News

Cedris, the umbrella organization for social organizations for employment and labor in the Netherlands aims for its 93 members and their customers to deliver the best possible service to their interests. Therefore tries Cedris to forecast the uncertain long-term future and to explore strategic develop options, so that their members can anticipate rather than just respond when the time comes.Cedris expected in the coming years huge shifts in the industry.

Most people who worked in the past by Cedris members were placed in sheltered workshops. Today there is a tendency to employ more people with regular employers, that others are placed on supervised work or in secondment. Cedris members are by law responsible to perform the Wsw (Law on sheltered Workshops), but are also very active in  Work First programs and also provide courses and re-integration for other disadvantaged groups. (For example, under the WIA (Wet Werk en Inkomen naar Arbeidsvermogen, the Law Work and Income related to Labor capacity). As a result Cedris members serve increasingly the full range of groups with a distance the labor market: Wsw'ers, Wajongers, and WIJ'ers WWB'ers translation: Sheltered Workshops, Youngsters with a disability, Allowances for youngsters and the catch net: the Law for Work and Allowances) .

Currently Cedris members are supporting approximately 160,000 people with a distance from the labor market. It is expected that this demand will grow. Above that the sector has to deal with the (political) increasing austerity of regime and the development of a new regime for the 'bottom' of the labor market: the Law Work to Abilities. What impact will these new regulations have on the sector?
What problems face people with a distance to the labor market the next 15 years? How do they cope and how can we provide appropriate professional guidance and infrastructure for the development of this group? How can we provide a sustainable link with housing and care?
The above is just a few of the trends and uncertainties for the sector to come. Cedris will provide its members insight into future developments and help them to be prepared for this uncertain future. Therefore Cedris will try to look 15 years ahead with its members and people from the industry and beyond. It will do this in the coming period through a process of scenario-based planning work.
The first step in this process is an exploration of our environment. That provides insight in developments, trends and uncertainties relevant to the outside world for the industry. This trend report is the result of this exploration and forms the basis for the next step in the scenario study.
In the first chapter, Megatrends: Shifts in Society, A large number of important developments currently relevant in our society and to our Sector are described. The subsequent chapters are zooming in on our industry and describe concrete developments in various fields, as the organization of social security, aging audience, and the flexibility of labor, rising demand and tight public finances.The second step in the process is interviews with stakeholders working in practice and science. They share their vision for the future (reintegration) of people at the bottom of the labor market. The interviews you will find in a separate publication. Based on this trend report and the interviews with member’s scenarios will be developed and will we determine a strategy that will form the basis for the agenda for the future.

You can download the reports in Dutch:

Agenda voor de toekomst Trendrapportage.pdf 

In gesprek met de buitenwereld.pdf  (dialog with the outside World)

WE is working on the English translation

The Hungarian Association of Sheltered Workshops organized together with Workability Europe a very successful conference about the employment situation for persons with disabilities.

The conference was attended by 60 representatives of Hungarian and international organizations. Contributions were made by:

• Dr. Gábor Pósfai                             Director General of National Office for Rehabilitation and Social Affairs (NRSZH)
• Erzsébet Földesi; Mrs. Szőllősi         Vice President of European Disability Forum (EDF)
• György Habsburg                           Chairman of the Hungarian Red Cross

The Director general of the National Office for Rehabilitation and Social Affairs was explaining headlines of the new Hungarian policy for sheltered and supported employment and rehabilitation.

The EDF Vice President underlined the needs to implement the new legislation in the perspective of the UN regulation. The Hungarian government has already ratified these regulations, but it is now time for real implementation.

Members of Workability Europe gave an overview of the systems in other European countries. like France and The Netherlands.

Mr. Habsburg. explained the working of the Red Cross in the World and how they have structured their European activities.

Excellent examples of the Red Cross activities for guiding people with disability and other disadvantaged groups to the labor market were given. One of the outcomes of the Conference is that VSZOSZ and the Hungarian Red Cross will work more in cooperation.

The participants from Hungary raised a lot of questions about the current situation and the coming transformation period.

The concrete demands were formulated as:

•  
  • reduce a lot of not necessary administrative regulations,
  • more awareness and flexibility in regulations to place people with a disability in mainstream employment
  • be fair in budgeting for wage compensation guidance, in test and training services and in improving the knowledge of specialists.
 give the Hungarian sheltered employment companies an equal chance on the labor market and let them participate in work for communities and government,

In the common conclusion of the conference Mr. Zoltán Balogh and Mr. Hans Vrind Workability Europe stated that change need:

• a system to support all participants/ stakeholders
• time and some extra budget for the temporary costs
• a lot of communication

The participants were at the end very satisfied with the presented information and the approach of VSZOSZ during the seminar to support them.

All activities are a contribution to strenghten the position of people with a disability on the labor market.

Workability Europe is with 45 members in 24 countries championing the rights to work for 1.5 million people with a disabily with 45 members in 24 European countries.

WE visit to Lithuania 8 – 10 June 2011 a success! 

The goals of WE visit to Vilnius were:

• WE expansion to Baltic countries and Belarus through Lithuania. Getting to know Lithuanian partners and environment better.
• Transfer of European Know-how about integration of people with disabilities into labour market. Initiatives of increasing employment of people with disabilities.
• Preparation for a possible 2013 annual WE meeting in Vilnius. 

WE has two members in Lithuania: The Valakupiai Rehabilitation Centre and The Union of Disabled Social Enterprises“ (NSIS/UDSE) 

One important session was the meeting in the Valakupiai rehabilitation center  with representatives of disabled associations, representatives of rehabilitation institutions and the board of UDSE. Topics were the Rehabilitation system in Lithuania, issues and good practices - as the role of Social Enterprises - in Europe, the UN Declaration on the Rights of People with a disability and the European Union Disability Strategy 2020.                       

After this seminar was a meeting with Audra Mikalauskaite , Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Social Security and Labour of the Republic of Lithuania. 

On Friday the 10th of June 2011 there were meetings in the Parliament, with the chairperson Irena Degutiene, with the chairman of Social matters and labour committee Rimantas Jonas Dagys and with Mantas Varaska, member of the parliament. 

WE will go further on the path of exchange of best practices for integration, for Social Companies and to stimulate  the membership in the Baltic countries and around.

WE is very gratefull for all the activities, organized by NSIS/UDSE, and the intentions to develop joint activities in the years ahead.