Hidden Economy in Macedonia Policy Brief 2: Hit and Miss - The Dynamics of Undeclared Labor in Macedonia

Author(s): Author Not Specified,Center for Research and Policy Making CRPM / Language(s): English

The Center for the Study of Democracy, in collaboration with the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) elaborated a series of policy briefs analyzing the hidden economy in Macedonia. The topics encompass the issues of countering undeclared labour, tax evasion and fraud, media reporting on hidden economy and corruption, etc. The current policy brief underlines that undeclared work, being one of the main manifestations of hidden economy, becomes the bull’s-eye for many countries focusing on reshaping their social and economic policies in order to tackle this issue, especially since the onset of the economic crisis that hit Europe and the World in 2008. The most recent economic indicators coming from Europe show that this crisis has not concluded and European economies are yet to deal with its mid and long-term consequences. Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries are not exempt from this process, with job creation and policies targeting unemployment (28.2% as of Q2 2014) being a major concern and a focal point of political activity. Low growth prospects in the EU and sluggish economic conditions forecasted in 2014 are also limiting Macedonia’s growth prospects, which at this point are still positive at around 4% GDP growth annually (4.3% as of Q2 2014). The authors highlight several key points: According to results from the population survey, the proportion of employees with a primary employment receiving ‘envelope’ payments or temporary service contracts in addition to their salary is about one-third of the employed population; Almost 7% of employees work without a contract and are not being paid social security contributions. Combined with the abovementioned fact, this indicates the salary of about 40% of employees with a primary employment is partially or completely undeclared; More than half of employers confirm that signing contracts with ‘hidden clauses’ happens in their sector; Macedonia’s main focus in tackling undeclared work, just as most Eastern European Countries, is on Labor Law violations). Repressive measures and others aimed at improving detection are the dominant policy approach.

Погодоци и промашувања – динамика на непријавената работа во Македонија

Author(s): Author Not Specified,Center for Research and Policy Making CRPM / Language(s): Macedonian

The Center for the Study of Democracy, in collaboration with the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) elaborated a series of policy briefs analyzing the hidden economy in Macedonia. The topics encompass the issues of countering undeclared labour, tax evasion and fraud, media reporting on hidden economy and corruption, etc. The current policy brief underlines that undeclared work, being one of the main manifestations of hidden economy, becomes the bull’s-eye for many countries focusing on reshaping their social and economic policies in order to tackle this issue, especially since the onset of the economic crisis that hit Europe and the World in 2008. The most recent economic indicators coming from Europe show that this crisis has not concluded and European economies are yet to deal with its mid and long-term consequences. Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries are not exempt from this process, with job creation and policies targeting unemployment (28.2% as of Q2 2014) being a major concern and a focal point of political activity. Low growth prospects in the EU and sluggish economic conditions forecasted in 2014 are also limiting Macedonia’s growth prospects, which at this point are still positive at around 4% GDP growth annually (4.3% as of Q2 2014). The authors highlight several key points: According to results from the population survey, the proportion of employees with a primary employment receiving ‘envelope’ payments or temporary service contracts in addition to their salary is about one-third of the employed population; Almost 7% of employees work without a contract and are not being paid social security contributions. Combined with the abovementioned fact, this indicates the salary of about 40% of employees with a primary employment is partially or completely undeclared; More than half of employers confirm that signing contracts with ‘hidden clauses’ happens in their sector; Macedonia’s main focus in tackling undeclared work, just as most Eastern European Countries, is on Labor Law violations). Repressive measures and others aimed at improving detection are the dominant policy approach.

Hidden Economy in Macedonia Policy Brief 1: The Economics of Blurs and Shadows – The Hidden Economy in Macedonia

Author(s): Author Not Specified,Center for Research and Policy Making CRPM / Language(s): English

he Center for the Study of Democracy, in collaboration with the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) elaborated a series of policy briefs analyzing the hidden economy in Macedonia. The topics encompass the issues of countering undeclared labour, tax evasion and fraud, media reporting on hidden economy and corruption, etc. The current policy brief underlines that undeclared work, being one of the main manifestations of hidden economy, becomes the bull’s-eye for many countries focusing on reshaping their social and economic policies in order to tackle this issue, especially since the onset of the economic crisis that hit Europe and the World in 2008. The most recent economic indicators coming from Europe show that this crisis has not concluded and European economies are yet to deal with its mid and long-term consequences. Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries are not exempt from this process, with job creation and policies targeting unemployment (28.2% as of Q2 2014) being a major concern and a focal point of political activity. Low growth prospects in the EU and sluggish economic conditions forecasted in 2014 are also limiting Macedonia’s growth prospects, which at this point are still positive at around 4% GDP growth annually (4.3% as of Q2 2014). The authors highlight several key points: According to results from the population survey, the proportion of employees with a primary employment receiving ‘envelope’ payments or temporary service contracts in addition to their salary is about one-third of the employed population; Almost 7% of employees work without a contract and are not being paid social security contributions. Combined with the abovementioned fact, this indicates the salary of about 40% of employees with a primary employment is partially or completely undeclared; More than half of employers confirm that signing contracts with ‘hidden clauses’ happens in their sector; Macedonia’s main focus in tackling undeclared work, just as most Eastern European Countries, is on Labor Law violations). Repressive measures and others aimed at improving detection are the dominant policy approach.

Економија на маглини и сенки – скриената економија во Maкедонија

Author(s): Author Not Specified,Center for Research and Policy Making CRPM / Language(s): Macedonian

he Center for the Study of Democracy, in collaboration with the Center for Research and Policy Making (CRPM) elaborated a series of policy briefs analyzing the hidden economy in Macedonia. The topics encompass the issues of countering undeclared labour, tax evasion and fraud, media reporting on hidden economy and corruption, etc. The current policy brief underlines that undeclared work, being one of the main manifestations of hidden economy, becomes the bull’s-eye for many countries focusing on reshaping their social and economic policies in order to tackle this issue, especially since the onset of the economic crisis that hit Europe and the World in 2008. The most recent economic indicators coming from Europe show that this crisis has not concluded and European economies are yet to deal with its mid and long-term consequences. Macedonia and other Western Balkan countries are not exempt from this process, with job creation and policies targeting unemployment (28.2% as of Q2 2014) being a major concern and a focal point of political activity. Low growth prospects in the EU and sluggish economic conditions forecasted in 2014 are also limiting Macedonia’s growth prospects, which at this point are still positive at around 4% GDP growth annually (4.3% as of Q2 2014). The authors highlight several key points: According to results from the population survey, the proportion of employees with a primary employment receiving ‘envelope’ payments or temporary service contracts in addition to their salary is about one-third of the employed population; Almost 7% of employees work without a contract and are not being paid social security contributions. Combined with the abovementioned fact, this indicates the salary of about 40% of employees with a primary employment is partially or completely undeclared; More than half of employers confirm that signing contracts with ‘hidden clauses’ happens in their sector; Macedonia’s main focus in tackling undeclared work, just as most Eastern European Countries, is on Labor Law violations). Repressive measures and others aimed at improving detection are the dominant policy approach.

GREY Working Paper No. 4: Policy Approaches Towards Undeclared Work, a Conceptual Framework

Author(s): Colin C. Williams / Language(s): English

This working paper is an output of the European Commission’s FP7 "Marie Curie Industry-Academia Partnerships and Pathways" (IAPP) project entitled "GREY - Out of the shadows: developing capacities and capabilities for tackling undeclared work in Bulgaria, Croatia and FYR Macedonia". The aim of the paper is to provide a conceptual framework for understanding the policy approaches for tackling undeclared work. In doing so, the intention is to provide the structure for a future comprehensive review of the policy measures available for tackling undeclared work.

Politika i javna uprava: aspekti politizacije državne službe u Bosni i Hercegovini, trendovi politizacije versus reformska opredjeljenja

Author(s): Sead Maslo / Language(s): Bosnian

In this paper the author analyses the legal position of public administration employees, with special regard to problem of politicization in the civil service in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Public administration, divided and fragmented on different administrative levels into the state structures, are still under the strong influence of politics, especially when it comes to the selection and recruitment process. The aim of this resarch is to address the problems of politicization and lack of professionalization in current public administrative structures in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to propose strategic and instrumental solutions based on principles and standards for the public administration and civil service system in Bosnia and Herzegovina which may guarantee transparency and fairness in the selection process/recruitment and career development of civil servants, (merit system). Those principles and standards should provide in the future (de lege ferenda) a starting point for new compatible legal solutions for the de-politicization of public administration, including all administrative levels of the state structure and local level in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the above, the author emphasises the importance of new legislation that should have the task to regulate specific points in the field of Human Resources Management (HRM), defined as priorities in the Revised Action Plan1 for implementation of the Strategy of Public Administaration Reform in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which may provide significant improvements in the process of depoliticization and more professionalism in public administration.

Matky samoživitelky a jejich situace v České republice.„Sandwichová generace“ – kombinování práce a péče o závislé členy rodiny (děti a seniory)

Author(s): Jaroslava Hasmanová Marhánková / Language(s): Czech

Na křižovatce pracovního a osobního života: možnosti a bariéry

Author(s): Nina Bosničová,Jitka Kolářová,Irena Lištiaková,Steven Saxonberg,Silvie Malíková / Language(s): Czech

Podpora kariérního růstu žen: manuál pro zaměstnavatele

Author(s): Petra Kubálková / Language(s): Czech

Rodinná politika II: zaměřeno na kontext změn mateřské a rodičovské dovolené a nedostupnost a legislativní změny v oblasti zařízení péče o předškolní děti

Author(s): Radka Dudová,Lenka Formánková,Beata Kaczynská,Hana Märzová,Veronika Pavlovská,Jana Válková / Language(s): Czech

Rovné příležitosti mezi zaměstnanci: kvantitativní výzkum

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Czech

Rovné příležitosti mužů a žen v českých firmách

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): Czech

Situace osob ve věku 45+ na trhu práce

Author(s): Jaroslava Hasmanová Marhánková / Language(s): Czech

Slaďování práce a rodiny: možnosti a perspektivy pro zaměstnavatele

Author(s): Kateřina Machovcová / Language(s): Czech

Výnosnost důchodového systému a dopady jeho reforem na muže a ženy

Author(s): Jiří Šatava / Language(s): Czech

Na základě reprezentativní databáze 7000 mužů a žen počítáme výnosnost penzijního systému u mužů a žen a její změny v důsledku „malé“ a „velké“ reformy. Výnosnost měříme pomocí ukazatele penzijního bohatství jako rozdíl mezi současnou hodnotou budoucích důchodů a budoucích příspěvků do penzijního systému. Výnosnost se u jednotlivců liší dle pohlaví, věku, velikosti příjmu a dalších faktorů. Před reformami byl penzijní systém výrazně výhodnější pro ženy. I ve věkové kategorii 53letých penzijní systém sliboval ženám o 503 000 Kč více než mužům, u 21letých to pak bylo dokonce 1 152 000 Kč. Tzv. „malá“ reforma, která upravila věk odchodu do důchodu, výrazně snížila výnosnost penzijního systému pro muže i ženy, citelněji ale dopadá na ženy. Tzv. „velká“ reforma, jež umožňuje vyvedení části pojistného do penzijních fondů, má řádově menší, zato však pozitivní nebo nulový dopad na výhodnost penzijního systému pro muže a ženy. Obě reformy jsou výhodnější pro muže, i po všech reformách zůstává penzijní systém stále výnosnější pro ženy. Ve věkové kategorii 45letých penzijní systém slibuje ženám o 499 000 Kč více než mužům, pro 21leté to je 978 000 Kč. Studie rovně ž prezentuje dopady reforem i pro různé úrovně příjmů.

Career - Family - Equal Opportunities

Author(s): Věra Kuchařová,Štěpán Jurajda,Daniel Münich,Kateřina Machovcová,Sylva Ettlerová,Olga Nešporová,Kamila Svobodová,Kateřina Machovcová / Language(s): English

Dear reader, The following pages provide the results of various studies concerning the position of women and men in the Czech labour market. The analyses were carried out as a part of the EU Equal project “Fifty - fifty: Equal Opportunities for Women and Men” coordinated by Gender Studies, o.p.s, and co-financed by the EU European Social Fund and the Czech Republic state budget. Each study focuses on a topic that had received very modest coverage in earlier research or had not been explored at all. The first paper is a summary of qualitative and quantitative studies carried out by the Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs team headed by Věra Kuchařová. The team’s objective was to find out the possibilities parents have in juggling childcare and work responsibilities and the potential constraints or sources of discrimination that can make the parents’ situation difficult. They looked at the issue from both the mothers’ perspective and that of the employers. The main focus was on finding out to what extent the parents draw their sick child leave and claim their maternity/parental leave entitlement, which are the basic measures enabling parents to balance their personal and professional lives. One of the main findings is the fact that the facilities allowing people to balance their personal and professional lives are used much less in the Czech Republic than in the vast majority of western countries. In the Czech Republic, the range of the flexible work arrangement possibilities used is narrower and can usually be summed up in three options: reduced working hours, part-time work and flexible working hours. However, they are usually not offered systematically, they do not fall within internal company guidelines and are used solely on an individual agreement basis. In the Czech Republic, it is still mostly women who take parental leave to provide care for children and ensure other forms of full-time childcare. It is rather exceptional to see a father on parental leave, with men representing about 1% of all persons drawing the parental benefit. The reason can be financial (as men have statistically higher salaries), but it can also lie in the unsupportive attitude on the part of the employers who expect that the working hours arrangement facilities should be primarily used by women. [...]

Maternity Leave, or Parental Time? Seven Czech Mothers on Their Experience with Working and Raising Children in Different EU Countries

Author(s): Kateřina Jonášová,Pavla Frýdlová,Lucie Svobodová,Mirka Bendix-Beranová,Barbora Šindelářová,Viola Parente-Čapková,Zuzana Jürgensová,Zuzana Loubet del Bayle,Hana Schenk / Language(s): English

How to harmonise family and work? How to build a career without losing the chance of a family? In the Czech Republic this dilemma is more poignant than in other EU countries. Its model, where a woman’ s right to a long maternity leave is not supplemented by her right to preschool childcare or to an alternative work arrangement, is outdated in the European context. The lack of preschool facilities prevents thousands of women from returning to work and fathers from participating more in care. Seven Czech mothers with long-term experience from other EU countries, namely Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Sweden, shared stories about their encounters with different types of preschool facilities, with returning back to work and with various patterns of maternity and parental leave, which in those countries is not considered vacation, rather a time designated to both parents. For most women in the Czech Republic becoming a mother means entering a vicious circle. The time a Czech woman spends at home with her child is the longest of all countries in Europe. And it is unique even worldwide. Statistics show that most Czech mothers of one child stay at home for three years, which has a very deep impact on both their professional and personal lives (let alone the alternative where two children in a row keep the woman at home for up to eight years). [...]

Stereotype-Free: Choose Your Career Freely. Activities for Elementary School Projects

Author(s): Jitka Kolářová,Anna Babanová,Jitka Hausenblasová,Tereza Krobová,Irena Smetáčková / Language(s): English

Dear readers, we are presenting you with a methodology “cookbook“ which you can use to organize career counselling projects which promote equal opportunities for girls and boys. The goal of this publication is to broaden the range of jobs and education programmes girls and boys consider as their potential career options. We hope to liberate the imagination of young people from the constraints of the traditional division of jobs into jobs for men and jobs for women. The idea that everybody deserves opportunities to put their unique talents to use and to dream freely and without regard to stereotypes about men’s and women’s social roles is fundamental to this book. Studies on decision-making among Czech students show that rather than evaluating their skills and abilities, girls and boys tend to use gender stereotypes to help them choose their future careers (see Jarkovská et al. 2010, Smetáčková 2006, 2007). To reverse this trend, a two-pronged strategy is needed; we have to strengthen career guidance as well as build awareness about the power of gender stereotypes. Better career choices will not only improve the opportunities of girls and boys for self-realization; well considered career choices will also bring employers truly competent workers. With this publication we hope to promote critical thinking and to help people understand how gender stereotypes affect us. Stereotypes can play a positive role in the society – they organize the world for easier orientation. However, we should use them consciously so that we can actually decide whether we want to act according to their dictate or not. We see education as a process of broadening our horizons and learning about the important questions we face in today’s world (such as the issue of the position of men and women in today’s Europe). At the same time, education should always provide space for students to discover their own ways. To meet this goal, our book includes activities to help students reflect on gender stereotypes and to defend their own perspectives. In other words, we seek to facilitate equality between women and men. Our book corresponds with current government strategies and ministerial policy documents (Government Priorities and Procedures to Promote Equality between Women and Men, Ministry of Education Priorities and Procedures to Promote Equal Opportunities for Men and Women). The materials in this book are aimed at elementary school teachers although they can also be used at secondary schools, children’s clubs and other educational institutions for children and youth. Activity descriptions are supplemented by arguments clarifying the fundamental connections between work, career and gender stereotypes. Most of the activities have been field-tested in seminars with real students and have been adjusted for teachers with different backgrounds so that they could use the activities regardless of knowledge of gender studies. We hope that our ideas will help to make your school projects more encouraging for students to see their careers free of gender stereotypes, useful and inspiring. We are interested in hearing from you!

Kariéra – rodina – rovné příležitosti: Výzkumy postavení žen a mužů na trhu práce

Author(s): Štěpán Jurajda,Věra Kuchařová,Kateřina Machovcová,Sylva Ettlerová,Olga Nešporová,Kamila Svobodová,Daniel Münich,Kateřina Machovcová / Language(s): Czech

Lažne diplome i pravo na privatnost

Author(s): Sevima Sali-Terzić / Language(s): Bosnian

Credible media reports and resent arrests of those suspected to have been engaged in the falsification of high education and university diplomas, provoked public authorities to initiate a comprehensive review of public servants’ diplomas. However, the Data Protection Agency stated in its opinion that such review presents unnecessary “generalization” and puts under suspicion all public servants, thus violating the right to privacy and the Data Protection Law. The analysis shows that such review would be in accordance with law, would have legitimate aim and would be “necessary in democratic society”, as requested by Article 8 of the ECHR, but also by the Convention 108 and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The only way to achieve the legitimate aim – to detect and to prevent falsification and usage of falsified diplomas in public sector (which constitutes crime under the Criminal Law) is to review all diplomas of public servants, including those in managing positions. Diplomas are public documents, public servants act in public interest, and review of their diplomas, in a procedure prescribed by the Law, would not in any way “diminish [their] human dignity” (as Agency explained) or present unnecessary interference in their private life.