EMPLOYMENT PERSPECTIVES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN ECUADOR

ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ТРУДОУСТРОЙСТВА ЛЮДЕЙ С ОГРАНИЧЕННЫМИ ВОЗМОЖНОСТЯМИ В ЭКВАДОРЕ

Ricardo A.S.

28.07.2022 324

7(86)

18. Экономическая социология и демография

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Ricardo A.S. EMPLOYMENT PERSPECTIVES FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN ECUADOR // Universum: общественные науки : электрон. научн. журн. 2022. 7(86). URL: https://7universum.com/ru/social/archive/item/14111 (дата обращения: 16.04.2024).

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DOI - 10.32743/UniSoc.2022.86.7.14111

АННОТАЦИЯ

Трудоустройство людей с ограниченными возможностями - это вопрос, который стал важной темой в государственной политике Эквадора после введения в действие Конституции 2008 года, которая относит людей с ограниченными возможностями к приоритетной группе, требующей особого внимания, исходя из этой предпосылки, был продвинут ряд прав человека, включая продвижение трудового законодательства. В данной работе, применяя методологию опроса, измеряются социально-экономические переменные и условия труда людей с ограниченными возможностями, в дополнение к анализу степени реализации прав человека этой приоритетной группы в Эквадоре.

ABSTRACT

The employment of people with disabilities is an issue that has become an important topic in the public policy of Ecuador since the enforcement of 2008 Constitution, which classifies people with disabilities as a priority care group with special attention, based on this premise, a series of human rights were promoted, including promoting labor law.

In this work, applying the survey methodology, socioeconomic variables, and the work environment of people with disabilities are measured, in addition to analyzing the extent to which the human rights of this priority group in Ecuador are fulfilled.

Keywords: Disability, Employment, Ecuador, Human Rights, Latin America.

Ключевые слова: Инвалидность, занятость, Эквадор, права человека, Латинская Америка.

INTRODUCTION

The present work analyses the inclusion of people with disabilities into the workforce, despite the advances of modern society these groups continue to be discriminated against, the World Labor Organization estimates that there are one billion people with disabilities in the world (ILO, 2016), Thus, governments have a pending task making accurate inclusion policies. Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) points out that globally many countries have strong public subsidy policies (WHO, 2018) that include granting economic benefits to employers who hire people with disabilities and monetary transfers to people who are not able to work. However, these benefits are not always enough to live on (Angelov & Eliason, 2018). Therefore, we can say that not working makes them dependent on other people, causing magnified discomfort by having to be a burden for their families.

Different disabilities in Ecuador can be classified according to the Organic Law on Disabilities grouped as Physical, hearing, intellectual and psychosocial disabilities (Asamblea Nacional, 2012). This law provides stakeholders preference in hiring for the total of 4% of the payroll of a company, early retirement, benefits in public transport, health care plans, among others.

In Ecuador, people with disabilities suffer different daily problems (Diario El Universo, 2016), although in our case we will only analyse the area of monetary subsidies provided by public institutions in accordance with the Organic Law on Disabilities, with its acronym in Spanish LOD (Asamblea Nacional, 2012); and labour inclusion, as there are subsidy programs for companies or educational inclusion for people with disabilities (Espinoza & Gallegos, 2018).

According to (Espinoza & Gallegos, 2018) the socioeconomic benefits in Ecuador are provided by various institutions under legal regulations by the Ecuadorian State, such as monetary transfers for human development to people with disabilities in extreme poverty, discounts on public services and public transport, and taxes payable to the Internal Revenue Service (SRI, 2017) as the refund of the Value Added Tax (VAT) generated on some purchases made by people with disabilities (Quezada, 2018).

On the other hand, we will analyze the existing data on employment in Ecuador, it should be noted that a fundamental factor that influences a good management of the economy of a country is the percentage of people who work in conditions of adequate employment that reaches to cover the needs of a human being that in Ecuador according to the National Survey of Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment - ENEMDU - of the Institute of Statistics and Censuses was 32.5% in 2021 and unemployment is 5.8% (INEC, 2022). In addition, in the country there is the National Council for the Disabled (CONADIS), which is part of the National Government, and created in compliance with the LOD, in charge of promoting and ensuring the fulfillment of rights, presents data on the employment of people with disabilities, the most current presented by the institution was in 2019 (Table 1).

Table 1 .

People with disabilities in Ecuador by type of disability and the number of people with disabilities by type and substitutes who work

Type of Disability	Number of people with disabilities	People Actively Working	Difference People not working	Percentage People not working
Physical	221913	40977	180936	82%
Intellectual	106102	12136	93966	89%
Deafness	66867	10191	56676	85%
Visual	55784	8166	47618	85%
Psychosocial	25081	3127	21954	88%
Total, arithmetic mean	475747	74597	401150	84%

Elaboration: author. Source: Bulletin (CONADIS, 2019) December 2019.

No current statistics on the unemployment of people with disabilities in Ecuador exits, nor are there statistics on the adequate employment of people with disabilities, which must have been heightened due to COVID (Diario Expreso, 2021), usually people with disabilities in Ecuador are not, despite of the different programs implemented by the government, since the positions that are offered are not well designed or people with a certain disability are simply preferred to another, this kind of discrimination is difficult to prove as there are specific regulations to determine this. (Espinoza & Gallegos, 2018).

As we can see in the table, approximately 84% of the population with disabilities are not working, 2019 date of the last available bulletin- despite of their age. We can also observe that the highest percentage of people with disabilities who do not work belongs to groups psychosocial and intellectual disability, being above the average; in the case of physical disability, although its percentage of unemployment is lower than the average, it includes approximately the half of the population with disabilities in Ecuador.

In addition, it should be noted that groups of disabled people experiment the barrier of misinformation. Hence, we understand difficulties experienced by the disabled people and their families, since without information enough, it makes difficult for them to make decisions about their lives and unknown their rights, to understand the world around them. The Council for the Disabled in Ecuador and the Ministry of Health are the main organizations that disabled people rely on to learn about their rights and try to be part of society, creating an inclusive country. However, apart from these two public entities, for the disabled there is still a lack of knowledge of other organizations or foundations that provide support and promote development to improve the quality of life of the disabled and their families.

It can be said that the best-known non-governmental organizations in Ecuador are the National Federation of Ecuadorians with Physical Disabilities, the National Federation of the Deaf, the National Federation of the Blind and the Federations or Associations in each Territory of Ecuador, which are established geographically by a group of citizens as stated in the CONADIS list. (CONADIS, 2014). However, due to the dispersion of institutions and monthly dues requirements to be a member, many times those who take advantage of the benefits are the leaders of the Associations and not the common members, which discourages being part of these organizations (Buenaño, 2017).

METHODOLOGY

a) Design.

Since the information presented by the Disabled Council of Ecuador is not very specific or updated, a survey is carried out, applying a sample to people with disabilities. The objective is to corroborate the theoretical approach of this research, unemployment and prove the rights and benefits of disabled people according to LOD, contributing to decision-making by the relevant authority.

This project was oriented in a qualitative and documentary research of primary and secondary sources, on employment in disability. For the purpose, books, texts, articles, final year projects, official websites (informative and official statistics), which contained data related to said topic, were first used.

b) Population and sample.

The data collection technique is considered through the questioning of the subjects who provide answers to collect data of interest, sorted to prove concepts that derive from a research problem discussed in this research project. (López Roldán & Fachelli, 2016).

Ethical considerations

The people contacted for the development of this study gave authorization to participate to be surveyed. The constancy of anonymity and confidentiality of the study participants is essential in the investigation to avoid biases that alter the results.

Developing

a) Data collection

The data was collected through the Google forms platform, for reasons of COVID-19, using a sample of 20 people, we must also clarify that collecting information from people with disabilities was a challenge as it is a specific group of people.

b) Data analysis.

We will use a simple statistical analysis of the data collected by which we define as variable responses to the questions asked.

Analyzing the relevance of the chosen questions of a cultural nature: (1) What is your Sex? Man, woman, LGBTI group. Hypothesis: Expecting few responses from LGBT group. (2) What ethnicity or race do you belong to? White, Black, Indigenous, Mestizo. The majority should answer mestizo as the majority of the Ecuadorian population. (3) What type of disability card do you have? Visual, Physical, Psychosocial, Hearing, Intellectual and other disabilities. Most responses are expected to come from people who have physical disabilities. (4) What is the degree or percentage of disability that you have? 30-49%, 50-74%, 75-84%, 85-100% - Disability is measured in degrees, the first being the mildest, from there it is moderate, severe and very severe. Being the majority of people in the mild. (5) What is the last level of education completed? Basic, Baccalaureate, Superior or more. We cannot predict which would be the majority, but a significant number with a third-level degree is expected, since the educational system has allowed more people with disabilities to enter. (6) What institution issued your disability card? National Council for Disabilities (CONADIS). Since 2013, the Ministry of Public Health MSP is the only disability certification institution in Ecuador. (Diario El Comercio, 2020)

Analyzing the relevance of the chosen questions of a socioeconomic nature (7) Do you work and if you work in what way? Relationship of dependency, Independent or does not work. The results cannot be known as long as the respondents do not respond. (8) How satisfied are you with your work life? Very dissatisfied Very satisfied. Most should be satisfied with their working lives. (9) Do you know of any foundation or association that provides employment assistance to people with disabilities? They are expected to name support institutions and the mode of those reported will be chosen. (10) How much do you think the labor inclusion programs provided by the Ecuadorian State helped you to get your job? A little, I don't have a job, Neither a little nor a lot, A lot, I have a suitable job. It cannot be predicted. (11) How satisfied is your employer with you? Very satisfied, very dissatisfied, or does not apply. See the results to find the preference of the majority (12) Do you think that the work you do is consistent with your skills and studies? Yes, No, Sometimes or does not apply. Results must be expected to predict. (13) What productive sector does your employer belong to? Private, Public, Other (Non-Profit Foundations/Independent), which cannot be forecast. (14) Do you feel that the pandemic has not affected the population with disabilities in Ecuador in obtaining employment? Yes, No It is expected that yes (15) In your household, how many people, including yourself, work? 1, 2 or more. They are expected to choose the second option Almost all people with disabilities live with or depend on a family member and the average. (16) How much is the TOTAL income of your household in legal tender, which are US dollars (USD)? This is the legal tender in Ecuador, and the median of what is reported will be chosen. (17) In which range could you classify your monthly income? 0-425, 425-850, 850-1275, 1275 or more. Although it cannot be predicted, each item represents less than a unified basic salary of 3 SBU (18). What is your level of satisfaction with the monetary aid programs of the Ecuadorian State? Good bad. The majority option will be chosen. (19) Do you use the different monetary disability benefits in Ecuador? Example: disability retirement, social bonds, discounts on basic services. Yes, No or not applicable. The majority option will be explained. We see that if the companies meet the legal disability requirements. (20) Do you receive additional income such as the return of the Value Added Tax (VAT) by the Internal Revenue Service? Yes, No. The majority will be explained.

The results are summarized in Table 2 and Table 3

Table 2.

Cultural Survey Results

Ask

Sex

Sample

Ethnicity

Sample

Guy

Sample

Degree

Sample

Studies

Sample

Transmitter

Sample

Variable 1

Men

Half Blood

fifteen

Physical

30-49%

Basic

National Council on Disabilities

Variable 2

Woman

White

Auditory

50-74%

High School

Ministry of Public Health

Variable 3

Black

Intellectual

75-84%

two

University or more

Variable 4

Psychosocial

two

Variable 5

Visual

Variable 6

Other

Total

Source: Own surveys, Elaboration: own.

Table 3

Findings sociocultural responses

#	Ask	majority response	Quantity
7	How it Works	Independent or not working	14
8	Satisfied with work life	Dissatisfied	eleven
9	Known Foundation for Employment	Association of people with disabilities in the Province of Guayas	4
10	Satisfied with employment programs	Little I don't work	10
11	Employer satisfaction	Satisfied	13
12	job satisfaction	Yes	8
13	Employer Sector	Public sector	8
14	pandemic impact	Yes	eleven
15	People who work at home	2 or more	17
16	Monthly income amount	Median	610
17	Monthly Income Range	0-400	9
18	Satisfaction monetary programs	Bad	fifteen
19	Receive disability benefits	Yes	14
20	Receive return VAT	Yes	13

Source: Own surveys, Elaboration: own.

c) DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS.

To analyze the section of cultural questions, we see in (1) that most of the answers come from men. (2) of mestizo ethnicity. (3) physically disabled. (4) With grade from 30 to 49%. (5) With higher education and (6) with a card issued by the National Council for Disabilities.

Later, analyzing the socioeconomic section, we note in (7) that the employee with a disability is self-employed or does not work. (8) are dissatisfied with their work life. (9) Most of them do not know many associations or foundations. (10) They are not satisfied with employment programs. (11) Your employers are satisfied with your work. (12) They are satisfied with the job they have. (13) The public sector is the one that provides the most jobs or else they do not work. (14) They believe that the pandemic affects people with disabilities and their work. (15) More than 2 people work in the home. (16) The monthly income of those consulted has an average of $600. (17) Although when choosing a rank it is less than a Unified Basic Salary. (18) Satisfaction with government monetary programs is bad. (19) If they receive disability benefits. (20) They receive a refund from the Internal Revenue Service.

To conclude, it is recommended that people with disabilities seek support from the National Government so that they can receive the different labor and monetary benefits that have been discussed in this investigation, through different entities such as the National Council for the Disabled, the Ministry of Labor, the Service Internal Revenue among others. In addition, society expects greater social and labor inclusion, since there are many people with disabilities who do not work and have the opportunity in the private sector to work and earn a salary that allows them to meet all their daily needs, as well as the vulnerability of this group, discrimination is eradicated and the rights of persons with disabilities are fulfilled.

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