Activities of Jordi CAÑAS related to 2022/2026(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Towards equal rights for persons with disabilities (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION Towards equal rights for persons with disabilities
Amendments (51)
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Citation 4 a (new)
Citation 4 a (new)
— having regard to the UN's 2030 agenda and SDGs, in particular Goals 1, 8 and 10,
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— having regard to Eurofound's publication (2021) Disability and labour market integration: Policy trends and support in EU Member States,
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Citation 14 a (new)
Citation 14 a (new)
— having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 29 November 2018 on the situation of women with disabilities (2018/2685(RSP)),
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Citation 14 b (new)
Citation 14 b (new)
— having regard to the Commission communication of 9 December 2021 "Building an economy that works for people: an action plan for the social economy" COM(2021) 778 final,
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Citation 14 b (new)
Citation 14 b (new)
— having regard to Eurofound's publication (2022) People with disabilities and the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the Living, working andCOVID-19 e-survey,
Amendment 39 #
Draft opinion
Citation 14 c (new)
Citation 14 c (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 7 October 2021 on the protection of persons with disabilities through petitions: lessons learnt,
Amendment 40 #
Draft opinion
Citation 14 c (new)
Citation 14 c (new)
— having regard to Eurofound's publication (2018) The social and employment situation of people with disabilities,
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. urges the Commission, especially in view of the next European elections in 2024, to work with Member States in the European Cooperation Network on Elections to guarantee the democratic rights of people with disabilities, including people with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities, by ensuring that voting procedures, materials and facilities are easy to access and participation in public and political life are actively promoted;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas disability results from the interaction between persons who have a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairmentsncapacity and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others;
Amendment 57 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas women with disabilities are at higher risk of unemployment and poverty or social exclusion comparing to men with disabilities and women without disabilities, with only 20% of women with disabilities in full-time employment, comparing to 29% of men with disabilities and 48% of women without disabilities9a; _________________ 9a EIGE Gender Equality Index 2022
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls, in this respect, that the COVID-19 crisis has fostered remote work, which could provide for wider access to employment for PwD, and urges the Member States to take serious measures to tackle unemployment and the payment gap in particular for women with disabilities11 ; _________________ 11 Petitions Nos 0608/2020, 1139/2021, 0226/21 and 0070/2022.
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas between 70 and 90% of adults with autism are unemployed1a; _________________ 1a Autism-Europe’s presentation to the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on 5 November 2019, retrieved here: https://www.autismeurope.org/wp- content/uploads/2019/11/presentation_em ployment_autism_final2.pptx.pdf
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas the EU, its institutions and its Member States are party to the UNCRPD and are obliged to fully implement the fundamental rights therein, including Article 27 on work and employment; whereas the rights enshrined in the UNCRPD are far from a reality for millions of persons with disabilities in the EU;
Amendment 70 #
Draft opinion
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas everyone has the rights to timely and tailor-made assistance to improve employment or self-employment prospects, including the right to receive support for job search, training and re- qualification, as laid down in Principle 4 of the European Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 75 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas people with disabilities have the right to income support that ensures living in dignity, services that enable them to patriciate in the labour market and in society, and a work environment adapted to their needs, as laid down in Principle 17 of the European Pillar of Social Rights;
Amendment 79 #
Draft opinion
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas Eurofound research shows that between 2011 and 2016 the gap in third-level education between persons with and without disabilities widened – from 7% to 9%;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas Eurofound research reveals that key obstacles to the employment of people with disabilities include disability-related stereotypes, bureaucratic difficulties in accessing available services, lack of strategic vision in governance, insufficient monitoring of policy implementation, limited training resources for employers and lack of specialist support;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. calls on those Member States which still segregate students to provide sufficient financial and specialized support for inclusive education in schools, third level education and in programmes (including Erasmus+, Discover EU & European Solidarity Corps);
Amendment 83 #
Draft opinion
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas access to quality employment, education and training, healthcare, social protection, including across borders, adequate housing, support for independent living and equal opportunities to participate in leisure activities and community life are essential to the quality of life of persons with disabilities;
Amendment 85 #
Draft opinion
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
Be. whereas new technologies, notably AI systems, have the potential to develop efficient, accessible and non- discriminatory hiring processes, but non- inclusive technological developments could represent a risk of adding new barriers and forms of discrimination; whereas Article 9 of the UNCRPD requires accessible information as well as access to communication technologies and systems on an equal basis with others;
Amendment 86 #
Draft opinion
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
Be. whereas Eurofound research shows that entrepreneurship and self- employment support in the form of guidance, training and financial aid can provide opportunities for people with disabilities to be active in the open labour market, disincentivising their sole reliance on disability benefits, but emphasises that such support needs to be well targeted and adequately resourced;
Amendment 90 #
Draft opinion
Recital B f (new)
Recital B f (new)
Bf. whereas Eurofound's research shows that during the pandemic on average 71% of respondents with disabilities were at risk of depression and 25% of respondents with disabilities indicated that they could not access mental healthcare, which was twice as high as compared to those without disabilities; whereas return-to-work plans are critical for workers suffering from mental ill-health;
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights that PwD are exposed to discrimination most frequently, in particular those with intellectual, psychosocial and mental disabilities, and women and girls, migrants and members of the LGBTIQ community with disabilities; calls, in this respect, for anti-discrimination legislation to protect the rights of PwD and for the horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive to be unblocked in the Council14 and ensure adequate follow-up of the European Framework for Action on Mental Health and Wellbeing and improve the EU Compass for Action on Mental wellbeing; _________________ 14 Petitions Nos 0164/2020 and 0226/2021.
Amendment 95 #
Draft opinion
Recital B g (new)
Recital B g (new)
Bg. whereas Eurofound shows that lockdowns and restrictions of the COVID- 19 pandemic particularly affected young persons with disabilities aged 18 to 29, as 57% of respondents reported feeling lonely, 23% more than young people without disabilities;
Amendment 100 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Stresses the need to harmonise the recognition of disability status among the Member States; calls on the Commission to extend the scope of the EU disability card to secure freedom of movement for people with disabilities;
Amendment 105 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that the obligations under the CRPD and the recommendations of the CRPD Committee are also binding on all EU institutions, which are responsible for ensuring accessibility and non- discrimination, including for EU staff with disabilities and carers of PwD.; furthermore urges EU institutions to take the necessary measures to guarantee that people with disabilities can follow interpretation and easily access all online documents and underlines that in particular the Petitions Portal should be more accessible;
Amendment 117 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Highlights that persons with disabilities’ exercise of the right to work9 is closely linked to measures to tackle discrimination, poverty and obstacles in education, training, housing, care, personal mobility and the built environment; calls, in this regard, to unblock the Horizontal Anti-Discrimination Directive; _________________ 9 Article 27 of the UNCRPD.
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Welcomes the recent policy debate on 16 June 2022 among employment and social affairs ministers employment of persons with disabilities and how to remove disincentives to hire persons with disabilities and actions to promote their integration into the labour market and looks forward to concrete follow-up actions by the Member States;
Amendment 125 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Calls on the Commission and Member States to fully implement and mainstream the UNCRPD across all legislative, policy and funding measures, in particular as regards persons with disabilities’ social and labour market inclusion; calls for the EU and the Member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UNCRPD;
Amendment 133 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1b. Calls on the Commission to conduct a cross-cutting, comprehensive review, and where necessary revise, all relevant EU legislation with a view to ensuring its full CRPD compliance in particular as regards accessibility of the built and digital environment and reasonable accommodation in employment;
Amendment 135 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 c (new)
Paragraph 1 c (new)
1c. Calls on the Council, in particular its upcoming Presidencies, to unblock negotiations on the horizontal anti- discrimination directive as it is a prerequisite to achieving equality in the EU;
Amendment 136 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 d (new)
Paragraph 1 d (new)
1d. Stresses the importance of involving persons with disabilities and their representative organisations in the development and implementation of all measures effecting them; stresses the importance of mainstreaming disability considerations in the workplace and the role of social dialogue and trainings for employers in this regard;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that income- and, disability- related, and active employment support assistance are complementary in promoting the effective participation of persons with disabilities in the labour market; calls, therefore, on Member States to unbundle income- and disability-related, and active support assistance10 ; _________________ 10 UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities’, presented to the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, August 2015.
Amendment 143 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Believes that income- and disability-related assistance are complementary in promoting the effective participation of persons with disabilities in the labour market; calls, therefore, on Member States to unbundle income- and disability-related assistance10 in order to cover additional disability-related costs, combat in-work poverty and ensure their equality, dignity and autonomy; _________________ 10 UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities’, presented to the 70th session of the UN General Assembly, August 2015.
Amendment 148 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Stresses that persons with disabilities should enjoy their right to free movement in the EU on an equal basis with others and calls for a harmonised definition of disability to facilitate their education, training and employment opportunities across borders; calls on Member States to facilitate persons with disabilities’ export of their disability benefits and entitlements, including support services where relevant, to further foster this right; calls on the Commission and Member States to deliver on their commitments under the EU Disability Strategy, in particular the promised European Disability Card ensuring disability status is recognised in all Member States as soon as possible;
Amendment 151 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Recalls that Article19 of the CRPD provides for the equal right of persons with disabilities to live independently and be included in the community; urges Member State, with the support of the Commission, to accelerate the deinstitutionalisation process and foster the transition to community-based care and support; stresses that EU funds should be used to promote inclusivity and accessibility and should be immediately discontinued where they support the institutionalisation of persons with disabilities;
Amendment 157 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Recalls that persons with disabilities often work in sheltered employment; believes that such workshops should aim to foster skills development and support transitions to the open labour market; insists that persons with disabilities working in such environments should be protected by existing legal frameworks covering social protection and working conditions including minimum wage protection on an equal basis with others in line with Article 27 of the CRPD;
Amendment 169 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that teleworking could help increase the employment of persons with disabilities as a form of disability accommodation and a tool to achieve greater work-life balance and reduce pain- and fatigue-related barriers to the labour market; cautions, however, against the use of teleworking by employers to avoid making reasonable accommodations or creating inclusive workplace cultures for workers with disabilities11 ; highlights that future telework policies should be developed with a disability rights perspective and involve persons with disabilities in their design; _________________ 11 Schur, L.A., Ameri, M. & Kruse, D. ‘Telework After COVID: A ‘Silver Lining’ for Workers with Disabilities?’, J Occup Rehabil 30, pp. 521–536, 6 November 2020. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10926-020- 09936-5
Amendment 185 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. ECalls on Member States to provide tailored support for people with disabilities as regards access to skills development, VET and employment to ensure inclusive active labour market policies; encourages public employment services to roll out personalised measures to improve the employability and retention of persons with disabilities in the labour market; calls on Member States to provide guidance, training and financial aid to support entrepreneurship and self- employment for persons with disabilities.;
Amendment 192 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Highlights that harassment at work, including sexual harassment and retaliation for speaking up, hinders access to work and employment, job retention and equal career paths, in particular for women with disabilities12a, and that specific actions are needed in Member States to prevent, combat and sanction harassment against persons with disabilities; _________________ 12a https://www.disability- europe.net/downloads/1045-europe-2020- data-people-with-disabilities-tables-eu- silc-2017
Amendment 199 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Emphasises the need to protect persons with disabilities from discrimination by the use of artificial intelligence in recruitment, selection, promotion and termination decisions in employment;
Amendment 203 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Amendment 206 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4b. Stresses that the low activity rate of persons with disabilities is, as well, a huge obstacle hindering socioeconomic inclusion which must be improved by European and national programmes aiming at the activation and training of persons left outside the labour market;
Amendment 212 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Notes that the lack of recognition of disabilities and the associated benefits and social protection rights between member states is a barrier for the freedom of movement in relation to employment and education; calls on the Commission and Member States to propose an ambitious European Disability Card that can support mutual recognition of disability across the EU;
Amendment 215 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 c (new)
Paragraph 4 c (new)
4c. Calls on the Commission to assess thoroughly the employment and pay gap rate of persons with disabilities in different types of employment, including sheltered employment, by providing data disaggregated by gender and impairment and ensure qualitative analysis;
Amendment 218 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Calls on Member States to support on-the-job training and mentoring in the workplace for persons with disabilities; stresses that measures to improve persons with disabilities’ inclusion and employment will not be truly effective without also tackling disability-related stereotypes and stigma in the workplace and wider society; in this regard stresses the importance of awareness raising and training for educators, employers and colleagues as well as the general public to tackle ableism, shift mindsets and ensure truly inclusive societies;
Amendment 222 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 d (new)
Paragraph 4 d (new)
4d. Highlights that job-matching, vocational profiling, concurrent employment and training, in-work induction and training support and career development opportunities play an important role in helping persons with disabilities to secure and retain paid employment;
Amendment 230 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 e (new)
Paragraph 4 e (new)
4e. Reminds that reasonable accommodation is a right for workers with disabilities which is not always covered or understood by employers, who, sometimes, either have stigma about capabilities and needs of persons with disabilities, or do not have enough support in terms of information and resources regarding its application in the workplace;
Amendment 233 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 f (new)
Paragraph 4 f (new)
4f. Reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to put in place measures to assess the key trends for the future of work from a disability perspective in order to identify and launch specific actions to make the labour market more inclusive and reduce the digital gap; underlines the importance of making better use of innovative technologies to level the playing field and remove barriers to education and employment, and to help persons with disabilities gain access to digital tools and software that are indispensable for their independent living;
Amendment 239 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 g (new)
Paragraph 4 g (new)
4g. Reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to support research programmes focused on the development of assistive technologies including robotics, digital technologies and artificial intelligence with the aim of enabling the full integration of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life;
Amendment 242 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 h (new)
Paragraph 4 h (new)