Article 27
Measures to support employers
Measures to support workers with disabilities
Discrimination
Employment on the open labour market
Employment in the supported / sheltered sector
Employment in the public sector
Employment of blind and partially sighted women
Self-employment
Vocational rehabilitation and training
Incentive measures to employ workers with disabilities
Legal obligation to employ workers with disabilities
Vocational counselling
Main occupations performed by workers with a visual impairment
Looking for a job
Legal recognition of disabled worker status
Trade unions and workers with disabilities
Measures to support employers
Employment of disabled persons is defined by the Law no. 448/2006 for the protection and promotion of the disabled person's rights. There is very low support for the employers. Employers of disabled persons have a few fiscal incentives for a limited amount of time.
Measures to support workers with disabilities
Workers with disabilities do not pay taxes per salaries. The totally blind ones have the right to receive in addition 15% of their wages.
Discrimination
There is a National Council to Combat Discrimination, a governmental body. As a general rule it decides in favour of the disabled persons when they are discriminated by the employers. Unfortunately, there are very few vocations in which disabled persons are trained.
Employment on the open labour market
The most successful professions of the blind on the open market are kinetic physical therapist and medical masseur. 89-90% of the youngsters trained in these vocations find a job. The public and private employers with at least 50 employees have to hire 4% disabled persons. If they do not employ the 4% quota of disabled persons trained in the job area of the employer, the employer, has the obligation to pay half of the minimum salary, by about 115 Euros, per each unemployed disabled person or to buy products made by the disabled persons in their sheltered workshops in the same amount. But there is the condition of compatibility between the training of the disabled person and the specificity of the employing unit.
Employment in the supported / sheltered sector
The sheltered units are regulated by the same Law no. 448/2006 for the protection and promotion of the disabled person's rights. A sheltered unit can be established with 30% of disabled workers, with any degree of disability. The sheltered units have some advantages in paying taxes to the state budget. The
sheltered units can activate in the area of production, commerce, service, etc.
Employment in the public sector
Disabled persons in the public sector are submitted to competition with the ablebodied
candidates. The major part of the disabled people in the public sector
has an academic training. They work mainly in the area of education, health and
social services. The quota system of the 4% disabled persons/ 50 employees in
the public unit is also mandatory.
Employment of blind and partially sighted women.
There is no discrimination between disabled men and women in training and employment.
Self Employment
There is a law for the Certified Individual, practically the law of self employment.
Disabled persons in this employment condition benefit from fiscal advantages.
Vocational rehabilitation and training
Vocational training of the visually disabled persons is very limited in Romania: mainly kinetic physical therapy and university level training. Very reduced training for the partially sighted is organized in various forms of joinery and food preparation. Training in IT was abandoned, but it will restart formally this year.
IT training was generally achieved by courses organized by the Romanian Association of the Blind within domestic and international projects. We underline hereby that in our country there is no rehabilitation centre for the blind.
Incentive measures to employ workers with disabilities.
There are only fiscal incentives for employers in the above mentioned conditions.
Legal obligation to employ workers with disabilities
There are no legal obligations to employ workers with disabilities, other than the options mentioned above.
Vocational counselling.
Efficient and specialised counselling is given by the Romanian Association of the Blind, by the schools for visually disabled people and by certain specialised foundations.
Main occupations performed by workers with a visual impairment.
The main occupations are: medical masseurs, physical therapists, teachers, social workers, IT specialists, radio journalists, joiners, carton box manufacturers and musicians.
Looking for a job
Visually disabled job seekers receive support only from the Romanian Association of the Blind.
Legal recognition of disabled worker status
The visually disabled worker status is legally recognised.
Trade unions and workers with disabilities.
Workers with disabilities are members of their professional Trade Unions. Kinetic physical therapists and medical masseurs have their professional association acting as a Trade Union. One of the major Trade Union Federations signed a partnership with the Romanian Association of the blind supporting visually disabled work interests in all areas.
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