Elderly blind persons and access to the job market

Report presented at the European Seminar
"Seeing a Future : Older visually impaired people and access to the job market
(Erice, 9 May 1999)


By Orlando PALADINO




New opportunities

By a peculiar coincidence, this Conference is held less than 2 months after the publication of the new Italian law on disabled persons' right to work (Law No. 68 of 12th March 1999).

This new law, the essential provisions of which will come into force in January 2000, redesigns the system of compulsory job placement for the disabled and introduces interesting new employment opportunities for all elderly disabled persons, and in particular for the sight-handicapped. Incidentally, the special job-placement laws in favour of the latter are maintained in their entirety by the new legislation.

The previous general law on compulsory job placement in fact excluded all persons aged over fifty-five from the right to obligatory employment (Art. 1, paragraph 2, Law No. 482 of 2.4.1968).

The new law instead foresees the right to obligatory employment (Art. 1 para. 1 letter a) for disabled persons of working age, which as per the current legislation means up to the age of sixty-five years.

We have just said that this law will come into force in January 2000; however, the exemption from the 55 years' age-limit is already applicable for jobs in the public sector by virtue of law No. 127 of 15th May 1997 (Art. 3, paragraph 6), which has abolished the age-limit for access to public employment competitions.

The Council of State, in a very recent opinion dated 15th March 1999, has in fact confirmed its general validity, and hence its applicability in any circumstance entailing the establishment of employment relations with public administrations, with the sole limit of not being over the age established by the law for retirement (65 years).

Until January 2000 we shall thus have a dual legal regime: for jobs with private employers the disabled are subject to the age-limit of 55 years, whilst for public administrations the limit is 65 years.

It is obvious that these new regulations open up unexpected opportunities for access to the job market on the part of elderly disabled persons, and blind persons in particular, also in consideration of the special laws thanks to which amongst the blind population the unemployed or non-employed total only 3 percent, as compared to the general unemployment rate of 12.3 percent.

A specific provision of the new law is designed to encourage the career progress of disabled persons. In the past, preferential treatment in public competition pass-lists was reserved for unemployed disabled persons only, which penalized those disabled persons who were already working. This provision has now been abolished.

It must be noted that the Italian Blind Persons' Union (UIC) has made a great effort to obtain the enactment of this new law with the wording now approved, and to ensure the adoption, in the terms reported, of the opinion by the Council of State.



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Conditioning factors and disincentives

It should be noted, however, that access to the job market by elderly handicapped persons (meaning those aged 55 or above), and the sight-handicapped in particular, with specific reference to the elderly, is conditioned in Italy by numerous elements and factors in the legislative, social security and economic spheres.

The first conditioning elements are the regulations concerning the obligatory job-placement of the disabled, which assure a higher rate of employment for the disabled in relation to that of the normally endowed, especially at the present phase of employment tension which finds Italy (in the European Social Fund target 1 regions) with a disabled unemployment rate that is considerably lower than that of the normally endowed.

The employment of elderly handicapped persons is affected by the social security provisions in their favour, which foresee the retirement, as "old-age pensioners", of the disabled when only 55 years old, instead of 65 years old as foreseen under the present legislation for normally endowed persons.

In the case of the totally blind, employment is also disincentivated from the economic standpoint by the granting of the so-called "escort allowance" (currently amounting to E. 580.85 per month, payable on request, and also by the pension for blind civilians (currently E. 220.64 per month).

The first of these, i.e. the escort allowance, is granted "with sole reference to the disability", i.e. without taking the blind person's personal or family income into account in any way; the second, i.e. the pension, is instead subject to a personal income not exceeding e. 11,987,88 per annum.

All in all, these tax-free allowances amount to a figure more or less equal to the initial monthly salary of an ordinary clerical employee.

A further disincentive to employment for handicapped persons aged over fifty-five is constituted by the legislation that prohibits, with a view to reducing unemployment, the cumulation of earned income (whether from employment or self-employment) with the pension, usually to the extent of 50%; this provision ceases to apply (although only in the case of self-employed work) at the age of 65, or subject to the requirement of 40 years' social security payments.

When we add to this reduction the forfeiture of the blind civilian's pension (if the earned income exceeds the already mentioned ceiling of E. 11,987.88 per annum) it is clearly apparent that the present Italian legislation discourages the access of elderly blind persons to employment.

It should also be recalled that the Italian Blind Persons' Union has succeeded in having the work performed by blind persons, in whatsoever manner, classified as "wearying", with consequent entitlement to 4 months' virtual seniority for each year's work. This means that after thirty years' work the blind person is entitled to an employment seniority of 40 years (giving the right to the highest pension level).

It should also be noted that the most recent laws tend to promote the employment of young people; in addition to the already recalled non-cumulability of earnings and pension payments, the regulations governing competitive examinations for public-sector jobs have recently introduced, in the case of equal scores, the preferential engagement of the youngest candidates, thus reversing the previous provision that gave preference to the oldest.


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The definition of blindness

We shall now examine the regulations for the compulsory employment of the blind, specifying that "the blind" (or rather the "sightless", as they are usually termed in the laws on compulsory job-placement) must be understood to mean those persons whose residual sight does not exceed one-tenth in each eye, with corrective lenses.

Here it will be useful to specify in greater detail the economic benefits foreseen under the current legislation for the various degrees of sight disability:

    - Totally blind (with mere perception of shadow and light)
    Allowance: E. 580.85/month - pension: E. 220.64/month

    - "Twentieth-blind"(with residual sight of not more than one twentieth in each eye)
    Special allowance: E. 47.70 per month

    - The so-called "tenth-blind" (with residual sight of not more than one tenth) are not entitled to any monetary benefit, but only to the right of compulsory job-placement and retirement at the age of 55 together with the addition of virtual seniority amounting to one-third of the years actually worked. To make the picture complete, it must be recalled that until 1986 the "tenth-blind" had been entitled to a monthly allowance: this benefit has been retained by those who were already receiving it, in the form of a "lifetime allowance" amounting to E. 151.39



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The compulsory employment reserved for sight-handicapped persons

Telephone switchboard operators

The obligation for public bodies and private employers to employ blind switchboard operators was introduced in 1957 (Law No. 594 of 14th July 1957), amended and updated several times prior to the enactment of Law No. 113 of 29/03/1985. The obligatory placement of the blind applies in relation to telephone switchboards with one or more operator stations (actual or foreseen).

Public administrations are obliged to employ one sight-handicapped person for each office, workplace or establishment equipped with a telephone switchboard, whilst in the case of private employers the obligation refers to telephone switchboards with at least 5 lines connected to the urban telephone network.

If the switchboards have more than one operator, 51 percent of the jobs concerned are reserved for sight-handicapped switchboard operators.

Although today's technological advances in telecommunications tend to eliminate operators' jobs, the number of telephone switchboards requiring an operator is still so great that today the number of "sightless" switchboard operators is insufficient to cover all the jobs available, at least in central and northern Italy (and in fact the migration of switchboard operators from the southern to the northern regions is quite frequent).

It should be noted, however, that as compared to the overall figure of approximately 8000 switchboard operators already employed, the waiting list consists of only 342 persons, residing in southern Italy and/or recently registered in the professional roll.

For compulsory job placement purposes it is in fact necessary to be registered in a specific roll after obtaining the professional qualification, granted after attending a training course lasting one or two years (depending on the educational qualification held).

It is evident that raising the age-limit for compulsory job placement to 65 years will constitute an important instrument for access to employment on the part of sight-handicapped persons in the 55 to 65 age-group (amounting to approximately 14%).

At this point we must draw attention, however, to the fact that a survey conducted by the Training Institute of the Italian Blind Persons' Union (I.Ri.Fo.R.) has found that a blind person who enjoys a retirement pension, if he can cumulate with this the economic benefits payable to him in relation to his disablement, often lacks the stimulus to continue working. This phenomenon appears particularly influential in the case of persons who lose their sight as adults, in which cases it would be necessary, in order to continue to work in the same job or, in any case, to undertake a new occupation, not only to follow some kind of training course but also to adjust to a series of changes in habits and working life-style, in addition to those obviously required in the context of normal everyday life.

The same, although less acute, demotivation also applies, for the reasons already mentioned with regard to the non-cumulability of earnings and pension payments, in the case of handicapped pensioners who do not receive monetary benefits for their disability.

In fact the I.Ri.Fo.R. survey mentioned above has shown that only 40% of the pensioners would be willing to return to work, and 70% of these would do so only if offered jobs with higher professional content as well as higher pay.

This observation has led the Italian Blind Persons' Union to seek solutions for the professional enrichment of telephone switchboard operators' jobs, which are incidentally on the way to becoming exinct, at least in their traditional form as "line switching operators".

The Union is thus pressing for recognition of the evolution of the job-figure of telephone operator into "Public Relations Office staff", this office being obligatory in all public bodies and very widespread in private firms as well. This new figure is well-suited to the requirements for higher professional content, and may also rise to managerial positions. In this regard we are pleased to recall the the Union has obtained from Parliament a vote in favour of recognition of this new figure, and a bill is currently before the Chamber of Deputies that authorizes the Minister of Labour to identify occupational figures "equivalent" to that of telephone operator for compulsory employment purposes.

It will thus become possible to free some part of those employed as switchboard operators from the "occupational cage" in which they are emprisoned and ensure their full-scale integration in the entire working context in which they operate.

Likewise, in the case of blind masseurs and massophysiotherapists too the Italian Blind Persons' Union has obtained a specific compulsory job placement law (Law No. 686 of 21st July 1961) that foresees the employment of at least one unit by all hospitals and treatment facilities, both public and private, with at least 200 beds; it also applies, regardless of the number of beds, to establishments specialized in orthopedic or thermal treatments.

Such employment, reserved for blind persons holding an appropriate diploma and registered in a specific professional roll, is effected with the job-grade of professional nurse.

Subsequently, by law No. 403 of 19th May 1971, the employment obligation was further extended (1 unit for over 200 beds, 1 unit for every 300 beds in excess of 700); in addition, recognition has also been granted to independent professional practice with services to the charge of the national health system.

As in the case of switchboard operators, masseurs and massophysiotherapists also enjoy virtually full employment. Once the pension requisites have been met (again with the additional benefit of 1/3 virtual seniority), massophysiotherapists continue to work quite successfully as independent professionals.

For this category, there is thus no problem of access to employment for the more elderly age-group (in this case chiefly in self-employed jobs).


Rehabilitation therapists

Attentive as always to the professional enrichment needs of the sight-handicapped, the Italian Blind Persons' Union obtained the enactment of a law (No. 29 dated 11.1.1994) that created an occupational figure constituting a further evolution of the massophysiotherapists' job: the sightless rehabilitation therapist.

A specific roll is foreseen for this professional figure too, in which those qualified are registered after they have obtained the relative diploma; however, for the initial period of application, it is foreseen that all blind masseurs and massotherapists with at least five years' actual working experience will be registered in this roll by right.

For rehabilitation therapists, the compulsory employment in public and private medical structures of at least one rehabilitation therapist is foreseen, as soon as the first vacancy occurs, and up to a maximum of five percent of the jobs foreseen on the staff.

Full employment prevails in the case of this occupational figure even when elderly, both in salaried jobs and in independent professional practice.


Teachers

As regards the blind teaching personnel of schools of all types and levels, Law No. 270 of 20th May 1982 foresees that two percent of the vacant teaching positions to be filled must be reserved for the sight-handicapped, with the right to absolute precedence in the choice of teaching location.

These professional figures too have no particular difficulty in obtaining jobs.

It must be added that after acquiring the right to a pension, blind teaching personnel continue to work successfully as independent private teachers until an advanced age.


Access to civil service positions

The Italian Blind Persons' Union has managed to have a law passed (Law No. 20 of 28th March 1991) which establishes the generalized right of access of blind persons to competitive examinations for civil service positions, including the magistracy and managerial posts.

The said law also foresees general recognition of the "wearying" nature of all working activities performed by sightless persons (in the sense previously indicated), with the mentioned benefit of the virtual seniority increment of one-third, previously reserved for telephone switchboard operators only.

Admission to civil service positions, for which preferential access procedures are foreseen, is of course rightly subject to passing the competitive examination tests necessary to qualify as "suitable".

It must be admitted that this law has not yet enjoyed very widespread application.

The personnel engaged for civil service positions is entitled in any case to continue working until the age of sixty-five.

Here too, however, there exists a marked tendency to apply for early retirement, usually around the age of 55.



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Weak-sighted persons

If the sight-handicapped person has a residual sight of more than one-tenth in one eye, for compulsory job-placement purposes this person's position is lumped without any specific differentiation together with all the other forms of civil disability.

If he or she meets the disablement percentage requirements for compulsory employment (over 45%), job placement can be effected but with no specific reference to the nature of the handicap, in contrast with what is foreseen for the blind (residual sight not exceeding 1/10 in both eyes with corrective lenses).

This is the case, for instance, with those whose residual sight is 1/20 and 2/10 respectively, or 3/10 and less than 1/20, and so forth, on the basis of the ministerial table indicating the disablement percentages for disabling handicaps and illnesses.

To put it brifely, in this case the sight handicap is not taken into consideration as such.

It should be noted that the situation of these disabled persons is the worst of all, as their employment is not supported by any specific legislation.

The Italian Blind Persons' Union is examining the possible contents of a bill specifying the precise definition of the concept of weak sight.


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Wages and salaries structure

Under Italian legislation the wage and salary entitlements of the blind are exactly the same as those of the normally endowed.

An exception is made in the case of blind switchboard operators, who also receive a duties allowance of E. 3.76 per day. This allowance was initially introduced in relation to the need to use telephone switchboards specially modified for use by non-seeing persons. Specific electronic terminals are now in use, the cost of which is borne by the Regional Administrations.


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Vacations and Leave

The vacation and leave entitlements situation is also the same as that of the normally endowed.

However, Art. 33 of Law 104/92 (the general law on handicaps) establishes that persons in a gravely handicapped state (which is how the Ministry of Health classifies the totally blind) are entitled to take time off from work for 3 days per month or 2 hours per day (according to the interpretation given by the Council of State).



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Social Cooperatives

In Italy, "social cooperatives" constitute an interesting employment opportunity.

Further extending the constitutional principle of favouring workers' cooperatives, Law No. 381 of 8th November 1991 has introduced the figure of "social" cooperatives into Italian legislation.

The right to this term, whose use is made obligatory by the law, is reserved for those cooperative that operate in sectors of particular public interest or that have as the object of their activities the useful employment of disadvantaged persons, which term is understood to include the sight-handicapped. At least 30 percent of the workers in the cooperative must be disadvantaged persons; they should also, insofar as is compatible with their objective condition, be partners in the cooperative itself.

Social cooperatives have recently (by Legislative Decree No. 460 of 4.12.1997) been granted equal status with non-profit organisations of social utility (ONLUS).

Social cooperatives are entitled to many benefits in the fiscal and social-security spheres: in particular, the contribution rates on the earnings payable to disadvantaged persons have been reduced to zero.

Furthermore, public bodies are allowed to enter into contracts with social cooperatives in derogation of the regulations applying to public administration contracting; in concrete terms, this means without the formality of a public call for tenders.

It should be noted that cooperatives in general, and social cooperatives in particular, are a useful instrument for bringing back into the job market elderly persons who have lost their jobs due to corporate vicissitudes or for other reasons.

This may also be true, in particular, with regard to disabled persons, considering the fact that companies may, temporarily, not apply the new provisions of law regarding the employment of disabled persons (the aforementioned Law No. 68/1999) if they enter into agreements with social cooperatives that utilize the disabled persons employed by the firm. They thus obtain a saving in costs due to exemption from the relative social security and insurance contributions.


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Training

The training of the young blind for employment as switchboard operators, massophysiotherapists and rehabilitation therapists is normally carried out (with regional funding) at the special training institutes.

Teachers and professionals are generally trained through the normal educational and academic courses.

For training in the new professions, the Italian Blind Persons' Union has set up the already-mentioned Research and Training Institute (I.RI.FOR.), which has planned and held various innovative training courses: for journalists, for information and communications technologists, and for assistance to bank customers including the accessing of data banks.

To motivate the elderly to continue working as switchboard operators, the Union is finalizing with the National Association of Italian Municipal Councils an agreement for the job-enrichment of switchboard operators employed by municipal authorities with a view to reclassifying them as public relations office staff.

A survey conducted by I.RI.FOR. has in fact concluded that 70% of blind persons entitled to retire with a pension would only be prepared to continue working if given a job with duties of a higher level than those presently performed, after following a requalification course.

At least for curiosity's sake, it should be recalled that IRIFOR has trained some elderly blind persons to act as guides for the normal-sighted public at the event entitled "Dialogue in Darkness", a metaphorical journey in virtual blindness.

The Rome City Council has expressed the intention of institutionalizing this initiative; in this case the blind pensioners who acted as guides could take up this job again on a permanent basis, possibly as members of a cooperative.


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A few statistics

In the matter of statistics on blindness, above all in relation to the employment situation, little is available in Italy in the way of official data.

The only official figures are those of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which has so far been responsible for paying out the civil blindness allowances. According to the most recent data issued by the Ministry, the blind number 11,758 persons, 58,370 of whom are totally blind.

However, it should be noted first of all that the Ministry of Internal Affairs' records include only those persons who receive economic benefits: the totally blind (i.e. with mere perception of shadow and light), the "twentieth-blind" (residual sight not exceeding 1/10 in each eye, with corrective lenses). The so-called "tenth-blind" are also registered, but only to a slight extent: this is due to the fact that at present the sight-handicapped with residual sight of more than one-twentieth and not more than one-tenth are not entitled to any economic benefits. So the only "tenth-blind" still registered are those entitled to a lifetime allowance in place of the former monthly allowance they had received until 1986.

In addition, it should be recalled that the economic benefits are paid solely upon application by the person concerned, and many who would be entitled to them fail to apply, either because they are unaware of the legislation in question or because they belong to wealth families and can afford to ignore it. In some cases, no application is presented due to the shame felt about reporting this handicap.

It is thus evident that the specific figures given by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, although they accurately reflect the phenomenon of economic benefit recipients, are not reliable as a source of accurate and detailed knowledge of the population affected by sight handicaps.

Moreover in Italy, unlike many other countries, there is no source-document (medical registers or the like) that can be consulted.

The only reliable figures are those produced by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) a few years ago, as the result of a quite sophisticated sampling survey, the data from which is adequately analytical.

However, it must be noted that the ascertainments were effected not on the basis of medical certificates but using the answers that the persons interviewed gave to the interviewers. This is an empirical criterion, based on declared visual capacity, which certainly entails some possibility of error, although not more than 4-5%.

It should be added that the statistical survey in question was not made public by ISTAT, but came into the speaker's possession due to my previously-held position as Chairman of one of the three Sections of the Higher Council of Public Administration.

As it is not possible to give a full account here of all the data in question, only those of greatest interest for our purposes will be recalled.

The Union's research institute (IRIFOR), in the light of these findings and other directly acquired data, has conducted a complex socio-medico-statistical research study on blindness (commissioned by the Ministry of Health); this research survey is the most complete study, and indeed the only one, that examines the phenomenon of blindness in its various aspects. If anyone is interested, the full report is available upon request.

The situation is no better as regards the statistics on the employment of blind persons in the possession of the competent Ministry.

Only one certain fact can be drawn from them: the number of blind switchboard operators available for employment, including not only unemployed persons but not yet employed persons as well (i.e. those awaiting employment), amounted in 1998 to 314 units, which is practically identical to the number of blind persons who qualified for this occupation and were registered in the relative professional roll during the same year.

No figures are provided, on the other hand, with regard to massophysiotherapists and rehabilitation therapists.

In addition, there is absolutely no data on employed blind persons. This absence is justified by the Ministry as follows:

"We have decided not to include the blind (switchboard operators and masseurs) in the table on employment with public bodies and private companies, as it should be noted that practically all of them have jobs and the few situations of unemployment are due either to the normal turnover process or to particular difficulties existing in certain provinces.

The obligatory employment of blind switchboard operators is regulated by Law No. 113 of 20th March 1985. As at 31st December 1998 there were 13,339 blind telephone switchboard operators registered in the specific national roll. In the course of the year 314 persons had been registered.

As at the same date there were 1601 blind masseurs or massophysiotherapists registered in the appropriate national professional roll, 23 of whom had been registered during the year 1998.

Professional Roll of blind Rehabilitation Therapists had been instituted by Law No. 29 of 11th January 1994, and at least 429 blind persons were registered in it."

It should be immediately stated in relation to the ministerial data that the figure of 13,339 switchboard operators registered in the roll certainly does not correspond to the number of blind persons holding such jobs (minus the 314 new registrations), since in this roll there are at least 5000 names of persons who are already retired on pensions, or have found other jobs or have passed the age limit foreseen until now for registration (55 years).

The figure for massotherapists (1601, 23 of whom were registered in 1998) is more reasonbale, even though it is necessary to deduct from this figure the 429 rehabilitation therapists, these being massotherapists who are now registered in this new roll.

It is true, however, that virtually all blind switchboard operators, massophysiotherapists and rehabilitation therapists are employed, and the few who are unemployed or awaiting employment for the first time (approximately 3%) are to be considered in relation to the time required for job placement and some local situations.

Let us now examine some general statistical data.

Firstly, it should be observed that the males/females ratio in the Italian population as a whole is respectively 48.55% (males) and 51.45% (females), with a slight predominance of females.

The same ratio, in the case of sight-handicapped persons, is 40.49% for males and 59.51% for females.

However, when we break down the population into age groups the results are as follows (the first percentage figure refers to the general population, the second to the sight-handicapped):

from 0 to 14 years: 14.5% - 3%
from 15 to 24 years: 12.8% - 5%
from 25 to 44 years: 30.4% - 7%
from 45 to 64 years: 24.8% - 24%
65 years and above: 17.5% - 61%

It can be seen, firstly, that no less than 61% of the blind are aged over 65, and secondly that blindness is quite rare in the first three age groups, and increases more than proportionately in the last two.

This shows that the preventive measures, although still less than satisfactory, have significantly reduced perinatal blindness. It should be noted in this regard that vaccination against german measles (which causes prenatal malformations and blindness) is unfortunately not yet compulsory, although it is very widely practiced.

When the percentages of male and female blind persons is examined we find that the trend is markedly unfavourable to the female sex (the first figure gives the percentage of blind males in the various age groups, the second that of females).

0 - 14: 3% - 3%
15 - 24: 8% - 4%
25 - 44: 10% - 5%
45 - 64: 24% - 28%
65 and above: 51% - 68%

In brief, with equal percentages at the start, the trend in the next three age-groups is favourable to women whilst the last age-group shows blindness increase very markedly amongst women. This apparently contradictory situation is due to the fact that the last age-group has no final limit: it is well-known that the life expectancy of women is 10 years higher than that of men.

When we consider the employment situation, we see that whilst the emploment rate in the population as a whole is 41.5% (26.1% males, 14.9% females), the employement rate for the blind is 11% (15% males and 3% females).

With regard to unemployment, unemployed males amount to slightly more than 0% females to 2%, with a total unemployment rate of 3%.

Lastly, it may be of some interest to examine the percentage of blind persons in each region (the first figure is the percentage in relation to the regional population as a whole, and the second is the percentage in relation to the total number of blind persons in Italy):

NORTH
Piedmont 0.32% - 3.8%
Val d'Aosta 0.83% - 0.27%
Lombardy 0.57% - 14.13%
Trentino A. Adige 0.32% - 0.81%
Venetia 0.55% - 6.79%
Friuli V. Giulia 0.41% - 1.35%
Liguria 0.66% - 2.99%
Emilia Romagna 0.45% - 4.9%


CENTER
Tuscany 0.68% - 6.52%
Umbria 1.20% - 2.71%
Marches 0.34% - 1.35%
Latium 0.72% - 10.32%
Abruzzo 1.10% - 3.80%
Molise 0.11% - 0.81%


SOUTH
Campania 0.41% - 6.52%
Apulia 0.54% - 5.98%
Basilicata 1.31% - 2.17%
Calabria 0.30% - 1.63%


ISLANDS Sicily 1.15% - 16.03%
Sardinia 1.50% - 6.8%


As one can see, the percentage of blind persons in the various regions ranges from a minimum of 0.30% in Calabria to a maximum of 1.50% in Sardinia.


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Conclusions

As we have mentioned, we could quote a great many other statistics; however, even apart from the dryness of this approach, they are not particularly significant with regard to the access of elderly blind persons to the employment market. And for such access, as we have seen, some particularly interesting prospects are now opening up in Italy.

But we wish to repeat once again that the problem, in Italy, does not concern the possibility of access and relative opportunities, but rather the will to take advantage of them.



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