Ahead of the presentation of the reinforced ‘EU Disability Rights Strategy’ as part of a ‘social package’ expected in early May, more than 123 organisations, led by the European Disability Forum (EDF), issued a joint letter on Monday 30 March urging the European Commission to implement a new EU Disability Employment and Skills Guarantee.
In the letter addressed to Commissioners Roxana Mînzatu and Hadja Lahbib, respectively responsible for Social Rights and Employment and Equality, the signatories argue that such a guarantee should be one of the “key initiatives”.
It must therefore provide opportunities for traditional employment, apprenticeships or training, opportunities for employment on the open labour market - not in sheltered workshops, and support for companies and organisations to help them make the necessary adjustments.
In fact, only 50.8% of disabled people in the EU had a job, according to data put forward by the Commission in 2023. According to a study carried out by EDF, this is mainly due to a lack of the necessary workplace facilities, assistive technologies and less qualified training.
To see the letter: https://aeur.eu/f/ldp
To see the study: https://aeur.eu/f/ldq (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)