Today is the European Day against Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities

For the barriers and limitations experienced by people with disabilities and their caregivers are the result of many factors: social, systemic and cultural. However, each of us can do a lot to make the world around us a welcoming place, where everyone will have a chance for a dignified life and personal development.

Only 14% of people with disabilities in the labor market

There are about 4 million people with disabilities in Poland, but their level of employment has remained low for years. In terms of the inactivity rate of people with disabilities, Poland ranks 5th in Europe. Employment rates for people with disabilities have increased by only about 2% over the past 10 years - from 14.4% in 2010 to 16.7% in 2020[1].

Among the reasons for this are health and disability-related limitations, low competence and education, low self-esteem, unprofitable gainful employment, failure to adapt workplaces to the needs of people with disabilities, architectural or transportation barriers.

Whyare employers still reluctant to hire? The main problem remains not only the creation of new jobs, but the sustainable employment of OzN. Although an employer can get a subsidy for wages and social security contributions for people with disabilities or reimbursement for the cost of preparing jobs, this is not the only and sufficient motivation to create an employment strategy with integral consideration for people with disabilities. There are also still many stereotypes and false beliefs about the low productivity or independence of OzN. Some entrepreneurs are also afraid of high absenteeism from work as a result of deteriorating health or disability.

New forms of support are coming

However, the prospects for the vocational integration of people with disabilities are growing. A huge role in creating a world without barriers and activating people with disabilities is played by NGOs, both local, regional and national.

-These opportunities, however, would not exist if it were not for the governmental and local governmental side, thanks to which we, as a non-governmental organization, implement a number of vocational activation projects. These activities include not only trainings, workshops, but also career counseling, job placement and psychological support. We want our charges to feel fully taken care of, and when they hit the labor market, to know how much they can already offer their employer. We want Entrepreneurs to hear about Us and not be afraid to hire OzN. - emphasizes Stanislaw Schubert, president of the Karkonosze Association of People with Disabilities KSON.

- Synergy between the government and local administrations, OzN organizations and businesses, allows for the creation of appropriate working and living conditions in a barrier-free society. That's why it's so important for us to have a joint dialogue and undertake solutions for leveling exclusion and improving accessibility for OzN. The Labor Agency that we are creating is intended to be such a broad base of qualified professionals who want to appear on the labor market in an active way. We want to map the needs of entrepreneurs in particular sectors and find them the right experts and employees who, as a result of the projects we are implementing, i.e. WłaczamON! or ZatrudniONy+, will acquire the right qualifications, strengthen their skills and, I assure you, will be the best staff in their company. - indicates Iwona Pikosz-Nuñez, managing director of CSI Projekty Sp. z o.o., general coordinator of KSON's pro-employment projects.

Cooperation builds - understand disability

So how to create favorable conditions for the professional development of people with disabilities and at the same time support the development of businesses in Poland? - The discussion on the employment of OzN cannot take place without the participation of entrepreneurs themselves. Therefore, together with the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers (ZPP) and the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce (WIG), we want to map the most important needs and create favorable working conditions for the OzN. We know the limitations of disability, we fight against barriers and we know how to support the OzN in finding their way in the labor market and in everyday life. Entrepreneurs, meanwhile, have the space to trust and give OzN a chance to grow through internships and employment. This is a very important cooperation and an opportunity for each party, so it is especially worth talking about this discrimination against OzN today. Stanislaw Schubert points out.

The meeting "Opportunities. Accessibility. Partnership. People with Disabilities in the Labor Market - Entrepreneurship Day Roundtable" scheduled for June 21, 2023 at 10:00 am at the Social Dialogue Center. The event was held under the patronage of the Ombudsman for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, and the partners of the meeting are the Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers and the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce. The overriding goal of the meeting, which will be attended by representatives of organizations and institutions supporting people with disabilities and the business community, is to show the broad possibilities and prospects for employment of people with disabilities, both motor and intellectual, in the current economic reality and legal and social conditions. It will also be an opportunity to develop a formula for permanent cooperation between the environment of people with disabilities and organizations of employers allowing for effective, jointly conducted educational, training and information activities, conducive to the creation of new jobs and professional development of people with disabilities in Poland.

[1] NIK on labor force participation of people with disabilities, 2022 https://www.nik.gov.pl/plik/id,25417,vp,28178.pdf

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