MEPs expressed their desire to see people with disabilities better integrated into the labour market, during a debate in the presence of Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli, on Monday evening 8 March, on the implementation of Directive 2000/78/EC for equal treatment in employment and occupation, in relation to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
Most MEPs pointed out that only half of disabled people (50.6%), or even less than half for women (48.3%), work. Worse, the results deteriorate further for full-time jobs, which pertain to only 20.7% of women with disabilities.
Thus, the rapporteur, Katrin Langensiepen (Greens/EFA, Germany), recounting her own experience as a person with a disability, called on the European Commission and the Member States to put an end to sheltered workshops. They are, according to her, places that keep people with disabilities out, away from the “open” labour market. Many MEPs shared this opinion, such as Stelios Kympouropoulos (EPP, Greece) and Marc Angel (S&D, Luxembourg).
The latter repeated the main requests of the report: - mandatory quotas for diversity in the workplace; - the need for a harmonised definition of disability in order to ensure mutual recognition of the status of persons with disabilities in relation to the UNCRPD; - developing the social economy. He urged Member States to put in place tax incentives to encourage companies to hire people with disabilities.
Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, France) insisted on a holistic approach, fighting against forms of exclusion in schools. Without inclusive education and training systems, it is difficult to design an inclusive labour market, she said, and to change attitudes.
Sandra Perreira (The Left, Portugal) highlighted the importance of a framework that regulates work in this area in order to enhance wages through collective bargaining and to ensure fair treatment in terms of remuneration compared to other workers.
Commissioner Dalli indicated that her institution will publish a third report on the implementation of the Directive.
She acknowledged that one of the shortcomings of the Directive was that it did not legally oblige Member States to designate an equality body. The Commission could make a proposal to address this, she said, confirming that in 2022 the institution will bring forward measures to improve the employment of disabled people in the labour market.
She indicated that the Commission intends to extend the European Disability Card to all Member States by the end of 2023 (so far only eight Member States have implemented it). Finally, she stressed that the Commission will modify its human resources strategy to improve the diversity and integration of people with disabilities.
The results of the final vote will be known on Wednesday evening. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)