InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Changing patterns in employment and working conditions in Southern, Central and Eastern Europe, implications for equality and challenges for the labour movement Manuela Tomei Programme on the Follow-up to the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, ILO Geneva

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Convergence or diversity from EU 15?  Growing reliance on temporary contracts (in early 2000s, 10% of new contracts were of this type in new EU 10 versus 11% in EU 15)  Self-employment: the most increasingly used form of flexibility in the new EU 10, but reported also in UK, Ireland, Portugal and the Netherlands  Limited use of part-time work in the new EU 10 compared to EU 15:  essentially involuntary  when voluntary, it may correspond to a second job for those working full-time

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Convergence or diversity vis-à-vis EU 15?  Part-time work: mainly used to employ retired people, people with disabilities, young entrants and not to reconcile work and family, as in EU 15  Long working hours in new EU 10 and longer than in EU 15 (in 2001, 80% of workers in new EU 10, Bulgaria and Romania compared to 50% of workers in EU15)  Longer working hours: a coping strategy for  employers who thereby limit payment of social contributions  employees who increase low basic wages

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Convergence or diversity vis-à-vis EU 15?  Longer working weeks= higher health and safety risks and difficulties in reconciling work and family  Growing reliance on civil contracts:  Shift of status for workers from « employees » to self- employed status  Employees hold labour contracts as well as a civil contract  Use of « multiple contracts » whereby employees hold a labour contract and a supplementary « exra- agreement »  Not insignificant the proportion of workers working without a labour contract

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Convergence or diversity vis-à-vis EU 15?  Unpaid overtime: a widespread practice which concerns all types of workers, while in EU 15 is confined to managers and white-collar employees  Wage payments « under the table »: common practice to save on labour costs  Wage under-reporting deflates/reduces social benefits  Minimum wages well below the average of EU 15  Widespread payment of bonuses compensating for poor working conditions

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Implications for « equalities » at work Implications for gender equality Legacy of state socialism is important to understand the present status of men and women in the labour market  Women in paid jobs  Education  Policies (for example maternity leave)  How people think about gender equality

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Implications for « equalities » at work Implications for gender equality  Female employment in new EU10 higher than in EU 15, but dropped dramatically since pre-transition time  Low levels of employment for both men and women in new EU 10, but women’s are much lower  Women more easily classified as « inactive » than men  No change in women’s occupational segregation since pre-transition times

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Employment rates of men and women in EU 25, 2004

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Employment rate 2003 TotalWomen Men Serbia Croatia Albania Moldova OECD Source: ILO Budapest

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Implications for « equalities » at work  Women’s earnings lower than men’s, although women are similarly or better educated and have similar work experience as men  Widening inequalities among women along age, class and ethnicity lines  Increasing job stress and status anxiety affects more men than women; men’s mortality levels higher than women and western men

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Implications for « equalities » at work Implications for ethnic equality Serious erosion of living and working standards of Roma people since collapse of socialism state (many years difference between the life expectancy of mainstream groups and that of Roma people) In pre-transition time: Roma over-represented among low-skilled jobs and in industries severely hit by economic restructuring

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Distribution of Roma population by country Source: World Bank (2003). "Draft: Social Development in Europe and Central Asia Region: Issues and Directions." Washington, DC: Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development, Social Development.

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Implications for « equalities » at work Implications for ethnic equality Since transition time unemployment rate and long- term unemployment much higher amongst the Roma than the non-Roma Low employment rate of Roma explained partly by their low educational attainments, discrimination being another factor High incidence of informal work among employed Roma

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Roma unemployment rates by education (BG, CZ, HU, SK, RO) Source:, UNDP Development Report 2002 Avoiding the Dependency Trap

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Formal and informal sector employment of Roma Source:, UNDP Development Report 2002 Avoiding the Dependency Trap

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office Challenges Limited, unrealiable statistical data by ethnicity –because of privacy legislation –underestimation of the actual size of the Roma population Employability of Roma people often approached focusing on traditional skills no longer in demand High reliance on public work schemes (« Gypsy » employment) Shortcoming of wage subsidies to encourage recruitment of Roma people Need for a comprehensive and integrated approach

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office What can trade unions do? Within trade union structures  Identify and remove the barriers excluding or sidelining members of particular groups  Putting in place more inclusive structures, practices and implementing positive action measures  Educating members  Coordinating with advocate/support groups at the community and national levels At the negotiating table  Negotiating the inclusion of equal opportunities clauses in collective agreements

InFocus Programme on Promoting the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work International Labour Office What can trade unions do? At the national level  Promoting more effective labour legislation and implementation of ratified international labour standards  Influencing/educating political leaders, educational institutions and communications media  Introducing issues pertaining to non-discrimination and equality on the agendas of tripartite bodies set up to address economic and social matters.