Diapositiva 1

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EMPLOYMENT OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES FACING THE
NEW FLEXICURITY SCENE
Maria TUSSY, Fundación ONCE Anabel SUSO, Red2Red
Consultores
ACTIVATION AND SECURITY CONFERENCE Brno, March
20-21, 2009
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INDEX

• Presentation of ONCE and its Foundation - Fundosa
  Grupo
• Keys of disability diagnosis considering
  flexicurity
• Critical elements of the flexicurity model
• Overview of public policies from the flexicurity
  point of view
• Proposal of guidelines for the employment of
  people with disabilities within the flexicurity
  framework
• Conclusions

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1. ONCE and ITS FOUNDATION COOPERATION AND
SOLIDARITY

• Public Law Association of social nature created
  by the State in 1938 as a unique and single
  organization which includes all Spanish blind
  people.
• The Fundación ONCE para la Cooperación e
  Integración Social de Personas con Discapacidad
  (ONCE Foundation for Cooperation and Social
  Integration of People with Disabilities) is
  created in 1988, by agreement of ONCEs General
  Council, in way of a solidarity commitment of
  Spanish blind people with other people with
  disability.
• Its Board is made up by the founding entity and
  the main organizations representing each
  disability type physical, psychic, sensorial,
  and also by the CERMI and the Administration
  itself.
• Main goal full inclusion in society and
  improvement of people with disabilities quality
  of life through their participation in the labour
  market and the promotion of universal
  accessibility.
• Since its creation, more than 60,000 jobs for
  people with disabilities have been created.

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2. FUNDOSA GRUPO

• Fundosa Grupo, a company division created by
  Fundación ONCE in order to create and manage
  employment for people with disabilities.
• The main private employer of people with
  disabilities (more than 15,000 employees, out of
  which more than 70 have a disability)
• 2007s turnover was 236.25 million euros, which
  is a clear example of the good results of
  combining business efficacy with social
  commitment.
• The Group puts an emphasis on innovation and the
  creation of sustainable and environmental-friendly
  companies contributing to a sustainable economic
  growth..

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2. KEYS OF DISABILITY DIAGNOSIS

• The problems and/or challenges which policies
  must face regarding people with disabilities and
  for which the flexicurity model offers an
  interesting framework are
• The need to solve the SEGMENTATION of people with
  disabilities LABOUR MARKET (highly instable
  labour market situations exist side by side a
  reduced group of people that enjoy stable jobs)
  14 alternation of precarious jobs and
  unemployment.
• A need to reduce INACTIVITY among people with
  disabilities. In order to do so, people with
  disabilities need to be encouraged to participate
  in the labour market, paying special attention to
  women with disabilities. Activity rate of 32
  which in case of women is only 23 as against
  64.5 of the total population.

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3. CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF THE FLEXICURITY MODEL

• The segmentation reduction must be done through
  the UPWARDS STANDARDIZATION of working
  conditions rather of a downwards homogenization
  of employment conditions and protection, which
  would be likely to happen that is, we need to go
  for an improvement of employment quality and of
  protection during transition periods.
• We have to analyze in greater depth the INTERNAL
  DIMENSION OF FLEXICURITY, which we find within
  the companies and their social responsibility,
  rather than basing all the policies on their
  environment (easier hiring and firing).

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4. PUBLIC POLICIES OVERVIEW FROM THE FLEXICURITY
POINT OF VIEW
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• The efficacy of the Mediation Public Systems in
  Spain can be improved.
• There is not much flexibility in the contributory
  pension scheme, which discourages employment
  seeking. Non-contributory pensions are more
  compatible with employment but they are not 100
  flexible.
• There is a degree of mismatch between the
  companies vacancies and the skills of people
  with disabilities. Also the training system for
  employment is not fully accessible for people
  with disabilities.
• Not much use of part-time jobs schemes or
  flexible organization schemes (telework) which
  favour work and family conciliation and also the
  participation of people with disabilities.

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5. Proposal of guidelines for the employment of
people with disabilities within the flexicurity
framework (I)
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A) EFFECTIVE ACTIVE EMPLOYMENT POLICIES (i)

• Regarding the establishment of EFFECTIVE SYSTEMS
  TO SUPPORT AND HELP EMPLOYMENT SEEKING and to
  incentive work, we propose
• To create a coordinated network between public
  and private stakeholders in order to produce
  synergies and economies of scale Network of
  Employment Services, within the framework of the
  OP Transregional Cooperation.
• Internal reform and training of the Employment
  Public Services staff.
• ACTIVATION AND MOTIVATION POLICIES for people
  with disabilities and their environment, through
  mobilization campaigns.
• CONTINUANCE AT WORK PROGRAMMES (working with
  mutualities), in order to avoid the early leaving
  of the labour market.

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5. Proposal of guidelines for the employment of
people with disabilities within the flexicurity
framework (II)
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A) EFFECTIVE ACTIVE EMPLOYMENT POLICIES (ii)

• Policies to PROMOTE HIRING AND THE INTERNAL
  DIMENSION OF FLEXICURITY
• Economic incentives for workers with disabilities
  who make the leap from inactivity to employment.
• Adaptation of the bonus system applied to the
  hiring depending on the different situations of
  the people with disabilities and on the degree of
  hiring by the companies.
• Internal dimension of flexicurity (in the
  companies) it needs to be progressively learnt
  through awareness-raising campaigns.
• The companies need to take on their
  responsibility to guarantee work and family life
  conciliation, to develop reasonable adjustments
  and to relocate people with acquired disability.

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5. Proposal of guidelines for the employment of
people with disabilities within the flexicurity
framework (III)
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B) SOCIAL PROTECTION POLICIES

• The UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS need to be combined
  with the development of effective inclusion
  pathways that improve the peoples employability.
  
• PENSION SYSTEM currently it can be a negative
  incentive for employment in some cases. We need
  to make the system more flexible through creative
  schemes adapted to the different situations
• Combination of pension and employment for a
  certain period of time.
• Making the entry and exit to the pension system
  more flexible, depending on the circumstances
  resulting from the disability.
• Reform of the financial compensation systems
  (disability benefits)

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5. Proposal of guidelines for the employment of
people with disabilities within the flexicurity
framework (IV)
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C) MEASURES TO PROMOTE ROTATION

• The Special Employment Centres (CEE) are an
  employment and security guarantee for people with
  low productivity levels not employed by the
  ordinary market. Financial support mechanisms
  adapted to the different situations are
  necessary.
• The transition process from a Special Employment
  Centre to the ordinary labour market (freely
  decided by the people) should have a to-and-from
  structure in case there is a failure in the
  ordinary employment integration.
• There is a need to incentive the hiring in the
  ordinary market through the promotion of the
  compliance with the compulsory quota, through
  awareness and inspection.
• It is essential to promote a framework that
  favours flexible and reliable contractual
  provisions flexible schemes of work organization
  (telework-conciliation).

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5. Proposal of guidelines for the employment of
people with disabilities within the flexicurity
framework (V)
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D) TRAINING FOR LIFELONG LEARNING

• It is necessary to promote the improvement of
  education and training for employment quality and
  accessibility in order to guarantee equal
  opportunities, through an inclusive approach
  universally accessible to all the students and at
  all education levels.
• The transition between training and employment of
  people with disabilities is yet to be solved,
  therefore, apart from the need of specific
  follow-up measures, we are considering the need
  of establishing traineeships schemes and training
  with hiring obligation schemes to improve this
  transition.
• The use of schemes such as the school-workshops,
  the employment workshops or the vocational
  training houses, with the inclusion of new
  activity sectors, can be an interesting option
  for people with disabilities.
• In order to achieve lifelong learning it is
  necessary to book vocational training and
  lifelong learning courses for people with
  disabilities.

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6. CONCLUSIONS

• As the EU has expressed, vulnerable workers must
  have opportunities to socially move forward in
  order to improve their mobility and to achieve
  successful labour market inclusion processes.
• In order to achieve these goals, the social
  protection system must be more flexible,
  guaranteeing a sufficient economic protection
  through a system that does not discourage
  employment and through activation measures..
• The agreed political approach in Spain must focus
  on the endorsement and the starting up of the
  Global Action Strategy for the Employment of
  People with Disabilities 2008-2012 (EGE) and its
  corresponding Action Plan. This strategys
  approach allows to tackle disability from a
  global and transverse point of view. We need to
  boost the EGE, which together with the European
  Social Fund financial aids and the principles of
  the European Action Plan of People with
  Disabilities 2008-2009 are a powerful tool to
  meet the development of flexicurity components.