36)-46 460-362

Phralipe független Cigány Szervezet Vizsolyi Tagszervezete (Phralipe independent Roma Organization of Vizsoly) 3888 Vizsoly, Károlyi Gáspár u. 3.

Leader of the Organization: Mr József Fábián (36)-30 463-4810

Andrássy Gyula műszaki Középiskola (Technical High School) 3530 Miskolc, Soltész Nagy Kálmán u. 10.

Training manager: Mr Sándor Szalay (36)-46 412-444, 412-783, 412-251

Borsodi Útépítő Kereskedelmi és Szolgáltató Betéti Társaság (Road Constructions Trading and Services of Borsod -Limited Partnership)

3884 Boldogkőújfalu, Szabadság u. 85.

Ms Rita Gulyás Kovács (36)-46 386-357

SEED Small Enterprise Development Foundation

1024 Budapest, Rómer Flóris út 22-24.

Director: Ms Anikó Soltész (36)-1 212-2179

Fü-Ta-Ka Kft, 3860 Encs, Petőfi u. 48.

Mr Ferenc Takács - managing director (36)-30 213-7851, (36) 46 308-588