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Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Czechia (RATIFICATION: 1993)

Other comments on C159

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Industry and of the Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS), as well as the Government’s response thereto, which were incorporated into the Government’s report.

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of a national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government regarding the financial and non-financial incentives contained in the Employment Act to promote the employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes in this regard that section 67 of the Act, as amended, expands the definition of persons with disabilities to include disadvantaged persons (persons who do not meet the criteria established under subsections (a) and (b) of section 67, but whose capacity to work are substantially limited due to long-term adverse health conditions). The incentives afforded under the Act include contributions from the Labour Office to employers supporting the creation of new jobs for persons with disabilities, wage contributions and partial reimbursement of costs related to the employment of persons with disabilities, including in sheltered jobs. In addition, the Government indicates that employers are granted an income tax abatement for employing persons with disabilities, and those employing persons with disabilities may be granted preferential treatment under section 101 of Act No. 137 of 2006 on public procurement.

The Committee notes that section 81 of the Employment Act requires employers with more than 25 employees to employ a specified percentage of persons with disabilities, equivalent to 4 per cent of the employer’s total workforce. The Act further provides that employers may also fulfil this obligation through other means, including by purchasing products and services from employers whose workforce is composed of more than 50 per cent of persons with disabilities, as well as by making payments to the State budget in the proportions specified in section 82 of the Act. The Government indicates that, in 2012, the system of sheltered workplaces was eliminated and replaced with a system of sheltered jobs. In 2014, employers received support under section 78 of the Employment Act for the employment of 36,147 persons with disabilities, and 1,132 persons with disabilities were placed in sheltered jobs (compared with 768 in 2013).

In its previous comments, the Committee invited the Government to provide an assessment of the measures implemented to remove barriers and create better conditions for persons with disabilities in the open labour market. The Government indicates that a project was carried out with a view to increasing the effectiveness of the system to support the employment of persons with disabilities, which led to the establishment in 2014 of a working group at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MoLSA) tasked with the comprehensive adjustment of the current system.

In its observations, ČMKOS considers that the current vocational rehabilitation system in the Czech Republic does not provide adequate coverage, as the vocational rehabilitation services provided by the Labour Office meet only a fraction of the need. In addition, ČMKOS expresses its dissatisfaction that accident insurance is currently provided by private insurance companies and that surplus financial resources held by these companies are being transferred back to the State budget, instead of being used for targeted prevention and rehabilitation of workers injured at work. The ČMKOS is, however, pleased to note that the notion of disadvantaged workers has been reintroduced in section 67 of the Employment Act, as these workers are those in greatest need of vocational rehabilitation, but given their level of impairment, they do not qualify for a disability pension. The Confederation of Industry is of the opinion that the support given for projects and programmes have only resulted in recommendations without adding any specific substantive elements. Moreover, the Confederation of Industry expresses concern that the Ministry for Regional Development plans to eliminate the advantages accorded to employers under the current public procurement system. It also highlights the low level of financial resources available in 2014 to implement vocational rehabilitation programmes.

In response to the observations from the Confederation of Industry and ČMKOS, the Government indicates that it is committed to continuing its efforts to establish a fully accessible vocational rehabilitation system and is currently carrying out a complex re-evaluation of the current system under the auspices of the MoLSA. The Government also points out that vocational rehabilitation is not the only active labour market policy tool available, noting its ongoing programmes to encourage and support disadvantaged groups of people in finding employment. The Committee notes the concerns expressed by the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in its concluding observations on the initial report submitted by the Czech Republic under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD/C/CZE/CO/1, 15 May 2015) in relation to “the high unemployment rate of persons with disabilities and the fact that the unemployment rate of women with disabilities is higher than that of men with disabilities”. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities also noted with concern that close to one third of employed persons with disabilities work outside the open labour market.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of its national policy on persons with disabilities as well as the impact of its main programmes and measures, including the system of sheltered jobs. Please also provide further information on employment and vocational rehabilitation programmes and active labour market policy measures focusing on promoting the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including information on programmes and measures taken to increase the proportion of women with disabilities in employment and vocational training, as well as on the different types of training measures (mainstream or specialized training) and their impact. Please also provide statistics and relevant data, disaggregated as much as possible by age, sex and the nature of the disability, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries concerning the matters covered by the Convention, including information on compliance with the quota system for employing persons with disabilities in the private and public sectors.

Article 4. Equality of opportunities and treatment. The Government indicates that, in June 2015, a new National Plan for the Support of Equal Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities (2015–20) was approved. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on the impact of the measures, including measures adopted or envisaged to implement the 2015–20 National Plan, aimed at ensuring equality of opportunity and treatment in employment and vocational rehabilitation and training for workers with disabilities. Please also include information on specific measures taken to increase the proportion of women with disabilities and persons with disabilities belonging to vulnerable groups, including those from the Roma community in employment and vocational rehabilitation and training.

Article 5. Consultation with the social partners. The Committee notes that the working group established by MoLSa in 2014 to propose comprehensive adjustments to the system supporting the employment of persons with disabilities includes government representatives, representatives of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic, employers’ representatives as well as representatives of organizations of and for persons with disabilities, including the Chamber of Employers of Persons with Disabilities and the Czech National Disability Council. The Government indicates that the working group has identified areas in which work is needed to improve the position of persons with disabilities in the labour market, as well as the effectiveness of the existing system supporting their employment. These areas include: workload assessments to enable persons with disabilities to successfully find a job, if any, on the labour market; simplification and increased effectiveness of support in the open labour market; and streamlining and simplifying support to employers, creating synergies between tax deductions and other benefits available to support the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the content and outcomes of the consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations and representative organizations of and for persons with disabilities on the matters covered by the Convention.