Description
The goal of the project is to propose solutions aimed at improving opportunities for employing and employability of people with severe disability. The main programme activities is bringing together the various stakeholders ,PWD, Government, Employers and Unions to formulate a methodology under the Slovak legislation that allows for the successful implementation of a Supported Wage System (SWS). In addition spreading information about employing people with disability between employers, suggesting legislation solutions and creating employment programmes for particular employers. The expected outcome of the project is to increase the possibilities for the purposeful employment of individuals with severe disabilities that otherwise may be excluded from the open labor market. NGO EPIC Slovakia is working towards the bringing to Slovakia the SWS, which is applied in successfully internationally in jurisdictions such as Australia. The SWS will provide both long term and stable employment for many people with severe disabilities, and provides opportunities for people with severe disabilities to continuously improve their work productivity and be employed at full productivity wages. The SWS is a process that allows employers to pay a productivity based wage which matches a person's independently assessed productivity rate. It also enables eligible people with disability to access a reliable process of productivity based wage assessment to determine fair pay for fair work and give them in Slovakia for the first time the opportunity to find employment. The project is carried out by testing the model in practice in the open labor market.
Summary of project results
7 out of 10 people with disability in Slovakia are out of labor market. Career and work life is one of the key identities for everyone. Unfortunately, due to attitudes on the side of majority, people with disabilities living in Slovakia often cannot fulfill their dreams related to work and career. In many cases, they even don´t try to fulfill their carrier aims, because most of them lost ambitions based on the long-term frustration and signs of negativity, or even haven´t developed such ambitions. The project responded to this situation and by its activities initiates discussion on possibilities of employment of people with disabilities, whose value for the labor market is often ignored. The project dealt with such topics where the achievement of significant progress needs the modification of public paradigm. In spite of not being able to state dramatic changes, it is possible to demonstrate achievement of partial steps which definitely lead to improvement of the situation. During the project, the Australian model of employment of people with disabilities, the so called SWS model, was tested in Slovakia. There were 13 people with disabilities included into the testing and in case of 9 out of them the work place was sustained. The model of employment has been documented and is being used in other organizations and registered at Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family which considers to incorporate the model into the legislation. The important outcome of this activity is also the change of attitudes of employers that is documented in short videos, made out additionally of planned activities. During the project, discussion about support of employment of people with disabilities through the exclusive public procurements was initiated. Currently we cooperate with first organizations which are willing to realize this kind of procurements and apply the social aspects in the public procurement. (i. e. Municipality of Bratislava, Support Education Fund). During the project there was initiated also a debate on modification of mandatory fee for not fulfilling the mandatory quotas of employment of people with disabilities. The proposal came up from debate, and was sent to many organizations and it is prepared for the needs of Commissioner for people with disabilities. Except of other outcomes, there has been created the place for meetings of organizations working for mentioned topic and for mutual inspiration among these organizations.
Summary of bilateral results