New economy: EXPO ahead, disabled stand

Will it be because of EXPO exhibitions to suffer the most vulnerable and important in a society, all because of the government's determination to push out a public works project for which apparently there is not enough money? Due to the fair project, expenses for all other needs are cut, and the last one on the list was found disability fund. As things stand, since we have taken on too much debt due to the EXPO exhibition, the disabled, agriculture and the education system will have to endure until 2027, when this exhibition will be finished and there will be more money for them, writes Aleksandra Nenadović in The new economy.

"Our experience shows that that fund was never transparent, we never found out how much money was poured into that fund and how much was directed to what was the goal of the law." As a parallel, in 2012, 900 million dinars were directed to the enterprise for professional rehabilitation. Last year, 60 million dinars were allocated for the same purposes. It's a huge difference. Since covid, that amount was reduced to 60 million dinars and since then it varies from 60 to 80 million, and in the budget for next year this expenditure is not even foreseen, but only five million dinars are planned, which will be directed to wage subsidies for people with disabilities ", explains Mirjana Pantelić from the Association of Enterprises for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities for New Economy.

According to her, this information rarely reaches the public, because no one wants to suffer sanctions from the holders of public authority, if they find out how the money is distributed.

The executive director of the Initiative for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities, Snezana Lazarevic, says that, as far as she knows, there has always been a problem of monitoring the amount of funds that flow into the fund for the disabled, as well as the way in which these funds are distributed.

According to the law, employers who have more than 20 employees are obliged to pay the amount of 50 percent of the minimum wage to the budget in the name of helping people with disabilities. Companies with 50 or more employees are required to employ at least two persons with disabilities, and for every additional 50 employees, one more. Otherwise, they have to pay a certain amount of money to the Budget Fund for each disabled person they didn't employ, but they had to.

The publication of the Forum of Disabled Youth from last year shows an ugly picture of Serbian society and its attitude towards people with disabilities. Although small changes in the treatment of these people can be seen, what does not change is that we have never known exactly how much money goes to people with disabilities in order to improve their lives. Experts estimate that it is about seven billion dinars for the last year, and considering that the number of companies grows every year, as well as the minimum wage, that amount tends to increase.

Based on the Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities, a budget fund for professional rehabilitation and encouraging the employment of persons with disabilities was established.

The income of the Budget Fund consists of funds that employers pay if they do not employ a person with a disability or if they do not conclude a contract on business and technical cooperation with a company for professional rehabilitation and employment of people with disabilities.

"When the Law was passed in 2009, almost 50 percent of companies decided to pay penalties." In the meantime, the number of companies employing more than 20 employees has grown significantly, so that an increasing number of companies had the obligation to employ persons with disabilities, albeit with a delay of 2 years. Therefore, at the same time, the number of those who pay penalties increases, but so does the average salary in Serbia, so that the Fund's income almost doubles in the observed period," states the report of the Forum of Disabled Youth.

In recent years, close to 40 percent of employers have chosen to pay contributions to the Budget Fund, which means that companies now choose to hire disabled people more often than before. Only about one percent of companies, however, procure goods and services from companies for professional rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, according to data from this publication.

Also, what can be observed based on the data is the continuous reduction of resources from the Budget Fund, from the initial 2,12 in 2011 to 1,25 billion dinars in 2019, regardless of the estimated needs. According to estimates for the year 2020, only 20 percent of the Fund's resources are used for their intended purpose. It is also important to note that the Fund is not administered by the ministry in charge of employment, but rather by the Ministry of Finance, as planned.

Of course, this is not the only budget item for which Serbian taxpayers do not know what and how much money is being spent. We also had an example of environmental taxes being charged, without companies having any real insight into whether the money that was paid went to a better and healthier environment. Judging by the air all these years in Serbia, it would be said that this money also goes to fairs and stadiums. And how would we know if the position of people with disabilities has improved, can we say that there is really progress?

"Perhaps the shortest answer would be that he must respect the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which our country ratified back in 2009." Basically, it guarantees persons with disabilities equality before the law, the right to live independently in the community and to decide on their own life. In order for this to be possible, it is necessary to ensure that all services that are available to people without disabilities (health, employment, social protection, etc.) are also available to people with disabilities. Also, for those who need it, it is necessary to provide specialized services in the community - personal assistance, housing with support, work assistants..." says Lazarevic.