"When we talk about the employment of people with disabilities, we refer to human rights," said Siuzanna Mnatsakanian, Senior Officer of the Council of Europe project "Enhanced social protection in Ukraine” at the round table "Employment of People with Disabilities: European Perspectives in Ukraine", which took place on 1 May  2023.

The event was jointly organised by the Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform, the Public Union “The League of the Strong”, the Network for the Protection of National Interests "ANTS" with the support of the Council of Europe project "Enhanced social protection in Ukraine".

Representatives of relevant ministries, MPs, experts of public and international organisations discussed the key lacunas and challenges of current legislation in the field of employment of people with disabilities, shared European experience and standards of the Council of Europe, talked about new models of employment of people with disabilities which should be implemented in Ukraine at the legislative and practical levels.

"The European Social Charter states that its parties must provide effective access to the open labor market for people with disabilities. Unfortunately, according to the conclusions of the European Committee of Social Rights in 2020, Ukraine has not ensured this. In addition, there are no employment opportunities for people with mental and psychosocial disabilities in Ukraine, there is no supported employment policy in the open labor market, and the obligation of reasonable accommodation is not respected. Unfortunately, these are the realities of our life today, but they have to be changed, and they can be changed," - emphasized Siuzanna Mnatsakanian during the opening remarks.

"Every person is an important participant in the post-war reconstruction and development of Ukraine. That is why we strive to change approaches and form a new vision of relations between persons with disabilities, employers and the state. Providing a full set of tools, including: high-quality and timely rehabilitation, re-training, a set of services and support - all these will allow each person to fulfil oneself in the society and on the labor market, to bring benefits and contribute to the European future of Ukraine," mentioned Oksana Zholnovych, Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine.

Daria Sydorenko, Executive Director of the Public Union "The League of the Strong", noted that only 17% of people with disabilities in Ukraine are currently employed. "Our ambitious goal is to change this situation so that the employment rate among people with disabilities reaches 50%," said Daria Sydorenko, noting that this is the average figure in European countries.

Taking into account the above-mentioned, the draft law No. 5344-d "On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine on Ensuring the Rights of People with Disabilities to Work" was registered. As stated in the explanatory note to the draft law, it is aimed to create favorable conditions for the employment of persons with disabilities, including by implementing approaches regarding the development of stimulating mechanisms that have been tested in other countries for employers; creating more opportunities for persons with disabilities.

"In recent years, Ukraine has almost completely switched to the International Classification of Functioning, Limitations of Vital Activities and Health. Relevant work is being carried out by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine. The actual implementation of this Classification was the basis for preparing draft law No. 5344-d. The implementation of the provisions of this draft law will make it possible to employ many more persons with disabilities than it is currently happening, including in the public sector. Moreover, appropriate employment will be based on European standards," said Galyna Tretyakova, Head of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights, during her speech.

Olena Rym, consultant of the Council of Europe project "Enhanced social protection in Ukraine", highlighted that the adoption of the draft law will contribute to the fulfillment of Ukraine’s obligations to the Council of Europe and the European Union regarding the prohibition of discrimination against a person, in particular, based on his/her health condition/disability, as well as regarding the ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities to independence, social and professional integration, participation in society, etc.

Draft law No. 5344-d proposes to introduce changes to a number of normative acts in order to ensure the rights of persons with disabilities to work. In particular, it will increase employment guarantees for people with disabilities with the help of:

• introduction of funds compensation from the State Targeted Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities for the work of assistants for persons with disabilities during their employment;
• creation of additional guarantees for compensation of funds from the State Targeted Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities for professional training of employees –persons with disabilities, as well as for arranging workplaces;
• launching of state and local programs that will promote the employment of people with disabilities;
• changes in the conditions for providing quotas of jobs for people with disabilities, in particular, the imposition of employment obligations on state and communal institutions and bodies, the improvement of the procedure for collecting funds for violation of quota conditions;
• changes in terms of payment by employers to the State Targeted Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities, which will contribute to its replenishment;
• introduction of the possibility of reducing the amount of the monthly contribution to support the employment of persons with disabilities by the costs spent on purchasing the products or services produced or provided by the sheltered employment enterprises or business entities that have the status of an enterprise/entrepreneur of labor integration of persons with disabilities.

The Council of Europe project "Enhanced social protection in Ukraine" is being implemented by the Council of Europe within the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine "Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction" for 2023-2026. The Project is aimed to attain that vulnerable groups of people, including war-affected population in Ukraine, enjoy improved level of social rights and social protection.

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