From March 14th to 17th, 2023, a seminar on the topic "Integration and inclusion of young people in the labour market of the European Union" took place in Herzogenrath/Germany, organised by NBH (Nell-Breuning-Haus) in cooperation with EZA and financed by the European Union. 31 representatives of employee organisations from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Latvia, Bulgaria, and Poland took part in the seminar.
Around 87 million people in the EU have some form of disability. Many people with disabilities in Europe do not have the same opportunities in life as other people. From schools or workplaces to infrastructure, products, services, and information are not accessible to everyone.
Principle 17 of the European Pillar of Social Rights posits the right of people with disabilities to income support that ensures them a life in dignity, to services that enable them to participate in the labour market and in society, and to a work environment adapted to their needs. Despite these framework conditions, declarations of intent and first important achievements in favour of people with disabilities (e.g. the European Accessibility Act, Regulations on the rights of passengers with reduced mobility in the main modes of transport; Internet Accessibility Directive, EU-wide standards for accessibility, pilot project on the EU disability card, EU parking card monitoring framework) integration and inclusion remain a challenge! Only half of all people with disabilities have a job - compared to three in four people without disabilities. 28.4% of people with disabilities are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, compared to 17.8% of people without disabilities. Only 29.4% of people with disabilities graduate from college, compared to 43.8% of people without disabilities. 52% of people with disabilities feel discriminated against.
In our seminar we were able to deal intensively with the starting points through the impulses and discussions with the two main speakers. Above all, the different fields of action in the member states were listed (presented contents: www.eza.org/en/publications/publications-on-the-social-dialogue/no-47-menschen-mit-behinderungen-auf-dem-arbeitsmarkt-hebel-fuer-eine-hoehere-beschaeigungsquote)
- the background information was supplemented by best-practice examples and personal experiences of successful inclusion (e.g.: cdn.dosb.de/alter_data inventory/fmdosb/arbeitsfelder/Breitsport/Inklusion/pdfs/Portraet_Sina_Eghbalpour_BARRIEREFREI.pdf).
In the first talk of experts that followed, the bandwidth between workshops in Germany (no minimum wage, restricted employee rights for high protective function) and the Belgian system of workshops (“normal wage payment” but financial aid, so that “only” 60% have to be generated) were mainly discussed up to a pure wage cost subsidy system without "workshops" are presented and discussed. The result of this round was that there is certainly no perfect model, but one can certainly learn from one another. During the visit to the Belgian workshop, it was possible to discuss that apart from productivity, shelters should also be integrated for people who can stay in the company after several years of work and their performance has deteriorated without losing their social ties - this is a major advantage of the German workshops.
In the second round of experts, the range of participation rights between the German model (no works council, no/very little trade union participation, alternatively only workshop councils for employees with disabilities) and the Belgian model (works council and trade union delegates in the company) were discussed. Even if a representative of the LAG of workshop councils defended the model, it must be kept in mind that the rights of the workshop councils (which have only existed since 1996 with improvements in 2001 and 2018) still lag far behind the possibilities of a works council with trade union participation and changes are urgently needed here.
Conclusions:
-It remains basic that all organisations involved, as multipliers in their countries/regions, seeing how inclusion is practiced and how experiences from the EZA/HIVA report and the seminar can improve this locally.
-It remains a European challenge also to think about inclusion in European terms. There is a need for significantly improved networking between the actors (at the seminar, employees from workshops in Aachen and Eupen (less than 20km away) were able to exchange ideas and learn from each other for the first time.
-Another European challenge is that borders must be dismantled. It is unacceptable for an employee (with impairments) to lose his job after many years of service just because he is moving, and his new home is no longer in Belgium but in Germany.
-The social dialogue within the framework of practiced corporate inclusion remains a European challenge, although there is a legal European framework, the declination in the member states is far from satisfactory. In particular, the participation of trade unions in the process of negotiating working conditions and wage structures remains difficult in many countries.
-One of the major challenges that we see is the participation competence of people with disabilities themselves. In Germany, a nationwide project "How does democracy work?" is currently being tested on which measures are necessary in facilities for disabled people to get young workers out to make workshops strong for democratic and political participation (in their factories). Do they know their rights, do they know how they can exert influence and where, etc. are questions that need to be brought to the fore. The experience of the project shows that so far only a few people with disabilities have benefited from training and seminars to increase democratic competence. As organisations involved, we need to think about new ways of teaching these skills to people with disabilities. Seminars need different formats, simple language, specific support, new social media access/platforms, etc. A European network would have great opportunities to benefit from people with disabilities who have learned to be able to express their needs in this context. The experience from the project "How does democracy work?" shows that they want it.