“Traditional explanations for the disadvantage experienced by disabled people in the European labour market in terms of their citizenship rights are no longer considered appropriate by disabled people and their organisations. They have recognised the employment problems encountered by people with disabilities are due to a complex system of hostile environments and disabling barriers referred to as institutional discrimination” (Barnes, 1992:1).

Introduction

The notion of citizenship has become fashionable once again and has become a shorthand device for talking about the relationship between individuals and their societies. While politicians, policy makers and employers have rediscovered the notion of citizenship, disabled people have begun to redefine disability not as personal tragedy requiring therapy but as collective oppression requiring political action. Hence, the history of citizenship, according to T.H.Marshall (1952) can be seen as the achievement of certain political, social and civil rights for everyone. For the latter, disability is nothing less than the denial of basic human rights to certain groups within society.

This project focuses on employment as a significant issue for disabled people’s rights to participate fully as equal citizens in the European labour market. Work is crucial for an individual’s economic and social well-being but attitudes and practices which discriminate against disabled people’s employment are entrenched and still existing in most part of the European Union Member States. This paper will explain why anti-discrimination legislation is the mostly likely to solution obstacles that face disabled people in accessing employment. This will include an overview of the evidence of the denial of disabled people’s citizenship rights, an exploration of the process and different aspects of discrimination legislation for trying to overcome disadvantage.

This paper is divided into five sections. The first chapter explains the concept of citizenship. The second chapter mentions disability as a minority group who are excluded from having better citizenship rights as a result of their denial to employment rights. This chapter will also define disability from different perspectives and explores disability rights at in some European Member States. The third chapter will focus more on employment rights for disabled people. It will look at the participation population among disabled people in European labour market and identify why few disabled people participate in the labour force compare to other non-disabled people. It would suggest that discrimination plays a major part in many disabled people being involved in the labour market. This will bring us to examine more details in the chapter four which will deal with disability discrimination and disabled people struggle for anti-discrimination legislation. This final chapter will also identity some recommendations to deal with employment barriers faced by disabled people and suggest anti-discrimination legislation as an important disability policy to alleviate these employment barriers.

Chapter 1
Conceptualising Citizenship

Philosophical origins of Citizenship

In the later nineteenth century, citizenship was the concept used by many philosophers and sociologists to describe the political integration of people into their societies. The relationship between the individual and society is one of mutual dependence. Lister argues that the philosophy of citizenship has provided a means of reconciling the collectivist tradition of the left with notions of individual rights and responsibilities (Lister, 1998:2). Citizenship is embedded in membership of and participation within a community. Marshall defines citizenship as:

“ A status bestowed on those who are full members of a community. All those who possess the status are equal with respect to the rights and duties with which the status is endowed” (Marshall and Bottomore, 1992:18).

Turner (1994) points out that citizenship rights are concerned with the nature of social participation of persons within the community. citizenship is a basic status which gives each person who holds it the ability to be recognised in a political community. In feudal era, people were not citizens: they did not have basic rights but rather were the property of their lords. The modern idea of citizenship has its roots in the Enlightenment, the intellectual movement of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries which sought to substitute the language of reason and rights for traditional and divine authority. Contemporary discussions of citizenship take as their source of the work of T.H. Marshall. In this work he characterises the process of modernisation over the past three hundred years as the history of the general expansion of citizenship, in relation to the rights of citizens, and a growth in number of those entitled to citizen status. Citizenship is the right to have rights. T H Marshall called citizenship as 'a status bestowed on those who are full members of a community. This idea, like solidarity, can be exclusive; it can be used to deny people rights, as well as to include them.

Marshall ’s theory of Citizenship

Citizenship is a three-legged stool

Citizenship can be defined in Marshall ’s classic formation as consisting of ‘a three legged stool’. First, there are fundamental civil rights such as freedom of speech, thought and religious toleration; equality before the law, the due process of the justice system, the right to conclude contracts as equals – the rule of law in its broadest sense. Second, there are basic political rights including the right to vote, form political parties and contest elections – democratic pluralism in essence. Third, there are basic social rights: ‘the whole range from the right to a modicum of economic welfare and security to the right to share to the full the social heritage and to live the life of a civilised being according to the standards of the prevailing society’ (Marshall, 1973:72). Anthony Giddens argues that these rights were not fully established in most European countries until the late eighteenth century or early nineteenth century (Giddens, 1990:304).

Political rights are concerned with the right to vote, form political parties and contest elections – democratic pluralism in essence. These political rights have to be struggled for and different groups within society received these rights at different times, given governments’ reluctance to recognise universal franchise. Finally, Marshall identifies social rights as: ‘the whole range from the right to a modicum of economic welfare and security to the right to share to the full the social heritage and to live the life of a civilised being according to the standards of the prevailing society’ (Marshall, 1973:72). With the decrease in laissez-faire policies in the early twentieth century, followed by an increase in market intervention through taxation, and provision of a minimum wage and social services, social rights have been brought into citizenship.

The Treaty of the European Union established the European Citizenship

The 1993 Treaty on European Union (TEU), concluded at Maastricht , was also significant for building into the body of the Treaties explicit recognition of the concept of fundamental rights. The Amsterdam Treaty has entrenched the concept of fundamental rights as the basic building block of the Union . Article 6(1) declares that the Union "is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States". The Treaty repeats, in Article 6(2), the language of Article F(2) but brings it within the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice[24], although there remain significant limitations on the Court's jurisdiction with regard to police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters[25] and the Court has no jurisdiction in relation to the Common Foreign and Security Policy (http://www.europa.eu.int). Article 7 anticipates the suspension of rights derived from the Treaty, including voting rights, if a Member State is in "serious and persistent breach" of the principles in Article 6(1).

The European Community was founded for political and economic reasons. The central political aim was less European Union than the maintenance of peace in Europe. The principal economic aim was the establishment of a European free market (http://www.iespana.html). The European Coal and Steel Community, established under the Treaty of Paris in April 1951, and the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community which followed in 1957 were, like the Council of Europe, formed as part of the reaction to the Second World War. It is clear from the Preamble to the Treaty of Paris that the primary motive of the six original Member States was not narrowly economic. Their objectives were to safeguard world peace by creative efforts, to build Europe through practical achievements which would create real solidarity, and they "resolved to substitute for age-old rivalries the merging of their essential interests; to create, by establishing an economic community, the basis for a broader and deeper community among peoples long divided by bloody conflicts; and to lay the foundations for institutions which will give direction to a destiny henceforward shared".

The Treaty of Rome set the goal of greater economic integration within a broader political and security context, referring to Member States "pooling their resources to preserve and strengthen peace and liberty". The Treaty itself prohibited discrimination on the grounds of nationality (Article 7), and provided for free movement of workers and rights of establishment for nationals of Member States (Articles 48-58), for equal pay without discrimination on grounds of sex (Article 119), and for improved working conditions and a better standard of living for workers (Articles 117-122). But the founding Treaties of the three Communities made no mention of fundamental rights.

The civil and political rights enshrine in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Convenant on civil and Political Rights (UN) and the European Convention on Human Rights (Council of European) must be guaranteed throughout the European Union. “Everyone shall have the right to equal treatment and opportunities without discrimination on grounds of sex, social, racial or ethnic origin, religion or beliefs, disability, age or sexual orientation” (http://www.europa.eu.int).

Chapter 2
Disability and Citizenship

Disability definitions

There are a number of ways of defining disability: Two current ways of looking at disability are the Social or Barriers Model and the Medical or Individual Model.

Medical model

Most of us imagine a person whose disability is immediately obvious and forget that there are many different types of disability, of which not all are visible. In fact, the understanding of disability can be difficult and there are a number of descriptions and definitions that are commonly used. Some of them draw on the medical terminology and concepts. They tend to emphasise the medical condition of the individual and the way in which this limits or hinders his or her ability. This is called the medical model of disability. A disabled person needs professionals to look after his or her life; and a disabled person does not have the same rights as other people (SIPTU, 1998: p.7). It focuses on the individual, specifically on the body (the medical 'gaze') - therefore on the impairment. The medical model of disability is the traditional view that: disability is caused by mental and/or physical impairment. The individual is 'impaired' and the individual has a problem. Oliver (1996) suggests that the focus of the medical profession is to 'cure' or alleviate the effects of impairments, that is, they say that disabled people need to be treated, changed, improved and made more 'normal' to fit in with society.

Medical model relies on a strong notion of 'normality'; disability as 'deviant physiology' which needs to be 'corrected' (at any cost? e.g. radical surgery, genetic screening). The term Medical professionals see disabled body as an abnormality. 'Normalization' - "the conditions of everyday life for people with disabilities... should approximate the norms and patterns of the mainstream of society as closely as possible " (Wright 1983, p.122). The medical model sees disability as personal tragedy and suggests that disabled people are regarded as people with limitations who cannot ensure a reasonable quality of life because of their impairment. This model expects individuals to find ways of adapting to society. It puts the duty of adjusting and adapting to the society of able-bodied on the disabled (http://www.healthlibrary.com/reading/disability/defi.htm).

The medical model labels the patient according to their impairment (diagnosis) implies simple relation between impairment and handicap. They identify an ambiguity of 'normal' as: description (measurement, diagnosis) evaluation (moral judgement). Medical professionals reliance on false notion of 'the normal', as a stable and universal criterion - ignore cultural and historical variations. They have very negative, ignore abilities and needs which disabled people share with everyone else (continuum of needs). The power of medical profession in society gives legitimacy to medical solutions (e.g. leg lengthening surgery).

Medical labels, categories and definitions carry over into wider cultural contexts reproducing stereotype of disabled person as 'unfortunate' or 'tragic'. They ignore the social, economic contexts in which disabled people live, which may be more significant determinants of handicap. The medical approach can be, and often is, an appropriate approach to impairment. The problem arises when the medical way of thinking about disability becomes the only way as a result of the dominant position of the medical profession; e.g. a situation where a person is 'coerced' into radical surgery 'for their own benefit', the permeation of 'tragic' stereotypes.

Medicine responds by seeking to cure or rehabilitate disabled people (Barton, 1996: 149). Individual or medical models of disability are associated with individual pathology where emphasis is placed on cure or on the individual’s psychological, physical and social adjustment to their impairment (Fewcett, 2000: pp. 20-21). One of the dominant influences shaping both professional and common sense definitions of disability has been the ‘medical model’ (Barton, 1996: p.8). Medical values and interpretations have contributed to a view that gives priority to impairments, physical and intellectual, as being the cause of disability (Barton, 1996: p.9). From the medical perspective, people are disabled as a result of their ‘individual physiology’ or ‘cognitive impairments’ (Barton, 1996: p.148).

Social model

Other descriptions and definitions – the ones which are favoured by disabled people themselves –emphasise the way in which the environment or social circumstances prevent disabled people from living full and equal lives. This is called the ‘social model of disability’ (SIPTU, 1998: p.6). The social model’s description of disability involves environmental factors that affect many disabled people in society. The term ‘disability’ is best understood as a form of social oppression resulting from a socially constructed environment unsuited to the needs of impaired people.

The social model of disability is a view that impairments and chronic illness often pose real difficulties for disabled people but they are not the main problems. According to the social model of disability, notwithstanding the fact that individuals' personal experience of their impairments may be negative and in some cases painful or hindering, society as a whole has created disability because it has failed to take into account the needs of people with impairments. It is non-disabled society which has created the barriers to full social equality for people with impairments, and it is non-disabled economists and politicians who tell us that 'we' cannot afford the cost of removing those barriers (Oliver, 1996, Barnes, 1992 and Fawcett, 2000). But disability is a human rights issue; and human rights are not to be denied some people by the oppressive fiscal calculations of others. The social model approach demands an integrated society. This does not just mean integrating disabled people into a non-disabled world; it means re-defining society according to the perspectives of all people, not just the non-disabled. This understanding of disability has been growing stronger in recent years, and is the only approach acceptable to the British Council of Organisations of Disabled People (BCODP).

The social model of disability emphasises the segregationist, disablist and dependency creating implications of ‘medical models’ for disabled people (Fawcett, 2000: p. 22). Fawcett argues that:

“The difference between these two models is that the medical model of disability is associated with individual pathology, where emphasis is placed on care or on the individual psychologically… whereas the social model of disability presents a structuralist, materially orientated analysis” (Fawcett, 2000: pp.20-21).

The social model of disability does not deny the problem of disability but locates it squarely within society (Oliver, 1996: p. 32). People are labelled as disabled because they look different from the rest of the society on account of their appearance, behaviour or capacity to learn. It is based on social constructionist and social creationist perspectives (Oliver, 1990 in Fawcett, 2000: p. 22). It aims at exposing and removing the personalised analysis of impairment, instead locating the problem of disability squarely within society’s failure to adequately provide for the needs of the impaired individual” (McCarthy, 1999: p. 9).

“… the analysis as offered by the social model seems unproblematic, even emancipatory; it appears to offer a realistic and practical directive, acting as a code of coherent institutions through which to guide the necessary critique of the individual model of disability” (McCarthy, 1999: p. 17).

Furthermore, McCarthy notes that the social model has set in motion that belief in the need to change the power relations that have become institutionalised between the person with the impairment and those who traditionally governed the life of the disabled. People with impairment feel disabled not because of their physical and or mental handicaps but because of the barriers that society chooses to put up to establish differences between the disabled and non-disabled. These barriers fall into three broad categories: environmental, institutional and attitudinal barriers.

Environmental barriers are associated with inaccessible public and private buildings, schools, colleges, transport, communication system and others which shut the disabled out of their alleged short-comings and shouting at them that someone is not welcome. One of the greatest forms of discrimination which many people with disabilities face is having lack of access to buildings and functions (Lonsdale, 1990: p. 148). The Irish Time newspaper has published some voices of the disabled who tell how they are disabled by society. A disabled person in this newspaper says that “she travelled to her local FAS employment service for information on community employment schemes and when she arrived there she could not get in – two steps at the main door” (The Irish Times, 19/11/1996).

Institutional barriers involve exclusion, expulsion and segregation from key social institutions such as education, employment, health, law and others which create direct and indirect discrimination against disabled people and prevent them from taking full advantage of these provisions. For example, students with certain physical disabilities are discriminated against by the National University of Ireland and are banned from doing medical courses (The Examiner, 31/8/1996). In a recent article in the disability magazine, Insight, British’s most senior military officer discriminates against disabled people and says that they should not serve in the armed forces (Insight, February 2001).

Attitudinal barriers are manifested by non-disabled people when they treat and view disabled people with prejudice and regard them as incapable, inadequate, resentful, bitter, pathetic, unhealthy, dependent on charity, aggressive and other stereotypical attributes. The Irish Times newspaper, for instance suggests that “some of the biggest obstacles facing Irish people with disabilities are attitudinal barriers in the form of prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination …” (The Irish Times, 3/12/1991 ).

The social model suggests that people with disabilities are also people with abilities; society creates disabling barriers (disabled people cannot compete on equal terms because there are too many barriers; society has a duty to remove these barriers) and that people with disabilities have the same right to equality as all other citizens (SIPTU, 1998: p. 7). The social model throws the spotlight on the need for societal change and the removal of socially created barriers and all forms of institutional discrimination, in contrast to the help the unfortunate disabled person to adjust to their limitations perspective (Thomas, 1999: p. 15). “… disability is, according to the social model, all those things that latently or manifestly impose those restrictions on the impaired individual” (McCarthy, 1999: 9).

Disability is all things that impose restrictions on disabled people; ranging from individual prejudice to institutional discrimination, from inaccessible public buildings to unusable transport systems, from segregated education to exclusive work arrangements, and so on. The consequences of this failure do not simply and randomly fall on individuals but systematically upon disabled people as a group who experience this failure as discrimination institutionalised throughout society (Oliver, 1996: p.33).In other words, physical and mental impairments do not involve social disadvantage directly. They give rise to such disadvantage through the mediation of the attitudes and practices of the disabled person’s social environment.

According to The Irish Times newspaper, “society-wide discrimination and paternalism had resulted in 300,000 Irish people with disabilities becoming the country’s most isolated, unemployed and welfare-dependent minority” (The Irish Times, 3/12/1991). The Irish Examiner newspaper reported recently that “many disabled people’s income is below average” (Irish Examiner 10/9/1996). It contends that many disabled people live below the breadline and almost half have an income well below the national average

As we have discussed in chapter one the history of citizenship can be seen as an achievement in political, social and economical ( Marshall (1950). Here it is argued that many disabled people in Ireland do not have these rights. Those with disability appear to enjoy the same rights as others, yet closer inspection indicates that this is not so. While people with disabilities share the common rights of freedom of association, thought, speech and ownership of property, in reality their civil rights are curtailed by such factors as being unable to obtain a mortgage on account of unemployment or temporary work contracts, and the difficulty of meeting together because of inadequate transport facilities as well as sign language interpreter for communicating with other non-sign users. With respect to political rights, although in theory they have the right to exercise their political franchise fully, inaccessible polling stations (Quin et al, 1999:155), and the freedom of information is limited. This is bigger problem to many deaf people and other people with disabilities who wish to access for vote and form political parties. Quin et al (1999), also argues that many disabled people in Ireland have problem with social rights. The concept of social rights encompassed what is required to be participate in social living in its broadest sense, including having a standard of living or lifestyle compatible with current social expectations as well as the use of social facilities similar to everyone else. “One of the greatest forms of discrimination which many people with disabilities face is having lack of access to buildings and functions” (Lonsdale, 1990:148). Access to the build and external environment necessary to enable disabled people’s access and participation in any or all of the other aspects of social and civil society (Commission, 1996:153). Due to the existence of inaccessibility in many areas in Ireland , this creates many problems for disabled people in regarding to access for employment. Many disabled people in Ireland are on social welfare recipients and are more likely to be at risk of being poverty. The research into disability poverty in Ireland by National Rehabilitation Board is a clear example of that. It estimates that over 70% of disabled people who are dependent on social welfare are poverty (NRB, 1998).

Attitudes to Disability in Ireland

The National Disability Authority (NDA) was established in June 2000 as an independent statutory body operating under the aegis of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The NDA’s mission is to promote and help secure the rights of people with disabilities by influencing public policy and legislation and working to ensure that services for people with disabilities are of the highest standards and quality. In February 2001 the NDA commissioned a countrywide survey of Attitudes to Disability in Ireland . The survey was conducted by Research and Evaluation Services (RES) as part of the Irish Social Omnibus Survey (ISOS). The core focus of the survey is exclusively social policy issues. A total of 1000 people (aged 18+) were interviewed to give a sample representative of the Irish adult population. Interviews were conducted between April and May 2001 by interviewers employed by RES (http://www.iol.ed/nda). The results of the survey clearly showed that a high percentage of Irish people had very negative attitudes towards disability and frequently looked on people with a disability from a medical model perspective.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected by special legislation, exclusively dealing with disability matters. The only mechanism available to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is due process (legal remedy through courts). The general legislation applies to persons with different disabilities with respect to education, the right to marriage, the right to parenthood/family, political rights, access to court of law, right to privacy and property rights (www.independentliving. org). However in order to assert one’s rights the financial and emotional factor involved often prevent a person seeking their rights.

Chapter 3
Disability and Employment

The Employment Community Initiative (Horizon)

European Social Fund support is also available through the EMPLOYMENT Community Initiative which helps people who have specific difficulties in finding or keeping a specific job or career. The total budget for the initiative during the period 1994-1999 is almost 3.5 billion ECU, including both EU and Member States contributions. One of the four strands of this Initiative, HORIZON, provides support specifically for people with disabilities; disabilities ranging from physical to mental health impairments or cerebral palsy. A total of 1700 projects have received or are still receiving ESF funding under HORIZON, the aim of which is to develop new ways of tackling the problems which people face in today’s ever changing labour market and to bring about positive changes in training and employment policies and practices. It funds projects which are innovative, have a high degree of local involvement, and are able to show how they can help others to gain from their experience. The impact of these projects is reinforced by grouping them in transnational partnerships so that lessons learned can be taken up throughout the EU.

Under the Commission’s proposals for the forthcoming programming period, Article 5 ESF proposes a specific Community Initiative for combating discrimination and inequalities in relation to the labour market (EQUAL). As in the current Employment Community Initiative, this new ESF-funded Community Initiative will continue to have a thematic focus with a number of cross-national thematic working groups each led by a separate Member State focussing on thematic areas reflecting the policy priorities agreed with the Commission. A number of these thematic working groups will be considering issues of importance to disabled people.

The EQUAL Initiative will be based on a number of principles:

A comprehensive horizontal approach, which takes account of the multi-dimensional character of inequality and concentrates on the relationship between the excluded and a labour market that needs to become more inclusive. Preventive actions will be an essential part of this approach.

The search for alternative, innovative forms of action which add value to other ESF actions undertaken.

The identification of best practice and the elaboration of common policies at national and European level, while recognising that innovative solutions to specific problems often spring from the local level.

Social protection

A high level of social protection is a prime concern in providing people with disabilities with the guarantee of a decent life and income. However, an income solution alone is not necessarily enough to enable the fullest possible participation in mainstream society. It is important to consider how to develop social protection so that it can be wholly adapted to, and supportive of, emerging labour market policies and other measures that seek to expand and enhance the opportunities for integration available to people with disabilities. The European debate on social protection has shed more light on the interdependence of the various strands of policy in this area. The importance of these factors is clearly recognised in the Employment Guidelines for 1999 with a call for both real incentives to seek and take up work or training and a critical reassessment of measures inducing workers to leave the labour force early. The Social Protection in Europe report and the MISSOC system also provide a regular analysis on recent disability social protection developments in Member States.

A sizeable minority of between one quarter to one third of those aged 70 years or older, experience health problems and require some assistance in carrying out activities of daily living and it is estimated that over 30 % of those aged 80 or older are severely incapacitated. The Commission has undertaken to raise awareness and stimulate a European debate about the challenges that an ageing population will pose for social protection systems in the field of long-term care.

Social exclusion

Disability figures inter alia among the factors that cause social exclusion and poverty. This is primarily due to a lack of employment opportunities for people with disabilities whose productive role in society continues to be underestimated. The enhanced commitment to fight against discrimination in the field of employment and invest in preventive active labour market measures will constitute the basic prong to improve social inclusion of people with disabilities.

Action to combat social exclusion will also be possible through provision of incentive measures under new Article 137 of the Treaty. Such measures would encourage Member States to invest in conditions of participation and social protection that make it possible for vulnerable people to raise their standard of living and to improve conditions of life.

Chapter 4
Disability discrimination and labour market process

Institutional discrimination

Traditional explanations for the disproportionate economic and social deprivations experienced by disabled people rest on the assumptions of the individual medical model of disability (Oliver, 1986). This approach suggests that disabled individuals are unable to achieve a reasonable standard of living by their own effects due to the physical or psychological consequences of impairment. No longer seen as an adequate explanation for the problems associated with impairment it is now rejected by the majority of disabled people and their organisations. Therefore the tern ‘disability’, Oliver 1992 argues represents a diverse system of social constraints imposed on person with impairments by a highly discriminatory society – to be a disabled person means to be discriminated against.

Oliver (1996) argues that the problem of discrimination in contemporary English society is compounded for disabled members of lesbian and gay communities, disabled black people, disabled women and disabled members of other marginalised minority groups because in addition to disability they often encounter other forms of discrimination such as heterosexism, homophobia, racism and sexism (Begum, 1992). The type of discrimination experienced by disabled people is not just a question of individual prejudice it is institutional in the very fabric of our society.

Institutional discrimination is evident when the policies and practices of all types of modern organisations result in inequality between disabled and non-disabled people. it is embedded in the excessive paternalism of contemporary welfare systems, and apparent when they are ignoring or meeting inadequately the needs of disabled people in ways not experienced by non-disabled people.

Throughout the 1980's there has been a growing campaign by disabled people and their organisations to persuade successive governments to introduce anti-discrimination legislation to enable disabled people to participate fully in the economic and social life of the community. professional or managerial posts compared with 21% for non-disabled workers. Most of the management positions in organisations specialising in the employment of disabled people such as 'Remploy' and 'Outset' are held by non-disabled people. On average, disabled workers earn much less than non-disabled workers. Disabled men in full time work earn almost a quarter less than non-disabled men. Those in government sponsored workshops are some of the poorest paid workers in the country averaging around £90 a week. In 1989/90 the average male wage was between £200 and £290 a week. This level of inequality accelerates the discriminatory spiral into which the majority of disabled people find themselves.

Disability Benefits

Over three quarters (78%) of Britain 's 6.2 million disabled people (54% of whom are below retirement age) depend on social security benefits to survive. They are also poorer than their neighbours because their basic living costs are much higher. As disabled people live in a non-disabled environment they have to spend more on making their homes accessible, on personal and domestic assistance and on food, clothing and travel etc... Inevitably, these costs increase as impairment increases. Official sources say the extra costs of impairment average at £6.10 per week.

Independent estimates show it is much higher. The Disablement Income Group, for' example, puts the figure at £69.92. All agree that disabled people have a much lower standard of living than non-disabled people. Worse still, the present disability benefits system is highly discriminatory and effectively discourages those who seek individual autonomy and financial independence. People with similar impairments receive vastly different amounts according to the cause of their impairment, their work record, their age, their marital status, and even their country of residence before claiming. All have to emphasise their limitations instead of their strengths to doctors, social workers and other professional 'experts' in order to claim. Disability benefits do not cover impairment related costs for those in work. Consequently, as most of the jobs available to disabled people are low paid many have l1t.tle choice but to endure unemployment. The inevitable outcome1s an existence characterised by excessive poverty and enforced dependence. Services This dependence is compounded by the present system of health and social support services, most of which are dominated by the interests of the professionals not have the right to send their child to local schools. Employers can discriminate openly against disabled workers. Some disabled people don't even have the right to choose when they want to get up in the morning. The type of discrimination encountered by disabled people is not just a question of work than non-disabled people. At every age disabled workers are unemployed longer than non-disabled workers. During the 1980s three times as many disabled people as non-disabled people were out of work for 2 years or more. When disabled people do find employment it is usually low skilled, poorly paid work with few opportunities for promotion. Only 12% of the disabled workforce hold professional or managerial posts compared with 21% for non-disabled workers.

Most of the management positions in organisations specialising in the employment of disabled people such as 'Remploy' and 'Outset' are held by non-disabled people. On average, disabled workers earn much less than non-disabled workers. Disabled men in full time work earn almost a quarter less than non-disabled men. Those in government sponsored workshops are some of the poorest paid workers in the country averaging around £90 a week. In 1989/90 the average male wage was between £200 and £290 a week. This level of inequality accelerates the discriminatory spiral into which the majority of disabled people find themselves.

Researched into institutional discrimination in Britain by the British Council of Organisations of Disabled People (BCODP) reveals the full extent of 'institutional discrimination against disabled people in the United Kingdom . It shows that the negative attitudes and discriminatory practices which effectively deny basic human rights to disabled people are ingrained in the core institutions of our society.

Employment

It is well known that work is crucial for an individual's economic and social well being yet, (along with environmental factors) attitudes and practices which discriminate against disabled people's employment are entrenched in the British labour market. They are conspicuous:

a) in the policies of employers against disabled workers, and;

b) in employment agencies, both public and private, when they direct disabled workers into low status occupations. Official figures show that disabled people are three times more likely to be out of work than non disabled people. At every age disabled workers are unemployed longer than non-disabled workers. During the 1980s three times as many disabled people as non-disabled people were out of work for 2 years or more. When disabled people do find employment it is usually low skilled, poorly paid work with few opportunities for promotion.

This dependence is compounded by the present system of health and social support services, most of which are dominated by the interests of the professionals who run them and the traditional assumption that disabled people are unable to take charge of their own lives. Independent living means disabled people having access to and control of a range of community based services which enable them to identify and pursue their own lifestyle. Due to the poverty which accompanies impairment disabled people have no choice but to use services provided by local authorities Social Services Departments (SSDs). Most of the money spent on these services goes on institutional type care and professionals salaries. Neither give disabled people the same level of autonomy and independence as non-disabled people. Official estimates show that around 422,000 disabled people live in institutions. Of these, 20% are below retirement age and most of them are in old people's homes, psychiatric and geriatric hospitals or ordinary hospital wards. Before people living in the community can have access to personal and/or domestic assistance services they must have their individual and family circumstances assessed by 'professional experts; doctors, social workers and the like. 'Case' or care managers are then appointed to organise and co-ordinate services; control does not rest with the person receiving the service. Disabled people's opportunities for economic and social integration are also severely restricted by the lack of information, appropriate technical aids, and a comprehensive personal assistant service. Hence, the majority are compelled to rely on informal unpaid helpers; this usually means women family members or friends.

The cycle of dependence is further intensified by a hostile physical environment. Although personal mobility has become increasingly important for all sections of society, particularly for work, disabled people are confronted with inaccessible homes, inaccessible transport, and inaccessible buildings. Although there are now over four and a quarter million disabled people with 'mobility related impairments' there are only around 80,000 accessible homes. Many of these are set apart from 'normal' housing in 'special needs housing ghettoes' where disabled people are cut off from their families, their friends and the non-disabled community as a whole.

The introduction of the employment quota scheme with the Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 secured employment rights of disabled people. However, successive governments failure to enforce the scheme and the obvious preference for voluntary policies of persuasion have not only failed to provide disabled people with jobs, but have also emphasised the traditional divisions between them and non-disabled people. The quota scheme specifies that all employers employing more than 20 workers just employ three per cent of their workforce from the disabled person's employment register. The maximum fine for employer-s who break the law was set in 1944 at £100; it has never been updated. Although the overwhelming majority of employers ignore the quota scheme there have only ever been nine prosecutions and the last one was in 1975.

Negative assumptions about disabled people's work potential are inadvertently reinforced by the Department of Employment's attempts to persuade employers to employ disabled workers. Policies like 'Fit for Work' and the 'Code of Good Practice on the Employment of Disabled People' stick closely to the traditional medical view of disability. Research shows that the latest edition of the 'Code' has been seen by less than a fifth of all employers; only a third felt that it had heightened the 'employability' of disabled workers. Although official sources have acknowledged that disabled people and their families receive significantly lower incomes than those of the rest of the population, recent changes to the disability benefits system will not change this situation.

The long awaited disability benefits review of 1990 will only help a small number of disabled people in a very limited way. It offers no help whatsoever to the 4.2 million elderly disabled people. Further. disabled people's right to an independent lifestyle will still be inhibited by inaccessible homes. inaccessible transport, and an inaccessible physical environment. Notwithstanding the obvious shortage of accessible homes there are no Government plans to remedy this situation in either the public or the private sectors and segregated 'special needs' housing remains central to the Government's community care plans. Even though the Department of Transport supports in principle fully accessible buses. taxis and trains, it will be well into the next century before they are the norm rather- than the exception. There is no legislation which compels transport providers to make their vehicles accessible. Although recent amendments to the building regulations clearly acknowledge disabled people's rights of access to public buildings, such measures have not and will not eradicate discrimination in the built environment. This is especially relevant in the leisure industry where inaccessible buildings playa significant role in the exclusion of disabled people from mainstream recreational activities like concerts, plays and sporting fixtures.

Conclusion

Clearly, institutional discrimination against disabled people is widespread throughout European Member States. The only way to remove it is with the introduction of legislation which emphasises social rights rather than individual needs and focuses on the disabling society in which we live. In other words, anti-discrimination legislation which:

(a) establishes a firm basis for policies which ensure the integration of disabled people into the economic and social life of the community, and;

(b) provides public confirmation that discrimination against disabled people for whatever reason and in whatever form is no longer acceptable; together with a suitable means of enforcing it.

Factors which discriminate against disabled people’s employment

Attitude

Morrell (1990) indicates that out of a representative sample of 160 employers in both the public and private sectors, only 75 per cent of respondents interviewed said that they would not discriminate against disabled people. it would be said that there is a world of difference of what people says and what they actually do. Public attitude surveys concerning sensitive and emotive issues such as discrimination against minority groups are notorious for producing misleading results.

Medical screening

Although some occupational health experts have expressed scepticism about the value of medical tests in relation to work. Germany is a clear example that has strict rule for working in some areas with other Germans. Labour Research (1990) suggests that these tests are normally justified on the basis that they allow employers to assess an applicant’s fitness for the task for which she/he is to be employed. They allow employers to discriminate; to select workers for a particular work situation.

Education

The idea that disabled people do not have the vital qualities needed for work are also endorsed by education system. Application forms, aptitude test, formal and informal interviews and other similar recruitment procedures now being used by many employers are all, to varying degrees, dependent on skills learnt through education. According to Robert et al (1986), the importance of paper qualifications in relation to finding employment is becoming increasingly important for young people with disabilities. Unfortunately, the type of education that the majority of disabled children and young people receive does not provide them with the confidence, skills, qualifications needed to find job. Education for the deaf in Ireland is a clearly example which is not equal intrinsically. Recent RTÉ news announced that many deaf schools in Ireland were owned by hearing people and that deaf children were not allowed to use an Irish Sign Language in school. The school principal (hearing person) rejected sign language to be learnt in class as a subject. Sign language is a social construction and it is a deaf culture. It gives deaf children/students a chance to become an a sign language interpreter for other deaf or hearing people as well as a career in teaching sign language to others who wish to learn it. Deaf education in Ireland is strongly based on oral education, that is, utilise a lipreading as a way of communicating with each other in school but this approach does not benefit deaf people for their future job.

Ageing

Unsuitability for employment can often determined by age. This is a major problem for many disabled people job-seekers since many are in the older age groups-the likelihood of impairment in the European Union, Martin et al (1988) argue increases dramatically with age. In practice, many employers refuse to employ workers who are above or below a specific age.

Experience

Workers who can show that they can adjust the work situation with the minimum amount of training are far more attractive to employers than those who are not. losing the work habit and lack of experience are a particular problem for many long term unemployed, but particularly so for those with impairments. Jones and Longstones (1990) point out that many of vacancies advertised in job centres or in any newspapers want applicants with previous experience.

Appearance

Jones and Longstone (1990) also suggest that ten per cent of all vacancies displayed in jobcentres require applicants to appear ‘clean and tidy’ of ‘generally good appearance’. What is percepted as ‘clean and tidy’ often depends on the type of clothes applicants wears at interview. Many disabled people are significantly disadvantaged in this regard. Not only because they will be unable to afford a ‘smart’ suit of clothes appropriate for interviews as state benefits do not accommodate such luxuries, but also because some disabled people do not have ‘conventional’ body shapes. In my own view, most clothing manufacturers cater exclusively for the mass market, that is, the able-bodied population. Some employers in the service sector feel that the sight of a disabled woman disturbs clients (Morris, 1989). Unsuitable premises and difficult access can relate to either an inaccessible built environment or an inaccessible production process or both.

Transport

As with the built environment generally public transport systems are not constructed for disabled people. They are virtually inaccessible to many, and using them is unnecessarily physically and mentally exhausting for others (DPTAC, 1989). They form a major barrier to the successful integration of disabled people into the workplace. Additionally, an increasing number of jobs require workers to have a driving license. Although some disabled workers are unable to drive because of the nature of their impairment or because they do not have the money to learn, some employers appear to reject disabled applicants on the sweeping assumption that all disabled people are immobile (Graham et al, 1990).

Geographical Mobility

Unemployed workers are increasingly encouraged to get out on their bikes to look for jobs. In present circumstances geographical mobility is extremely difficult if not impossible for many disabled people. They face the additional problem of finding somewhere to live near their workplace. HSMO (1989) identifies that voluntary agencies, personal assistants and domestic services are needed to help disabled people but these service provisions are limited in most European countries.

The Welfare system

Because many disabled people are lived in an able-bodied society their costs are much higher than those of non-disabled people. Estimates show disabled people spend between £6.10 [7.75 Euros] (Martin and White, 1988) and £69.92 [88.78 Euros] (Thompson et al, 1990) on special foods, clothing, transport and other expensive things than non-disabled people. these expenses do not diminish when disabled people find work. Martin and White (1988) also argues that disability benefit in most of the EU do not cover impairment related expenditure. The combination of disproportionately low wages and the added costs of disability forces many disabled people out of the labour market altogether (IFF, 1990).

Disabled people fight for their citizenship right to participate in labour market because they encounter discrimination daily and do not have the same basic human rights as non-disabled people. Parents of disabled children do work than non-disabled people. At every age disabled workers are unemployed longer than non-disabled workers. During the 1980s three times as many disabled people as non-disabled people were out of work for 2 years or more. When disabled people do find employment it is usually low skilled, poorly paid work with few opportunities for promotion.

Anti-Discrimination

The Anti-discrimination approach advocates a formal or judicial equality. It assumes that governments cannot or should not favour any group to the disadvantage of another one. It argues that outlawing discrimination is a sine qua non for having a society of equals. Anti-discrimination is a crucial step in ensuring equal rights. However, it is important to note that where discrimination has been systematically practiced in the past, anti-discrimination is not sufficient to restore equality.

There are two main types of discrimination recognized: Active and Passive. Active discrimination is when a person refuses to provide a service or a product to a disabled person because of his or her disability. For example, active discrimination occurs if a person, who is in all ways qualified for a job, is refused employment solely on the ground that he or she is disabled (whether or not the functional failing impedes him or her in discharging the duties of the job). In contrast, passive discrimination is the abstention from pro-active measures to eliminate barriers. Passive discrimination happens when a person with a disability is not able to access a service or product because barriers are not removed (e.g., no ramps and other facilities are put in place to facilitate the entry into a public building of a person reduced to a wheelchair). It is discriminatory to keep in place those barriers that limit opportunities for people with disabilities to access buildings and/or services. Most countries have some form of anti-discrimination law for people with disabilities, either in their employment, civil or criminal code. Sweden , Austria , and Switzerland are examples of countries that have anti-discrimination clauses specifically referencing people with disabilities.

Chapter 5
Recommendations to equalised employment participation and combat discrimination against people with disabilities in European labour market

Amsterdam Treaty and fight against discrimination

The Treaty of Amsterdam introduced Article 13 which complement existing powers to tackle discrimination against people on the grounds of specific characteristics, most notably Article 141 (gender discrimination), Article 137 (measures to tackle exclusion from the labour market) and Article 12 (discrimination on the grounds of nationality). Article 13, which was included in the EC Treaty pursuant to the Treaty of Amsterdam, offers new opportunities for Community action to tackle discrimination (http://www.europa.eu.int). Discrimination against people on the grounds of specific characteristics is not only unfair and an infringement of the general principles of human rights, it also has an economic and social cost. Discrimination is also a distorting factor in the common market.

It is therefore up to both the Member States and the European Union to help eliminate discrimination as far as possible and Article 13 offers new possibilities for doing so. Article 13 of the EC Treaty was included in Part One of the EC Treaty entitled "Principles" as it is an expression of the European Union's belief in respect for human rights, especially the fundamental rights set out in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (http://www.europa.eu.int).

Under Article 13, the Community has the power to take action to combat discrimination based on the grounds of race and ethnic origin, discrimination based on the grounds of religion and belief, discrimination based on the grounds of sex, discrimination based on the grounds of disability, discrimination based on the grounds of age and discrimination based on the grounds of sexual orientation. On 25 November 1999 the Commission adopted a package of proposals to combat discrimination including a proposal for a Community Action Programme to combat discrimination 2001 –2006, a proposal for a Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation, and a proposal for a Directive implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial and ethnic origin. These proposals are currently under review by the European Parliament. (http://www.europa.eu.int).

The new Treaty, “the Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, principles which are common to the Member States” (www.independentliving.org). First, this provision applies equally to the countries applying for membership of the Union . Second, this clause will make it possible to exercise closer control over respect for these rights within the Union . Every individual will have the right to bring proceedings before the Court of Justice if they consider that an institution is acting in breach of fundamental rights.

The Amsterdam Treaty prescribes a political rather than judicial means of enforcement in the event of a Member State being in serious breach of the following principles of the Union . Article 7 of the Treaty of the European Union gives the Council the possibility to suspend certain rights of a Member States (http://www.europa.eu.int). The Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties made progress in the protection of fundamental rights within the European Union. Amongst the most significant provisions were: Article 13 of the European Community Treaty (TEC) relating to non-discrimination against individuals or groups on grounds of disability, gender, race or ethnic origin, religion beliefs and sexual orientation (http://www.europa.eu.int).

Recent Non-discrimination measures adopted by Member States (taken from information contained within the report 'Invisible Citizens')

Anti-discrimination clause in the Constitution

In the past there have been "constitutional statements affirming the equal rights of all, including disabled people: but these have been largely rhetorical, with no mechanism for enforcement." Only recently has "discrimination against disabled people become a target of social policy and legal action". "Within the last decade a clear consensus has emerged, both amongst disabled people and increasingly amongst European governments, that disabled people have a right to legal protection from discrimination".

Campaigns and actions carried out by disabled people and their allies have highlighted the levels of discrimination "experienced by disabled people and (as) the benefits of non-discrimination legislation have become apparent, support has grown across the political spectrum".

Many countries in Europe are now in the process of amending their laws to facilitate and encourage people with disabilities into the abour force.

Discussion in Germany is now centred on an equal rights Act which would "change all the different areas of legislation which have an effect on the human and civil rights of disabled people." While in Finland the Disabled Persons Equality Act (Services and Assistance for the Disabled) (380/1987) aims to improve the ability of a disabled person to live and act as a member of society in equality with others.

On August 1st 1995, the Constitution Act was amended (969/1995) to include and alter clauses regarding the fundamental rights of the citizen to directly protect the rights of disabled people, and brought the Finnish system into line with international human rights conventions.

Employment is covered under a separate provision (Chapter 47, section 3). Unlawful labour discrimination is found if during the selection procedure, applicants for employment are discriminated against because of e.g. his/her state of health.

Discrimination against disability/state of health is now punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to 6 months.

A new provision was adopted whereby the rights of persons using sign language and in need of interpretation and translation services because of disability will be protected by Act or Decree. "The rights of people who use sign language...are guaranteed by law."

Jari Korpi writes that there is still a need for pressure from international developments in disability policies... to supplement the clause with more detailed legislation enabling everyone to have the prerequisites to act as a full member of the society".

The UK and Ireland have also introduced legislation and it is described briefly below

UK: Disability Discrimination Bill

In 1994, MP's of all political parties showed support for the Civil Rights (Disabled Persons) Bill which was largely based on the Americans with Disabilities Act and sought to end discrimination against disabled people in employment and access to all goods and services. The Bill was not supported by the Government who had brought forward their Disability Discrimination Bill, which fell short of demands which had been made by the disability movement, but which became law in November 1995.

It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against a disabled person regarding recruitment, employment conditions, promotion or training. Failure to make a "reasonable adjustment" to working arrangements will constitute discrimination.

The UK disability movement opposed the government's bill on several grounds such as there is no enforcement agency to set standards and assist people with claims, it excludes education and transport; employers with less than 20 employees may still discriminate, it abolishes the requirement for employers to employ a 3% quota of disabled people and the limited definition of 'disability' means that people with mental health problems and less severe disabilities may not be covered by the Bill.

Ireland: Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities

In 1991, the Government committed itself, in its Programme for Economic and Social Progress, to "ensuring the fullest possible participation and integration by people with disabilities in all aspects of life", indicating a major shift in policy and attitude towards seeking to uphold and reinforce disabled peoples' civil rights.

In 1993, the new coalition government created the Ministry of Equality and Law Reform, one of whose aims was to advance the rights of disabled people. A Commission on the Status of People with Disabilities was then set up to take a comprehensive look at disability issues from a rights based perspective. Their final report is expected to be published this Spring.

The programme of the current Government contains a commitment to "specific action to end discrimination and to ensure equal opportunity for participation by all our people in Irish life" and to "a Disabilities Act, to set out the rights of persons with disabilities".

The Department of Law Reform is expected to produce two major Bill prior to the Commission's report:

the Employment Equality Bill - to repeal all existing legislation and deal with employment discrimination

the Equal Status Bill - to deal with discrimination against many groups in the provision of goods and services; access to personal property and accommodation.

Certain areas are as yet unclear such as whether there will be a requirement to make reasonable accommodation of the needs of disabled workers and students, and the removal of architectural barriers. Other European countries have been very progressive, and this can be seen by the legislation being carried out in Swedan

Sweden: Disability Ombudsman

Sweden does not have comprehensive non-discrimination legislation but shows a commitment to a high level of social welfare and recently adopted a number of measures to improve the situation of disabled people

A report from the Handicap Commission proposed a series of measures in eight areas of society to increase accessibility for persons with a disability and to prevent discrimination but these have not yet been proposed as law. The Work Environment Act ensures that employers adapt the physical environment to suit the needs of the functionally disabled
The definition of disability in Swedish Policy adheres to the Social Model approach.

The Ombudsman deals with issues concerning the rights and interests of persons with disabilities with the aim of full participation by and equalisation of opportunities for persons with disabilities. It works towards improvements in legislation initiates discussions with authorities and organisations and uses publicity in order to prevent discriminatory treatment of disabled people submits an annual report to the Government about issues affecting disabled people.

Despite these statements, legislative measures exist which appear to allow discrimination to take place, such as the 1994 Order 1093 which specifically prevents disabled people from employment as work inspectors and the promotion of sheltered employment which serves to exclude disabled people. Additionally there are no regulations concerning the construction of accessible buildings or measures to ensure the access of disabled people to culture and sport, or adequate accessible transport in rural areas.

Conclusion

In analysing disabled people’s position participating in European labour market, I have argued that discrimination plays a major that excludes many disabled people’s citizenship rights.

Clearly institutional discrimination against disabled peoples is widespread throughout the European Union. There is a need for a new policy to deal with theis problem, that is, anti-discrimination legislation. The anti discrimination legislation emphasises social rights tather than individual needs and force upon the disabling society in which they live. In other words, anti discrimination legislation which establishes a firm basis for policies which ensure that integration of disabled people into the exonomic and social life of the community and provides public confirmation that discriminates against disabled people for whatever reason and in whatever form is no longer accectable, together with a suitable means of enforcing it.

There are also other ways to reduce discrimination amongst disabled people in employment. These recommendations are including modernising European social protection, promoting social inclusion, reinforcing equality and human rights, introduce educational system to prepare disabled people for employment as well as to change employers’ attitudes through disability awareness training programme.

To conclude, it would be worth for the European Union Member States to carry out a research on employment policies for people with disabilities.

Discrimination is very hard to combat. It is slowly changing over time. This is due to the lack of disability awareness among non-disabled people as well as the result of changing European national citizenship. Citizenship is a social construction. It does not still stability but often changing over time. Citizenship does not imply universal coverage unless citizenship itself is universal, and it is the nature of citizenship that some people – disabled people, are liable to be left out. Consequently, this project has not completed researching yet but continuing investigating.

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