Just like everyone else: more than half of people with disabilities in the Vitebsk region are employed
More than half of people with disabilities who have employment recommendations and live in the region are employed in various fields.
Adaptation to work for people with additional needs is of particular importance in light of the labor shortage. 12.2 thousand people from this group have relevant recommendations, and 6.3 thousand are employed. During the past year, 345 people with disabilities needed employment, and 237 found jobs. For 63 people with this status, adaptation was organized in professions such as: funeral wreath maker, club leader, social worker, administrator, and others.
At UP "Elect" of the Belarusian Association of the Visually Impaired, we were warned:
– We are ordinary people, not heroes or deprived. Treat us equally, like everyone else. We just can't see. But this does not prevent us from working, playing sports, being creative, starting families – in a word, being part of society.
The majority of those employed at "Elect" – over 250 people – are disabled, of whom over 100 are visually impaired. Nevertheless, they work on equal terms with ordinary colleagues. They only have the benefits provided by the state: a 30-day vacation and an additional day under contract. Working hours are set individually, based on medical recommendations, but the work week should not exceed 35 hours (seven hours each day).
The enterprise emphasized that no visually impaired person who is willing to work conscientiously and has successfully passed the medical examination has been denied employment. Sometimes there may be a waiting period, but no one is left "out in the cold."
A proposal to make the legally established 35-hour work week rule more flexible was made at a general meeting of the work collective with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Belarus, Marina Artemenko.
The reason for the team's optimistic outlook is the healthy atmosphere within it. The enterprise operates stably, its products – lighting equipment – are in demand domestically and in neighboring countries. In addition, an accessible environment is established here, and rehabilitation is organized – elementary, sports, creative, and medical. The trade union committee and the public council are actively working. Anyone can realize their potential if they wish.
Dmitry Shloma, Deputy Director for Ideological Work and Social Issues, provided vivid examples of people being employed at "Elect," being allocated a place in the dormitory, working, starting families, building careers – life in general. For example, Vladimir Kabylkin, Head of the Rehabilitation Department, is one such man from the provinces. In 2004, he came to Vitebsk, got a job at "Elect," and soon started a family. Together with his wife, he is raising two children.
Dmitry Shloma himself, already having a visual impairment, received a higher education, got married, sings in the famous "Khorus," and progressed from a mechanic-assembler to deputy director.
– If your health has failed you, you need to learn to live with it, and under no circumstances despair, – advises Dmitry Shloma. – One can be useful to family and society, self-sufficient, even when blind.