Institut Arbeit und Technik

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Kulturwissenschaftliches

InstitutInstitut Arbeit und Technik

Wissenschaftszentrum

Nordrhein-Westfalen

Wuppertal Institut fürKlima, Umwelt, Energie

THE SITUATION OF DISABLED INGERMANY

Dr. Ileana HAMBURGInstitut Arbeit und Technik, Wissenschaftszentrum Nordrhein-

WestfalenGelsenkirchen, Germany, Tel: +49 2 09 17 07 265

E-mail: [email protected]

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Legal Framework, Definition and Statistics on Disability, Employment

Handicapped persons (World Health Organisation): all persons whosuffer from the consequences of a physical, mental or psychologicalcondition which is not typical for the respective age, and where theconsequences are not of a temporary nature.Severely disabled persons: disability at least 50%

Proportion of Severely Disabled in the Population broken down by Age Group

0-14 ys 15-24 25- 34 35-44 45-54 55-64 64 +From: Fourth Report on the Disabled and the Development of Rehabilitation of the FederalGovernment to the Bundestag, 1998

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The main legal instrument regulating access to employment forthe disabled in Germany is the Severely Disabled Act(Schwerbehinderten-Gesetz), in force since 1986 and updated in2000. 5% of all jobs in enterprises with more than 20 employeesand in the public sector have to go to people, recognised asseverely disabled.

The following table shows the real situation in GermanyBundesrepublik

DeutschlandBundesgebiet

WestBundesgebiet

Ost

1990 4,6 4,5 4,91991 4,4 4,4 4,11992 4,3 4,4 3,61993 4,2 4,3 3,41994 4,0 4,3 2,8

1995 4,0 4,2 2,91996 3,9 4,1 3,01997 3,9 4,0 3,21998 3,8 3,9 3,41999 3,7 3,8 3,5

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According to a report (1998) the disabled in Germany (about 6,6million people or 8% of the population of the German Federalrepublic) have to be seen as a highly differentiated group in termsof their relation to employment, namely those being employed in the public sector and private enterprise, registered as unemployed, employed in specially supported employment (e.g. sheltered

workshops), outside employment and all employment agencies.

The employment rate of disabled people: 20 to 30% below that ofnon-disabled people.

In addition: most people with disabilities of working age are out of the labour

market altogether and heavily dependent on disability benefits, many people with disabilities have a poor basic education and, as

a consequence, are often employed in low-skilled and low-paidjobs.

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Trends which contribute to this situation: when jobs are scarce and firms are downsizing, disabled workers

who lose their jobs, have few prospects of regaining employmentor shifting to new careers.

structural changes in the labour market with an increasedemphasis on intellectual ability, advanced education andadaptability offering fewer prospects for people with the doubledisadvantage of impairment and limited education and skills,

developments in relation to Information and CommunicationTechnologies (ICTs) affect people with disabilities; thedisappearance of printed manuals, of routine and of repetitivework has a disparate impact on people whose skills or cognitivecapacity are restricted to elementary jobs.

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Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is the central term to denote the measures forintegration of the disabled into society. They could have: medical benefits: treatment, medicines, therapies, including work

therapies and work tolerance testing, and aids, such as artificiallimbs

Work related benefits: assistance to obtain or keep employment,training or re-training, other measures to aid the integration ofdisabled people into work (e.g. specially adapted furniture orequipment)

Educational and social integration measures: special care inschools, special learning arrangements, handicapped-friendlytransport and traffic systems

Financial benefits: sickness or injury benefit, transitionalallowances during medical or work-related rehabilitation.

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To provide these benefits, special facilities have been set up: Vocational rehabilitation clinics with an integrated approach

combining medical and vocational rehabilitation measures, suchas aptitude testing, career planning, etc (16 clinics in WesternGermany and 2 in the Eastern countries with a total of 2915places)

Vocational training centres for youth work in close cooperationwith firms to provide basic vocational training for young disabled(54 training centres for 14600 trainees, 8 in East Germany with2300 places)

Retraining Centres for Adults work similarly as the trainingcentres for youth (28 Centres for 15000 trainees, 7 in East) Sheltered Workplaces: These special workshops offer suitablevocational training and jobs for persons unable to find employmenton the open job market due to the nature or severity of theirdisability (656 which offer 188,000 jobs 173 in East)In addition, a disabled person may have other benefits like: technical equipment for the workplace, aids for the disability-specific adaptation or for the acquisition of

a motor vehicle - Motor Vehicle Assistance Regulation training subsidies and integration assistance to employers.

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New Technologies – Telework, Telelearning

New technologies open a broad spectrum of possibilities for theintegration of disabled people into work and society. An everextending range of products is coming to market including specialmice and keyboards, add-ons on computers allowing for theircontrol by one finger only, light signals, voice, photophones etc.,but also remote controls for wheel-chairs or doors.

In addition, the flexibility of new work models, especially theirtendency towards defining work or learning independent of placeand time, have opened up many opportunities for the disabled.

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Education for the disabled

At German higher education institutions: There are 13% handicapped students. There is not much knowledge about the modalities of distancestudies for handicapped persons and so a controversial issue aboutits use for the optimization of handicapped qualification. Distance education is adopted increasingly as a method ofteaching and learning in form of programmes offered in addition tothe traditional forms of teaching and study at the universityconcerned or as its main activity. ‘Distance learning in Germany is something for people who enjoy

good health and who have no other problems anyway.’

The FernUni Hagen proposes for disabled:(1) full distance courses with ample opportunities for contact by

providing information, advice, tutoring and guidance.(2) offers for distance education complementary to or alternating

with attendance-based courses.

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In developing distance course for disabled students or trainees, it isnecessary to pay attention to

the employing of media being appropriate to the targetgroup of disabled and for bridging geographical distance

organisational forms providing adequate support(technical, social etc.)

make sure, students/trainees have adequate IT-skills orproviding for their acquisition.

the provision of study centres, accessible for disabledstudents/trainees in order to realize “alternating tele-learning”

Institut Arbeit und Technik

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