International Labor Organization Recognizes an 80% Unemployment Rate among Persons with Disabilities
Edited by Luis Fernando Astorga Gatjens (lferag@racsa.co.cr) with information from Javier Martín/Disnnet
In its April 12, 2003 Report: "Time for Equality in Work", The International Labor Organization (ILO) denounced the 80% unemployment rate among persons with disabilities.
The ILO states that denial of opportunities in the job market, education and job training constitutes the most common form of discrimination. Because of this situation, workers with disabilities are able only to find low paying, unskilled and unimportant jobs, without any type of social protection. This international agency proposes the legal prohibition of all forms of discrimination in the world, as is now mandated by the European Union.
Mr. Juan Hunt, Director of the ILO in Spain reported: "Inclusion opportunities in the job market will contribute to the elimination of social fragmentation and reduce racial, ethnic, and gender conflicts.
The ILO estimates that between 7 to 10% of the population of the world has or acquires a disability, and that these figures will increase with demographic aging.
In Colombia, recent government sponsored studies indicate identical characteristics for persons with disabilities in the job market and social security, except that the percentage of those affected by disability related conditions is higher than 10% of the national population. This recent study was conducted by Jairo Clopatofsky, now Colombian Senator, and his company, Oráculo.
The situation is similar in Costa Rica. The National Department of Employment, of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, estates that despite many efforts, only 10 out of 100 persons with disabilities are able to obtain a job.
The increasing deterioration of economic conditions in the Latin American region, reduce job possibilities for persons with disabilities. When national unemployment rates increase, job opportunities become an extraordinary mission for persons with disabilities, who also have experienced social and educational discrimination, and now are found at the end of the line.
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