During the plenary session of the European Parliament in Brussels (8-11 March 2021), MEPs debate and vote on the equal treatment in employment and occupation in light of the UNCRPD. Only 50% of people with disabilities are employed. To help change this, MEPs call on member states to ensure employers make reasonable adjustments for employees with disabilities in the workplace; extracts from the debate (08/03) with Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS (EPP, EL), Alex AGIUS SALIBA (S&D, MT),Dragoș PÎSLARU (Renew, RO), Margarita de la PISA CARRIÓN (ECR, ES), Sandra PEREIRA (The Left, PT), Ádám KÓSA (EPP, HU), the final vote (10/03) and statement by Katrin LANGENSIEPEN (Greens/EFA, DE), rapporteur

Brussels

statement

debate

plenary session

vote

fight against discrimination on the basis of disability (T)

KÓSA, Ádám (NI, HU)

METZ, Tilly (Greens/EFA, LU)

AGIUS SALIBA, Alex (S&D, MT)

KYMPOUROPOULOS, Stelios (EPP, EL)

PÎSLARU, Dragoş (Renew, RO)

PEREIRA, Sandra (The Left, PT)

LANGENSIEPEN, Katrin (Greens/EFA, DE)

DALLI, Helena (MT, EC)

DE LA PISA CARRIÓN, Margarita (ECR, ES)

Equal treatment in employment and occupation in light of the UNCRPD: extracts from the debate (08/03) and the final vote (10/03) and statement by Katrin LANGENSIEPEN (Greens/EFA, DE), rapporteur

Title: Equal treatment in employment and occupation in light of the UNCRPD: extracts from the debate (08/03) and the final vote (10/03) and statement by Katrin LANGENSIEPEN (Greens/EFA, DE), rapporteur

SOUNDBITE (English), Katrin LANGENSIEPEN (Greens/EFA, DE), Rapporteur, Companies have the idea of a person with disability is not able to work, always sick, we can't cancel the contract. It is not true. It is very difficult to get the acceptance from the company that they invited me for an interview, for example. They see, oh I have a disability card, I am a person with visible disability and they say no, thank you.

SOUNDBITE (English), Katrin LANGENSIEPEN (Greens/EFA, DE), Rapporteur, We describe the situation of persons with disabilities and the labour market in the European Union and the results, the situation is bad and we call the European Comission to change the situation for persons with disabilities regarding the UN convention.

SOUNDBITE (English), Helena DALLI, European Commissioner for Equality, The job environment needs to be accessible. Accessibility and reasonable accommodation must go together to create appropriate conditions for inclusive labour markets. We will pay close attention to the correct implementation and evaluation of all EU rules regulating accessibility and identify gaps and needs for further legislative actions. We also call on member state to establish targets for increasing the employment rate of persons with disabilities and to facilitate self employment and entrepreneurship. We encourage the use of EU funds.

SOUNDBITE (English), Stelios KYMPOUROPOULOS (EPP, EL), People cannot be employed in the open labour market when they are excluded from the mainstream and traditional system, when they cannot use the public transportation or do not have the support they need in their daily life. Inclusion after all is and should be our objective. Let us stop collecting fakes or the different schemes for the disabled persons in order to keep us out of your way.

SOUNDBITE (Maltese), Alex AGIUS SALIBA (S&amp;D, MT), Work and employment give you dignity and life. And yes, they can give dignity to people with disabilities. Work and employment are crucial elements for independent living and elementary factors in ensuring full and effective participation and inclusion of persons with disabilities in society.

SOUNDBITE (English), Drago&#537; P&#206;SLARU (Renew, RO), Our ignorance, our intolerance, our outdated practises or our slowness to adapt, deprive indeed our societies of the talent and potential of so many of our fellow citizens. And that is indeed a tragedy for all of us as a whole. We have to rethink the way we see this issue. This is not about expenditure to artificially pretend to create jobs for some people, this is about investment, for creating access and opportunities that persons with disabilities need.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Margarita de la PISA CARRI&#211;N (ECR, ES), We do need to look at varied labour market adjustments to ensure that they, those with disabilities, can incorporate the labour market, integrate our society, and though that we can also benefit from their experience.

SOUNDBITE (Portuguese), Sandra PEREIRA (The Left, PT), Persons with disabilities are one of the social sectors which are the most affected by unemployment and precarity. They're one of the groups most affected by poverty and social exclusion. We need to ensure access for persons with disabilities to their full rights. Their inclusion in the labour market requests a better framework. We need to promote their salaries and also ensure a collective contract.

SOUNDBITE (Hungarian), &#193;d&#225;m K&#211;SA (EPP, HU), Common achievements are present in this new strategy. There is a new human rights approach in education, which I welcome. Horizontal data collection on people with disabilities is another novelty and accessibility in communication, because we have so far only focussed on physical accessibility.

Announcement of the results of the vote: adopted with 578 in favour, 65 against and 51 abstentions.