Employment Opportunities for Disabled Russians: an overview of legislation and programs
By Valentina Lupanova, Perspektiva (Translated from Russian into English by Erin Trouth)
There are currently many disabled citizens in the Russian Federation who want to work, but have no opportunities for employment. The issue of unemployment is a complicated one which ranges from a lack of education to a lack of physical conditions at the work place to misconceptions about disabled people which prevail in Russian Society. This article, however, will focus above all on legislation which is in place to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in Russia to employment and potential for violation of this legislation.
Employment related legislation
The Russian constitution guarantees every citizen the right to employment, the right to make his or her own employment arrangements, the right to choose his or her own field of employment and profession, the right to work in a safe environment, the right to a salary that is not less than the legally-established minimum wage, the right to freedom from discrimination in employment, and the right to protection from unemployment. People with disabilities are provided additional guarantees to employment in Russia's Labor Code and in the Federal Law on the Social Protection of Disabled People in Russia. Other legislation has also been passed to guarantee employment for persons with disabilities, for example the law on 3% quotas passed in 1997 in Moscow, or the law on equal access for disabled people, passed on January 2001. It would seem that disabled people in Russia are well-protected by legislation which provides many opportunities for employment. However, unemployment remains very high amongst disabled people. Exact figures are unavailable. The authors of this article estimate that a minimum of 50% of disabled Russians are unemployed.
New risks for companies employing disabled persons
In the USSR, under the auspices of the All-Union organizations of disabled, blind and deaf people, a number of special enterprises for disabled people were established. The All-Russian Society of Disabled People still owns nearly 1,500 companies that employ approximately 50,000 disabled persons. Today these companies are at risk due to new tax codes. There were also vocational schools where disabled people could learn the skills necessary for employment in these enterprises. In Moscow alone there remain 39 such specialized enterprises, all owned by the state. As a rule, however, they employ only older people with disabilities and have many vacancies. The salaries paid by such enterprises are comparatively low, and they are simply not attractive to young people.
Obstacles to Employment
The first obstacle to finding employment involves the obligatory review board managed by the Ministry of Social Services. Each disabled person has to present themselves to this review board that consists of medical professionals. It is members of this board who decide if you are eligible to work and under what conditions. This procedure is typically very discriminatory, and can lead to you having on your work permit "is only able to work at home, or can only work under special conditions, or should not work." These labels are often very hard to get rid of even after your diagnosis is made.
According to data provided by the Moscow Committee on Social Protection, as of January 2001, there were more than 1 million disabled people living in the city of Moscow, and only 180,000 of whom were declared eligible to work by the medical commission. This means that only 18 percent of people with disabilities in Moscow are classified as "able to work." Despite the fact that the medical commission's decision is only an official recommendation, both government and private organizations are required to comply with so-called "individual rehabilitation programs" assigned to each disabled person. The individual rehabilitation program - Russian Federal Legislation, which was instituted in 2000, includes guidelines on three issues related to employment:
-
A program of professional and career training. This includes recommendations for what jobs the disabled person may be suited for, assistance in job placement, creation of a special job, and provisions for adaptive equipment.
-
Recommendations on necessary working conditions.
-
Potential for adverse effects of the work place on the person with a disability.
Working around the system
A person who is listed as "incapable of working" may be turned away by an employer until this "diagnosis" has been changed. In order for someone with this "stamp" to find employment, they must do one of three things:
-
Hide their disability when applying for jobs.
-
Find an employer who is willing to hire them despite the classification. This, however, is illegal and could result in a fine for the employer.
-
Request a change in classification from the Ministry of Social Services. As a rule, social service officials will respond to such requests with either a flat refusal, citing their concern over the disabled person's health, or with an offer to change the individual's disability class level making employment possible, but also decreasing the person's pension and reducing or eliminating other tax benefits. Such requests and responses are common occurrences.
New quota law
A 1997 Moscow law establishes a system of quotas in employment which states that any company or NGO with 15-30 employees must hire one disabled person, between 30-100 staff, must hire one person/ 30 staff and after 100 employees, 3% disabled persons. If they company does not comply, they pay a fine of approximately $40/ person / month. Moscow legislation also guarantees 60,000 jobs in state enterprises to disabled people. There are 89 specialized enterprises in Moscow that employ disabled people. Two of these companies also house rehabilitation centers for disabled people. With all of these employment measures in place in Moscow, the percentage of working-age people with disabilities who hold jobs has risen from 17.8 percent in 1998 to 19.2 percent in 2000. Nevertheless, fewer than one fifth of disabled adults hold jobs - a clear sign of the serious obstacles that disabled people face in finding employment.
"Paper" laws and other abuses
Some laws concerning the rights of disabled people exist on paper only. The Moscow law establishing employment quotas, mentioned above, is only partially enforced. The officially established quotas are far from being filled. Most employers find it simpler to pay the small fine rather than to hire a disabled person, as it is more economical, or to "fictitiously" hire someone and pay them a wage much smaller than the fine, but not expect them to actually work.
There have been cases where employers abuse legislation which is supposed to protect a disabled persons right to employment, for example, legislation which gave tax breaks to companies hiring more than 50% disabled staff. Companies, in search of these tax breaks, would formally "hire" people with disabilities, but not expect them to work, and in return for this "collaboration," the disabled employees would be paid a measly salary. This, however, has been one way for people with disabilities to supplement their pensions, and some people - often called "dead souls"- seek out such "jobs" in order to supplement their insufficient pensions. Until recently it was common for a disabled person to hold several such fictitious jobs in different organizations, and therefore receive multiple salaries. In the Moscow disability community, one often hears about a person who was officially employed at 8 separate companies. Recent legal reforms have made this much more difficult, and now as a rule it is possible to work for only one employer.
New tax code brings new problems
On January 1, 2002, a new tax code, however, came into effect in Russia. As mentioned above, in the past, companies with more than 50% disabled employees were given tax breaks, i.e. they paid no VAT and no or very little tax on their profits. The new system eliminates tax breaks on profits for all companies. According to one source at the All-Russian Society of Disabled People, new legislation could lead to the closing of many of their businesses, many of which have disabled people on staff. This source claimed that these businesses would not be able to compete with other businesses without tax breaks. Many disability NGOs have begun to contend this legislation and fight for the return of tax breaks.
Other obstacles include the total lack of accessible buildings and public transportation. In Moscow, for example, there is a special taxi service for disabled people, but because the number of cars is very limited, it is nearly impossible to reserve one for everyday needs. Moreover, the system requires that you order the day before you need it and not more in advance. Yet one more problem is the cost of the service and very few employers will compensate fees for staff to get to work. Consequently, people with disabilities are not able to get to work.
Innovative programs
In 2000 legislation was passed which provides tax breaks to the employer for each disabled employee. Normally an employer pays between 38 and 40% social tax on each of its employees. If an employee is disabled, the employer is exempt from paying these taxes until the employee's earnings exceed $3,000.00/year. This legislation applies to any business or NGO in Russia and is expressly to encourage businesses to employ people with disabilities.
In 2001, many of Russia's regional governments, including the administration of Moscow, developed programs to assist disabled people in finding jobs. In conjunction with these programs, a business agrees to hire a disabled person at a specified salary for a period of up to a year. Within 5 days of paying the disabled employee, the state will compensate the employer 100 percent of the employee's salary, plus taxes, at a level up to the average salary in the region. (In Moscow, the current average monthly salary is 6300 rubles [250 dollars], in the regions around Moscow, the average is 3100 rubles [120 dollars].) In order to participate in this program, a disabled person must go to his or her local employment office and present the recommendations provided by the medical commission of the Ministry of Social Protection. For those who participate in the program, the state will compensate employers for the participant's salary for one year. This year is intended to be a sufficient period for disabled workers to prove their ability and commitment, as well as to gain work experience. The hope is that employers will choose to keep program participants even after the year is up and after funding from the State has ended. During 9 months in 2001, over 1700 disabled people in Moscow alone applied to this program, and more than 500 were employed. This program is being implemented in many regions of Russia.
For people with disabilities this is one of the most effective programs in providing employment opportunities. It is being used in cities throughout Russia, e.g. Samara, Perm and Ukhta. Many disability NGOs are also taking advantage of this program to support staff. Its effectiveness is due to the guarantee of real, and not just fictitious, employment opportunities and a decent salary.
|
