COUNCIL RESOLUTION
of 17 June 1999 on equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities
(1999/C 186/02)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
(1) an essential objective of the Community, as identified in the
coordinated European employment strategy, is to promote a high level of
employment;
(2) in the 1999 employment guidelines (1), guideline 9 acknowledges
the need for the Member States to ‘give special attention to the needs
of the disabled, ethnic minorities and other groups and individuals who
may be disadvantaged, and develop appropriate forms of preventive and
active policies to promote their integration into the labour market’;
(3) in its recommendation of 24 July 1986 (2), the Council
recognised the key issues of the integration of people with disabilities
in vocational training and employment;
(4) the Community Charter on the fundamental social rights of workers
of 9 December 1989 stipulates in point 26: ‘All disabled persons,
whatever the origin and nature of their disability, must be entitled to
additional concrete measures aimed at improving their social and
professional inte-gration. These measures must concern, in particular,
according to the capacities of the beneficiaries, vocational training,
ergonomics, accessibility, mobility, means of transport and housing.’;
(5) in their resolution of 20 December 1996 on equality of
opportunity for people with disabilities (3), the Council and the
representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within
the Council reaffirmed their commitment to the principle of equality of
opportunity in the development of comprehensive policies in the field of
disability;
(6) the Commission of the European Communities formulated fundamental
policy issues concerning the disabled and employment in a document of 22
September 1998 entitled ‘Raising employment levels of people with
disabilities — the common challenge’, taking into account the
European employment strategy and the analysis of some key elements of
the 1998 national action plans; the Commission also concluded that there
must be a move
away from piecemeal initiatives and that a coordinated strategy must be
established;
(7) in order to establish equal opportunities for people with
disabilities with regard to securing, retaining and advancing in
employment,
— Convention 159 and Recommendation 168 of the Inter-national
Labour Organisation concerning vocational rehabilitation and employment
(disabled persons) of 20 June 1983,
— the Council of Europe Recommendation No R(92) 6 of 9 April 1992
for a coherent policy for disabled people.
— the standard rules on the equalisation of opportunities for
persons with disabilities which were adopted in a United Nations General
Assembly resolution on 20 December 1993,
call upon the Member States to develop, evaluate and review support
programmes for the integration of people with disabilities in various
ways, in particular in the field of employment;
(8) people with disabilities, despite individual successes and
improvements, are still more likely to face barriers and disadvantages
in finding and maintaining suitable employment and in fully
participating in the economic and social life of their communities,
HEREBY ADOPTS THIS RESOLUTION:
1. The Council acknowledges and welcomes the serious efforts made and
planned by the Member States to develop and implement policies aimed at
integrating people with disabilities into the labour market, in
particular within the framework of the European employment strategy; it welcomes equally the
new impetus by the annual employment guidelines.
2. The Council underlines that the national action plans for
employment provide a comprehensive platform within
which the abovementioned policies should be strengthened. Member States
are therefore called upon:
(a) within the framework of their national employment policies, and
in cooperation with the social partners and non-governmental
organisations for people with disabilities, to place particular emphasis
on the promotion of employment opportunities for people with
disabilities and to develop suitable preventive and active policies for
the specific promotion of their inte-gration into the labour market in
the private sector, including self-employment, and in the public sector,
(b) to make full use of the existing and future possibilities of the
European Structural Funds, in particular the European Social Fund, and
relevant Community initiatives, to promote equal employment
opportunities for people with disabilities,
(c) also in the above context, to attach particular attention to the
possibilities offered by the development of the information society for
opening new employment opportunities but also challenges for people with
disabilities.
3. The Council welcomes the initiative of the social partners at
European level to identify good practices and invites the social
partners at all levels to play an increasing role in creating improved
employment opportunities and negotiated work organisation changes in
cooperation with people with disabilities.
4. The Council invites people with disabilities themselves and their
organisations to make their contribution towards the goal of equal employment opportunities by sharing and exchanging
their experience with all those involved in the labour market.
5. The Council encourages the Community Institutions to promote equal
employment opportunities for people with disabilities within their own
services, by enacting rules while taking full advantage of existing
legal instruments and practices.
6. The Council calls upon the Commission to work together with the
Member States, in particular within the framework of the European
employment guidelines and in accordance with the mainstreaming
principle, to monitor and analyse the development of the employment of
people with disabilities on the basis of comparable data and to develop
new strategies and campaigns, taking into consideration national,
regional and local differences.
7. The Council affirms that, in the framework of a coherent global
policy, equal employment opportunities for people with disabilities will
be enhanced if specific attention is given to recruitment and retention
of employees, promotion, training, life-long learning and development,
and protection against unfair dismissal, and appropriate support
provided in areas such as:
— workplace accommodation, such as technical equipment including
access to new information and communication technologies,
— access to the place of work,
— qualifications and skills required at work, and
— access to vocational guidance and placement services.
8. The Council notes the Commission's intention to make a proposal
for a legal instrument covering equal employment opportunities for
people with disabilities.
( 1 ) OJ C 69, 12.3.1999, p. 2.
( 2 ) OJ L 225, 12.8.1986, p. 43.
( 3 ) OJ C 12, 13.1.1997, p. 1. 1
EN C 186/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 2.7.1999 2
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