The "Service for Disabled Workers" has as mission to ensure, according to the disability of the person, training, placing, professional re-education and integration of disabled persons suffering from a diminution of their ability to work of at least 30%.
Another service implicated is the "Service Re-Educatif Ambulatoire" (SREA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour. The mission of this service is to assist people with special educational needs in ordinary school.
Transition Programme
Transition programme in Luxembourg does not exist.
After compulsory education, there is no longer assistance of disabled persons except perhaps in the "Centres de Propédeutique Professionnelle" during their training.
Employment/ Unemployment Situation for Disabled People
The disabled persons, who cannot do an ordinary job, have to find their place in the sector of protected work. Most disabled people stay in "protected workshops". These people have a very high social protection in terms of legislation.
Those who find employment get a guaranteed monthly income of about LUF 40.000 (Euro ± 1.000).
There is always a lack of understanding on the part of teachers and employers towards the qualities and abilities of disabled persons.
Legal Measures or Actions
The law of November the 12th, 1991 of the disabled workers:
- Integration of the "Office for Placing and Professional Re-education of Disabled Workers" as a service of the "Employment Administration"=Service for Disabled Workers (Service des Travailleurs Handicapés).
- Creation of a "Commission of Orientation and Professional Reclassification" that analyses the request to become a "disabled worker" and that decides who will get this status.
- The director of the "Employment Administration" fixes measures considering the professional integration or re-integration of disabled workers.
- Precise determination (by grand-ducal law) of the form and content of the measures of placing, training or professional re-education, measures of initiation or probationary periods of adaptation or re-adaptation to work to be taken by the director of the "Employment Administration".
- The possibility of re-examination of the decisions of refusal.
- Increase and adaptation of the personnel of "Employment Administration" to reinforce by experts the Service for Disabled Workers.
- Creation of a legal frame for public financial help to private organisations for developing training facilities and protected employment structures for disabled persons.
Despite some open-minded employers and the efforts undertaken by the people working or the "Service for disabled people", there are still people for whom it is difficult to find employment (because of lack of qualification or lack of the ability to work).
Transition Background, Processes and Results
The results are different. At school, we have succeeded in achieving the integration of children with special educational needs. Integration into professional life is still difficult, because the politicians are still not aware of the problem. Integration into the world of employment stays "rare".
The reality is in contradiction with good pedagogical intentions. The disabled persons have little possibilities to find an ordinary employment. In 1998, there were 1.718 disabled workers in Luxemburg.
After having found an ordinary employment, the disabled persons are not assisted anymore. This shows that in Luxemburg transition from school to professional life is still very rudimentary.