Conference: Employment of disabled
people in the European Union
Organised under the aegis of the German Federal Ministry for Labour
and Social Affairs a conference on "European policy for the employment of
disabled persons" took place in Dresden from 24 to 25 February. Held in the
framework of the 1999
employment guidelines, the conference set out to contribute to the ongoing
debate about disability and employment triggered by the European
Commission´s working paper "Raising
employment levels of people with disabilities - the common challenge"
(SEC(1998)1550).
A wide-range of interest groups were represented by people responsible for designing and implementing employment policies for the disabled in the Member States. About 800 participants were present at the opening ceremony. The German Social Affairs Minister, Walter Riester and Kurt Biedenkopf, Head of the Saxony Government opened the conference in the presence of the German Federal President, Roman Herzog. Allan Larsson, the Director-General, represented DG V.
The core of the Conference consisted of five workshops, and the event was concluded by a panel discussion with Representatives of the European Parliament, the Bundesrat, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe (UNICE), the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the European Commission. Debates can be summarised as follows:
- a comprehensive EU disability employment strategy should build on a policy mix of relevant instruments such as the employment guidelines, the European Social Funds (ESF), the social dialogue and proposals to combat discrimination and social exclusion;
- although a mainstreaming approach at EU level is welcomed, a target-oriented approach may also needed to address the specific factors behind some specific disadvantages of people with disabilities on the labour market;
- disability should be adequately considered in the employment guidelines and in all relevant Community Initiatives and consideration should be given to quantitative indicators;
- the general policy approach should rely on the principle of equal rights and non discrimination rather than on social protection for people with disabilities.
The conference was the setting for a real discussion among stakeholders in disability employment strategies, and gave them the chance to improve their respective knowledge of policy contexts and, more generally, of the process generated through the employment guidelines. It also raised the profile of the role played by the EU to the disabled, professionals and administrators at the national and local level.
The conference was found to be quite fruitful in that it created at EU level an excellent political climate to act. Most of those involved nationally or at EU level in disability issues pursue similar goals but need to give more thought to ways of achieving them. Turning to the future, the German Presidency announced its intention to submit a proposal for a resolution for consideration by the Social Affairs Council under the German Presidency.
Please read here the introductory speech by M. Larsson
