On 31 October – 01 November, Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) “Viitorul” hosted a National Workshop “Promoting Minorities Rights at Workplaces and Communities in Moldova”. The event was organized in the frame of the project ”V4 and EaP Platform Promoting Minority Rights at Workplaces and in Communities", which is being implemented with the financial support from International Visegrad Fund and The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Netherlands. The aim of this project is to create a platform for dialogue to promote the rights of national minorities at workplaces and in the communities by learning from the best practices of Visegrad countries and generating solutions for minority integration issues, both at workplaces and in the communities.
The Workshop attended by representatives of ethnic minorities, trade unions, employers, representatives of state institutions responsible for state policies in the field of inter-ethnic relations and minorities' rights protection, such as the Bureau of Interethnic Relations, the Ombudsman's Office, as well as local actors, NGOs active in promoting minorities integration in the communities and strengthen the cooperation between employees and employers. The workshop served as a platform for dialogue among various actors interested in promoting minority rights, for finding solutions to the current challenges regarding the linguistic integration of minorities, participation in decision-making process, and also learning good practices from the Visegrad countries on ethnic minorities inclusion at workplaces and in communities.
Svetlana Rusu of the Investigative and Monitoring Directorate, Ombudsman’s Office, said that although there are cases of minority rights violations, the institution she represents has not been notified. "The institution reviews applications for alleged violations of human rights, recommendations on reinstatement of individuals, improvement of human rights law and amicable settlement of conflicts between authorities and individuals”.
"None of the criteria of discrimination can be the basis for a layoff. No offensive appeals, incitement to hatred, discrimination, intimidation or violence against colleagues on the basis of a discriminatory criterion are allowed. In the recruitment, selection or employment process, the conditions that discriminate against employees according to ethnic criteria are excluded ", explained Elena Carchilan, the head of the Labor Inspectorate of the National Trade Union Confederation of Moldova.
Dmitrii Lecarţev, president of the Ukrainian Youth Association "Zlagoda", mentioned within the Workshop that "national minorities face problems in employment in governmental institutions. They are either rejected or are not accepted on ethnic grounds. In the private sector, there is no ethnic criteria in the recruitment process. If you are a good worker, then you are employed and even promoted for managerial positions."
