Social – legal discourse of labor market inclusion of people with disabilities in Bulgaria 

PhD Student Petya Stoevska

 Trakia University, Bulgaria

ABSTRACT

Accession of Bulgaria to the EU in 2007 was followed by a radical transformation in government and social policies towards people with disabilities. The dominant medical model, in which the disabled are perceived as passive users of financial resources, has been displaced by activating the processes of social inclusion of people with deficits, including by creating conditions for their professional realization. The legal status of the disabled is regulated by changes in legislation aimed at overcoming social isolation of this vulnerable group and providing conditions for education, training and integration into society through real employment. The effectiveness of these processes largely depends on the successful coordination between the actions of the government sector, employers, changes in society's attitude to accept people with disabilities as equals in the labor market and the willingness of the disabled themselves to integrate into social life through work. 

One of the purposes of this article is to follow the current changes in the legislative and regulatory framework of the Republic of Bulgaria, which guarantee the creation of conditions for employment of people with disabilities. The subject of the empirical research, conducted through voluntary anonymous surveys on paper and electronic carrier in the period October 2019-June 2020, are the trends in the attitudes of people with disabilities to be educated and qualified in order to integrate into society through labor market participation. The survey has involved 550 people of different ages, with different degrees of disability and diverse socio-demographic profile. The content of the survey has been determined by its main objectives. The author uses the established terminology in the current Bulgarian legislation and normative documents concerning the medical expertise of the disabled persons.

The statistical processing of the data is conditioned by the complex analysis of the information, the methods and the techniques for their collection. The methods of descriptive statistics, as well as one-dimensional and two-dimensional frequency analysis are used for the distribution of the variables and the description of their possible categories. For this purpose, the number of units belonging to a given category is determined and the corresponding absolute and relative frequencies are calculated. The empirical data are processed using SPSS Statistics 17.0.0 WinWrap Basic and MS Excel 14.0.

The findings of the survey confirm the trend of change in the attitude of people with disabilities in Bulgaria to be active participants in the processes of their labor integration for personal realization, raising their standard of living and overcoming isolation and inequality from other members of society.

Keywords: people with disabilities, labor market, legislative changes, social aspects, trends in the attitudes

INTRODUCTION

In recent decades, there has been a fundamental global transformation in disability policies. The outdated concepts of the medical model, in which the disabled are perceived as sick, isolated users of financial and social resources, have been replaced by policies of integration of the disabled and creation of conditions for their personal and professional realization. The legal status of people with functional deficits is guaranteed through legislative and regulatory changes.

The tendency towards integration and reintegration of this part of the society on the labor market is becoming more relevant in the context of the demographic crisis in the industrialized countries. World Trade Organization sources claim that people with disabilities make up approximately 10% of the population of each country. UN data show that 82% of this vulnerable group in developing countries live below the poverty line. According to the World Bank, people with various deficits are 20% of the poorest people in the world.

In the European Union, about 80 million people are disabled. EU-SILC statistics on income and living conditions from 2011 show that around 26% of people with disabilities of working age declare restrictions due to urban barriers, negative public attitudes and difficult access to education and jobs. In Europe, the share of the poor among people with disabilities is 70% higher than the average. [1] By degree of disability, 36.1% of people of working age with permanent disabilities in 2015 are at risk of poverty or social exclusion. [2]

In Bulgaria, the deterioration of the demographic structure of the population in relation to labor market participants is evident from the report "Population and demographic processes in 2019" of the National Statistical Institute (NSI). [5] According to this report, the working age population is 4,156,000, or 59.8% of the country's population. The last census in 2011 included information on people with disabilities, which is important for policies in the field of their social and labor integration. As of 01.02.2011, there are 465,228 persons with disabilities aged 16 and over, of which 67,549 are economically active. [4]

After accession of Bulgaria  to the EU in 2007, began a process of synchronization of the national legislation concerning persons with disabilities with that of the member states and with internationally recognized documents such as: 1) UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; 2) Treaty on European Union, Article 13 of which refers to anti-discrimination law, incl. Discrimination on the grounds of "disability"; 3)  European Union Charter of Fundamental Rights; 4) European strategy for people with disabilities 2010-2020 and others.

The social and labor integration of people with disabilities in Bulgaria are regulated in a number of normative acts, among which: 1) Employment Promotion Act 2002; 2) Law on Integration of People with Disabilities, 2019; 3) Long-term Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities 2011-2020; 4)  National Strategy for People with Disabilities 2016-2020; 5) Updated Employment Strategy of the Republic of Bulgaria, 2013; 6)  Program for Stable Development of the Republic of Bulgaria 2014-2018; 7) National Reform Program EUROPE 2020; 8) National Action Plan for Employment, 2019; 9) National Strategy for Poverty Reduction and Promotion of Social Inclusion, valid until the end of 2020; 10) Law for People with Disabilities, 2019; 11) Personal Assistance Law, in force since 01.01.2019 and others.

Changed concept of disability as a social phenomenon puts people with functional deficits in the focus of European and national policies aimed at their social and labor integration.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The subject of this empirical study are the trends in the attitudes of people with disabilities in Bulgaria to integrate into society through their participation in the labor market. The survey was conducted in the period October 2019 - June 2020 through voluntary anonymous surveys on paper and electronic carrier. There is a possibility for more than one answer to some questions, due to which the sum of percentages of these answers exceeds 100%, and the total number of respondents exceeds 550. The surveys were preceded by a Declaration of Informed Consent.

The target group of respondents includes economically active and economically inactive people with varying degrees of disability and reduced working capacity at the age of 16 and over. The opinion of 550 participants was surveyed and analyzed, 262 of whom filled in the paper version of the survey, and 288 preferred the electronic form.

The statistical processing of the data is conditioned by the complex analysis of the information, the methods and the techniques for its collection. The methods of descriptive statistics, as well as one-dimensional and two-dimensional frequency analysis are used for the distribution of the variables and the description of their possible categories. For this purpose, the number of units belonging to a given category is determined and the corresponding absolute and relative frequencies are calculated. The empirical data were processed through the software package SPSS Statistics 17.0.0 WinWrap Basic, Copyright 1993-2007 (SPSS Statistics, 2007-17). For better visibility and comparability of the results, the data are visualized in tables and diagrams using MS Excel 14.0.7237.5000, Ms Office Pro Plus 2010 © (18). [6], [7]

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

In structuring the survey, the author uses the terminology adopted in the current Bulgarian legislation. In the Law on People with Disabilities the term “people with disabilities” includes persons with physical, mental, intellectual and sensory disabilities, which, when interacting with their environment, could hinder their full and effective participation in public life. "Persons with permanent disabilities" are persons with permanent physical, mental, intellectual and sensory disabilities who, when interacting with their environment, could impede their full and effective participation in public life, and to whom medical expertise has established the type and degree of disability 50% and over 50%. According to the NSI Methodology, used in the 2011 census, the degrees of disability or incapacity for work are differentiated into the following groups: up to 50%, from 50 - 70%; from 71 - 90%; over 90%. The same Methodology defines as economically active all employed and unemployed persons, and as economically inactive - persons aged 16 and over who are neither employed nor unemployed during this period. After 2000, the medical expertise determined the labor capacity of the disabled persons on the basis of criteria according to which the health condition of the disabled person has no relation to his residual working capacity, occupation and work experience. The survey contains questions with the following focus (Table 1):

Table 1 Socio - demographic profile of the respondents

The data from Table 1 show that women are more active participants in the survey than men (56% compared to 43.5%). The number of participants aged 35-55 (33.1%) predominates, followed by those aged 55-65 (28.7%). The respondents over 65 are 21.5%. The lowest number of participants is aged 18-35 (16.7%). In terms of marital status, married people dominate unmarried (38% compared to 21.6%); 17.6% are divorced; 13.3% are widows and 9.5% live on a family basis. The number of respondents with secondary education, including students, slightly exceeds that of respondents with higher education (45.82% compared to 41.45%); persons with primary education are 12% and those who did not attend school are 0.73%. The assumptions are that the socio-demographic profile of the participants in the survey influences the answers to the next questions from the survey.

The second section aims to clarify the degree, type and number of disabilities of the respondents, ascertained by medical experts, as well as the organs and systems affected by the disabilities. According to the percentage of reduced working capacity, the participants are distributed as follows: 187 people with disabilities between 71% - 90%; 174 people with disabilities between 51% - 70%; 95 participants with the highest degree of disability of 91% - 100%; 94 people or 17.1% of the respondents with less than 50% disability, requiring long-term specific treatment (Fig. 1).

The list of diseases from the survey was prepared on the basis of аrt. 37, para. 3 of the Health Insurance Act and includes chronic disabling diseases (Fig. 2).

Judging by the results from Fig. 3, the predominant number of 73.8% of participants declare acquired disability; 18.7% claim that their acquired disability is not related to a congenital anomaly. On the other hand, 42.5% noted that their disability is congenital; 6.9% declare that their disability is acquired as a consequence of the congenital anomaly.

The data shown in Fig. 4 reveal a predominance of respondents with two or more disabilities (51.6%) compared to those who declare one disability (48.4%).

The next section discusses the relationship between living standards, income, general health and emotional - mental state of the respondents. The author aims to trace the influence of these factors on the attitudes of people with disabilities to improve their quality of life by obtaining higher incomes from employment, despite the claims of some researchers that the emotional and mental well-being of the individual are not directly related with the comfort provided by high incomes [3] (Fig. 5, Fig. 6, and Fig. 7).

The answers, visualized in Fig. 8 aim to establish the level of awareness of people with disabilities about the changes in the legislation, governing the situation of this vulnerable group in society.

In view of the topic of the research, the answers to the questions concerning the labor initiative of the persons with deficits and their attitude to participate in the labor market are important (Fig. 9).

The numbers reveal the trend towards increasing employment of people with disabilities. Respondents, who work, sometimes in more than one form of employment, predominate; 44 people who run their own business also state that they are self-employed. Only 7.1% work in specialized enterprises for people with disabilities.  The reasons why people with disabilities work are summarized in Fig. 10.

The data show that for 91.6% of the respondents financial reasons are a priority factor for their participation in the labor market, which confirms the fact that this group is among the poorest in society. There is a relatively small difference between those who declare as a reason the need to overcome social isolation compared to those for whom the possibility of professional realization is important (38.7% compared to 40%). The need for additional income is the reason for people with disabilities to work in various forms of employment in some cases in more than one job (Fig. 11).

The share of 37.3% of people with disabilities who state that they are looking for a job corresponding to their education and qualification is significant; 21.5% are looking for any kind of job outside their home; almost 15% prefer to work according to their qualifications and education at home; about 10% are ready to do any kind of  work at home; 3.3% find it difficult to answer; 32.4% admit that they are not looking for a job and obviously rely on the support of the social system. The results confirm the optimistic trend of readiness of people with disabilities for labor integration, using their intellectual, educational and professional capacity.

The purpose of the next question is to clarify the attitude of the respondents to the quota principle for employment of people with disabilities, introduced with the latest amendments to the Law on People with Disabilities (Fig. 12). The slight differences in the data illustrate the ambiguous attitude of this vulnerable group to the attempts of the state to create conditions for their labor integration and to help resolve the labor crisis. With the latest amendments to the Law on People with Disabilities the state regulates strict conditions under which employers are obliged to hire such persons. It is known that some entrepreneurs prefer to pay the sanction instead of hiring people with functional deficits. In the context of the motivation of disabled people to integrate into the labor market, it is necessary to examine their answers to the question why employers refrain from hiring them (Fig. 13).

The data clearly prove that according to 70.4% of the respondents, among the most important reasons for the businesses to refrain from hiring them are the lack of suitable jobs and the impossibility to adapt the work environment to their specific needs. The number of those who cited the distrust of entrepreneurs in the professional capacity of people with disabilities and their frequent absence due to reasons related to their condition is the same - 267 people (48.5%). A significant 32% of respondents believe that the protectionist policy towards people with disabilities and administrative pressure are decisive for some employers to prefer sanctions to the problems that arise when hiring people from this contingent.

The results of Fig. 14 reflect the opinion of the respondents on the reasons why significant parts of people with disabilities are unemployed. The predominant 80.9% confirm the data in Fig. 13, pointing out the inability of disabled people to find a suitable job as the most significant cause of unemployment among them. The lack of specialized transport, infrastructure and appropriate living conditions at the workplace are important for 60.9% of the respondents. The share of 41.3%, who believe that the difficult adaptation to the workload and the specifics of the production process hinders their inclusion in the labor market, is almost equal to the share of 39.5%, for whom the lack of appropriate education and qualification is a determining factor for unemployment among people with disabilities. The next data are similar: for 36.2% the reason is the low salary, and for 33.6% the non-participation of the persons with deficits in the production process is a consequence of the lack of habits and discipline at the workplace. The relatively small share of 14.7% of those who state that they are not looking for a job confirms the readiness of disadvantaged people to integrate into society through work.

The following data illustrate the desire of respondents to continue to qualify in order to meet the requirements of their jobs (Fig. 15). The share of those who categorically state that they would like to develop their professional skills exceeds by about 7% the share of those who would qualify if the training is subsidized; 17.6% believe that their qualification corresponds to their job; almost 10% cannot answer.

Although the market economy creates conditions for economic development initiative and entrepreneurship, the data in Fig. 16 show an almost equal share of those wishing to start a business and those who are unsure of their managerial capabilities.

The percentage of those who believe that they are professionally prepared, have start-up capital and are able to start their own business slightly exceeds the percentage of those who state that they do not have adequate education, management capacity and funds to establish a company (42.7% compared to 41.1%); 16.2% of the respondents cannot answer.

The last question of the survey aims to establish the readiness of an entrepreneur with a disability to hire other people with disabilities given the challenges facing any business and the problems of a healthy, emotional - mental and social nature concerning this group (Fig. 17).

The fact that 79.8% of the answers are positive shows the willingness of employers with disabilities to hire other people with disabilities on the one hand because they are confident in their motivation to work and cope with their professional duties, and on the other hand - because, knowing their specific needs, they can create appropriate working and living conditions; 30% of the respondents cannot answer this question or have another opinion.

CONCLUSIONS

The global demographic crisis poses new challenges to developed countries in the areas of health, social services and the labor market. The concepts of disability as a medical problem and the need of people with disabilities mainly for specialized care and support from the social system in Bulgaria have been replaced by new strategies, regulations and practices aimed at overcoming the isolation of disabled and creating conditions for full functioning in the society corresponding to its capabilities. Particular attention is paid to the more efficient use of the residual working capacity of people with disabilities of working age and their integration into the real work environment. This area of government policy includes not only the development of mechanisms to ensure adequate employment of this vulnerable group, but the promotion of their business initiative, their desire for qualification and retraining in accordance with the growing demands of the modern technologies.

The results of the empirical study confirm that there is no direct link between the health status of people with disabilities and their potential for education and employment. The majority of respondents declare their readiness to be а part of all sectors of the open labor market. Although the leading motive for most of them is low income, for a significant percentage of respondents it is important to overcome social isolation and opportunities for professional realization, including through training and retraining. Demotivating factors are the mistrust of employers in the working capacity of people with disabilities and their resistance to sanctions for refusing to hire disabled people. The survey has shown that the debate on job creation, accessibility and adaptation of the work environment must continue both at government and expert level and with people with disabilities themselves.

REFERENCES 

1. European Strategy for People with Disabilities 2010-2020: A renewed commitment to a barrier-free Europe.
2. Joint Employment Report 2019 - European Commission; ec.europa.eu 
3. Layard, R. Happiness: Lessons from a New Science. London: Penguin, 2006 
4. National Statistical Institute. Census 2011. https://www.nsi.bg/census, 2011
5. "Population and demographic processes in 2019" of the National Statistical Institute. 
6. SPSS Statistics 17.0.0 WinWrap Basic, Copyright 1993-2007 Polar Engineering and Consulting. 
7. Veleva, P.M., Introduction to statistical methods. Chapter II of the monograph: Statistical software for experimental data processing, Reviewers: Galya Kozhuharova and Yanka Tsvetanova, Academic Publishing House Thracian University - Stara Zagora, ISBN: 978-954-338-152-4, 2019 (in Bulgarian)