Hungary: Regulation of labour market intermediaries and the role of social partners in preventing trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation

Transcription

1 Hungary: Regulation of labour market intermediaries and the role of social partners in preventing trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation Disclaimer: This report has not been subject to Eurofound s usual editorial and publication process. 1. National definitions Please provide, where they exist, definitions of the following key terms: Labour market intermediary (LMI) LMIs are entities or institutions that on one hand assist jobseekers or those asking for placement to get a job and on the other hand search for the most appropriate available applicants for employers to fill in their vacancies. Alongside state employment agency mediation activities can be conducted by private enterprises as well should they meet the conditions that had been laid down in the regulations issued under the authority of the act of employment. Temporary Work Agency (TWA) The following types of organisations may operate as temporary work agencies: a. a company established in an EEA Member State that is authorised under national law to be engaged in the activities of temporary work agencies, or b. a business association established in Hungary whose members have limited liability, or a cooperative society, established in Hungary, in respect of persons other than its members; should they satisfy the requirements established in Act I of 2012 and in other relevant legislation and be registered with the government employment agency. Employment Placement Agency (EPA) All category of services that are outside of the activities of government agency, which is designed to help job seekers and job providers to meet for establishing relationships for employment, including the Hungarian citizens abroad and foreign nationals to Hungary. Other forms of LMI No. Eurofound,

2 Trafficking for labour exploitation Any person who - for the purpose of exploitation - sells, purchases, exchanges, supplies, receives, recruits, transports, harbours, hides or round up for request another person including transfer of control over such person. Forced labour Any person who forces another person by taking advantage of his/her vulnerable situation, or by force or by threat of force to perform work against his/her will. LMI: National Employment Service TWA: Act I of 2012 on the Labour Code, par. 215 Trafficking for labour exploitation: Act C of 2012 on Criminal Code ( par. 192 (2)) Forced labour: Act C of 2012 on Criminal Code (par. 193 (1)) 2. Statistics Please provide data for the last three available years for the following: Hungary is more a source and transit, and less a destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution of women and girls and forced labour of men, women, and children. Therefore, no overall statistics are available. Women and children, particularly Roma from Eastern Hungary, are subjected to sex trafficking within the country and abroad, including trafficking to the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom (UK), Germany, Austria, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. Media report significant numbers of Hungarian women forced to prostitute themselves in the Netherlands and Switzerland. Experts also report Hungarian women lured into sham marriages to third-country nationals in the UK and Austria, with the women subjected to physical abuse and forced prostitution. Men and women from Hungary are subjected to forced labour domestically and abroad, including in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Canada, and the United States. The exploitation of Hungarian men in Western Europe intensified during the reporting period, particularly in the agricultural sector of the Northern part of the Netherlands and the construction industry in Germany. The picking of different agricultural products (fruit, vegetables, flowers) are often carried out by temporary foreign workers in the Netherlands including Hungarians. The workers had been misled at the recrutment stage promising decent working and earning conditions that had never been fulfilled. Afterwards many workers were talking about missing payments, poor accomodation, lack of water and other facilities. The case happened in At least 40 Hungarian workers had been exploited at the construction of the new Berlin Airport. The workers found the job advertisement on the internet promising EUR 18/ hour. When the workers got to Berlin the hourly wage was only EUR 11 and should the employer be not satisfied with the performance of the workers it can be reduced to EUR 8. They started working in the middle of Eurofound,

3 October 2011, receiving EUR 20 weekly pocket money instead of salary. In December they turned to DGB for help due to their missing salary. TRAFFICKING CASES (IF POSSIBLE DISAGGREGATED BY SEX) FOR THE PURPOSES OF LABOUR 2.2 EXPLOITATION AND DOMESTIC SERVITUDE OTHER FORMS OF LABOUR EXPLOITATION NOT SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFIED AS TRAFFICKING Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Trafficking as defined by national administrations/ enforcement bodies. 3. Legislation Please provide details of the following legal provisions: 3.1 Registration or licensing systems for LMIs. Please give separate details for TWAs, EPAs and other LMIs where they exist. What conditions must be met? Are there regulations on liability for wages and social security? Yes, the registration of EPA is regulated by the 118/2001. government decree. The decree list all the conditions that have to be met in order to do such activities. The operation of TWAs is regulated by I. act of 2012 on Hungarian Labor Code as well as the 118/2001 government decree. 3.2 Are there any special provisions for cross border recruitment or posting? If so please identify them. There are many workers mostly from Romania and Slovakia commuting and crossing the border every day in order to work in the territory of Hungary. Most of them are posted workers. The Act I of 2012 on the Labour Code regulates only the currency of the payment. At posting there has to be distinguished posting to an EU member states and a third country. Within EU the posting is regulated by 96/71/EC. At third country posting the rules are regulated by agreements between Hungary and the other country. Eurofound,

4 3.3 Are there any special legislation or rules, regulations or procedures specifically aimed at preventing trafficking in human beings activities which apply to LMIs? N/A 3.4 Are there any other forms of relevant regulation (including non-binding, voluntary or selfregulation) within the LMI sector? Please give details. N/A 3.5 What specific legal measures exist for combatting trafficking, forced labour, or labour exploitation? How are cases detected and measures enforced? Act XVIII of 2013 on the COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONVENTION ON ACTION AGAINST TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS. Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code, especially par 192 and par 193 which deal with trafficking and forced labour. The European Parliament and the Council on human trafficking prevention and combating trafficking and protecting its victims, and transposition of Directive 2011/36 / EU of the Council 2002/629 / have been implemented in With the title 2013, the year of actions against Trafficking in Human Beings in Hungary an article was presented by Dr Szandra Windt, researcher of the National Institute of Criminology in the scientific journal of the Ministry of Interior. In 2013 one convention (Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings) and one directive (Directive 2011/36/EU) became an integral part of the domestic law. With the entry into force of the new criminal code (Act C of 2012) the full legislative harmonisation is completed. The author analyses the National Strategy against Trafficking in Human Beings for the period , the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, the Warsaw Convention, the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings, and the Act C of 2012 in the field of human trafficking. In the conclusions Dr Szandra Windt underlines that 2013 counts as a milestone in the field of the fight against trafficking in human beings in Hungary, because the legislators could comply with important delays. 4. Social partner actions Please give details of any actions undertaken by social partners to combat trafficking for labour exploitation in LMIs: 4.1 Collective Agreements 4.2 Codes of practice or practices specifically aimed at preventing trafficking for labour exploitation. Eurofound,

5 In 2013 a project had been launched led by Hungarian LIGA Trade Unions, British TUC and Romanian Cartel ALFA. The project aims to share the experiences of the trade unions related to migrant employees, to assess the trade union needs of the employees planning migration and of those who have already migrated, to survey the needs related to the information system to be provided to the migrant employees, as well as to evaluate the efficiency of and update the operating systems. The project plans to strengthen the international cooperation and solidarity among the national (sectoral) employee advocacy organisations through the international exchange of experiences. 4.3 Other social partner activities 5. NGOs Please identify any NGOs having a specific role in combatting trafficking for labour exploitation, or supporting workers affected: In 2012, the government together with NGOs and churches established a so-called round-table in order to discuss strategies and measures to combat trafficking. The round-table is convened 3-4 times per year, participation is not compulsory. The round-table is held under the Chatham House Rule. A representative of United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is present as observer. The following NGOs are involved: International Organisation for Migration (Nemzetközi Szervezet a Migrációért) IOM is committed to the principle that humane and orderly migration benefits migrants and society. As the leading international organization for migration, IOM acts with its partners in the international community Hungarian Women Foundation (Magyarországi Női Alapítvány) MONA Foundation for the Women of Hungary, founded in 1992, is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization based in Budapest. MONA s mission is to initiate public debates which show the richness of men and women s roles and equal standing in a democratic society but also reveal unjust inequalities which to this day characterize women s position in the economic, social and political spheres. European Roma Rights Centre (Európai Roma Jogok Központja) The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is an international public interest law organisation working to combat anti-romani racism and human rights abuse of Roma through strategic litigation, research and policy development, advocacy and human rights education. Integrated Drug Therapy Foundation (Indit Közalapítvány) The foundation is offering a complex solution considering the multiplicity of the problem of addiction; from prevention (direct and indirect) through outpatient treatment, rehabilitation and re-socialization, always considering the aspects of harm reduction and the philosophy of Eurofound,

6 sober culture. Sex Education Foundation (Sex Edukáció Alapítvány) Objectives of the foundation: provide information, education, training and care concerning sexuality school teaching cooperates with graduate and postgraduate education for health teachers, school-nurses, schooldoctors, social-workers change risk behavior, negative attitudes towards HIV people evaluation of the Hungarian sex and AIDS programs coordination of the umbrella network in sex and AIDS, trafficking human being, NGOs in Hungary 6. Good practice Please give examples of good practice in the combat of trafficking for labour exploitation in LMIs: The Sziget Festival has become one of the biggest international cultural event in Europe for the young generation. In 2014 the Ministry of Interior together with 5 Embassies had a joint campaign against trafficking in Europe. The aim of the campaign was to raise awareness that this type of crime has become a major concern in the European Union. The event attracts about visitors, young people between the age of 18 and 30 who typically come from Western European countries (the Netherlands, Germany, the UK) which are also countries of destination for Hungarian THB victims. In the anti-human trafficking tent of the Ministry of Interior 1098 visitors filled in questionnaires about human trafficking, 59,47% of the visitors were Hungarian, 7,65 French, 7,56 Dutch, 5,37 German and 3,28 English. Ms. Krisztina Berta, deputy state secretary for EU affairs and the national coordinator of anti-human trafficking programmes, said they chose the Sziget festival as a venue where they can reach out to a large number of youth from Europe and advise them about the threats of human trafficking in an effort aimed at preventing that they become victims. Representatives of the embassies stressed the importance of cooperation in efforts aimed at fighting human trafficking, which they called a global problem, and praised their countries cooperation with Hungary as excellent. 7. Research Please identify any significant studies published since 2010 relating to trafficking for labour exploitation (other than official statistics elsewhere mentioned). These may be academic studies or those produced by NGOs or regulatory bodies. Any citing case studies of good practice are of particular interest: Legislation, rights, protection and assistance Development of Inter-disciplinary Cooperation in Hungary to Combat Prostitution and Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation and to Support Victims. MONA Foundation for the Women of Hungary, 2010 Eurofound,

7 mona-alapitvany.hu 8. Views of social partners Please give details of the views of the social partners on trafficking for labour exploitation: Since Hungary is more a source and transit country regarding trafficking or labour exploitation this issue is rather a topic for NGOs than social partners. The role of social partners is insignificant in addressing trafficking for labour exploitation. 9. Public discussion Has there been any recent political or media discussion of trafficking in general, and specifically relating to LMIs? Please give details : Since 2012 there has been a round-table talk involving NGOs and religious organisations on the issue of trafficking. The aim of the round-table is to make the relevant organisations co-operate, inform each other as well as exchange and share information regarding trafficking. 10. Comments from national correspondents Do you have any further comments of relevance to the theme of this study? The root causes or reasons of trafficking or labour explaitation are various but in most cases in close relation with poverty or vulnerability. Since 2004 Hungary have been a member of the European Union and according to statistics people decided to seek a better working and living conditions outside the country. In the previous years related to the trafficking of human beings and labour exploitation of Hungarian citizens abroad there were two kinds of news: young prostitutes in Zürich and Amsterdam as well as some exploitation related stories concerning fruit pickers or workers in the construction sector. The common point in both cases that workers do not receive what they have been promised. Under payment (many times below minimum wage), poor working and living conditions, sometimes passport and other documents kept by the employer (claiming avoiding to lose). So far the social partners especially trade unions have not made their voice heard in this issue. This is not only the government s responsibility to raise awareness. It is welcomed that LIGA trade unions have recognized it and together with Romanian and British trade unions launched a project and campaign to deal with this issue. What is happening is a sort of modern slavery. Lorry and truck drivers from CEE countries are working on the motorways of Europe, away from home for weeks, staying, sleeping, eating in the truck, using fuel stations lavatories and bathrooms and earning % of the western colleagues wages. That s the case 25 years after the changes of political system in our region. Eurofound,