Today commemorates International Day of Persons with Disabilities. A great opportunity to make your crossroads visible. There is almost absolute consensus in society that they have the same rights and therefore should have the same opportunities. But this position … He faces a road full of challenges that appear as obstacles. Added to the eternal problems of accessibility and mobility are the growing lack of resources due to the high cost of living, waiting lists that do not stop growing, difficulties in finding work, a shortage of specialists, and a new assessment crisis, with irregular application by the current national government.
Rocio Pérez, President of Andalucía Inclusiva Cocemfe, takes a still photo, an image of the present moment. It reveals that it is a critical moment due to the complexity of the present and the absence of real commitment. “Our rights may be compromised.” At the very least turn on that red light to examine the issue deeply and thoroughly.
-What is the situation of disability in Andalusia now? What X-rays can be done?
-We are at a point where we have an important turning point. There is social change, because the vast majority of citizens and among all political parties there is a social consensus: people with disabilities should have the same opportunities for the same rights. We even reached an agreement to make a change in the constitution.
But we also live in a time when our rights may be hampered by the rising cost of living. The increase in salaries for the people who serve us belies resources that are not rising as quickly. It is a setback because there is a recession.
– This does not mean that they give them less, but rather that what they give them they give them in return for less.
-That’s how it is. We have the most controversial economic situation in a long time. More and more social entities are closing, and still have fewer employees. We must sound the alarm because the associations are going through a very difficult time.
– In Andalusia (also in the whole country) only one in five people with disabilities are employed. For acceptable inclusion, this number is a long way from what is recommended, right?
– To be able to apply for a job, you need previous work, sustainable resources over the years and professionals. They are resources that must be mobilized. Hence we have to make a very important social change because private companies still do not remember people with disabilities when hiring. Where there are more job opportunities, it is more difficult for us to get opportunities.
We must make this social revolution so that they not only remember when it comes to getting resources, help or kind assistance, but also when it comes to giving us employment opportunities.
The truth is that when we are given opportunities, success is present in most entries. It’s usually good or very good. It costs us that first chance and I would like to give the community a “TG” on their wrist to give us more chances.
-Why don’t those opportunities come? Because of stigma?
-Especially because they can’t see us. The problem is that disabilities are not seen as employable people. It is a false myth because there are many people asking for opportunities and looking for work, but the private company does not stop seeing us.
If not, we have to go to private employment centres. There we have a guaranteed job, but we need the management to take care of us a little more. We need mediation of action, specific guidance, and for this reason we need more comprehensive action and more intensive support.
-They take small steps but very slowly.
-We still have a long way to go. So that society remembers that we are not just people living on a pension, but we are also capable of doing equal or better professional work than anyone else.
– The majority of workers are clustered in the service sector, and qualified work costs more, while there are more and more people with disabilities who have university studies.
-We are working to increase training, although there is still a big gap. People with disabilities acquired in childhood or from birth face greater difficulties when it comes to their training, which tells us that we do not have equal opportunities.
– In Andalusia, the queue is followed while waiting for the decision.
-It’s brutal. They must respond to us within six months, and it takes most provinces about two years to recognize the rights of a person with a disability. They tell us that they are doing everything they can, that it is difficult for them to find employees, and that they are unable to guarantee this right. They understand the difficulty. We have been able to improve that we have an emergency procedure for people with reduced life expectancy.
-Are downward assessments carried out in Spain?
-Yes. The scale is not applied correctly, because the percentage of serious disabilities does not reach 33%. We also have cases of people who go for review because their disability has worsened significantly and they leave even without the 33%.
It has been computerized and the staff who appreciate it have not been adequately trained. We have a very important crisis in assessments, in staff who are retiring, who are not being replaced, so the waiting lists are growing. We have a tightening, and what we have asked is that the new measure takes into account new situations or new difficulties that exist: if you live in a rural area, if you have other difficulties, but that is incorrectly incorporated because the result is lower ratings. They value social factors as positive.
-The crisis of evaluation, waiting lists, and employment… Are these the major challenges of the near future?
-We can’t forget accessibility. Part of the problems with employment is that access to certain jobs can be an illusion: taking the bus, moving to another city… Accessibility is a contingent process, which makes everything difficult, from education, to employment, to access to health care. And we have to demand it as a human right. I have the right to be able to move, to be able to walk in the street, no matter how I walk.