Only a quarter of disabled people were employed in Russia 01:10

The Ministry of Labor has begun to prepare a series of measures to support employers who employ disabled people within the scope of the national “Personnel” project. Now, as the newspaper writes “News”In Russia, only 27% of working-age disabled people are employed.

Russian Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov shared information about measures to support employers during his visit to the Russian State Social University (RGSU).

“We are preparing a series of measures within the scope of the National ‘Personnel’ project, including measures for employers, especially those who will employ people with disabilities,” he said.

Kotyakov added that all activities and goals envisaged within the national project will be presented starting from mid-September.

Chairman of the All-Russian Association of Disabled Persons and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans Affairs Mikhail Terentyev said that there are about 4.2 million disabled people of working age in Russia, of whom only 1.15 million are employed (27%).

More than 300 thousand people work in quota organisations: in companies with more than 100 employees, 2 to 4 percent of places must be reserved for people with disabilities. There are a total of 410 thousand quota jobs in the country.

Terentyev also noted that recently measures have been taken to improve the employment situation of people with disabilities. In particular, in the spring, it was decided to continue indexing pensions for working pensioners, effective from February 1, 2025.

According to the MP, this will significantly increase the motivation of people with disabilities to find work, as they previously lost part of their pension when going to work.

On September 1, a Labor Ministry order came into force, which requires each region to set quotas for employment of people with disabilities at enterprises employing more than 35 people, at a rate of 2 to 4 percent. In May, a bill was passed that increased administrative liability for evading the quota to 30 thousand rubles for officials and 100 thousand rubles for legal entities.

But discrimination against disabled employees can manifest itself not only in direct refusals to hire, but also in indirect forms. The lack of necessary conditions, such as ramps or assistance with remote work, can also be an obstacle for people with disabilities, explains Olga Aygenzer, lawyer of the Rostov Regional Bar Association “Sovetnik”.

According to him, if an employee believes that his rights have been violated, he has the right to complain to the prosecutor’s office, the Labor Inspectorate, the union or the court. In 2017, the Ministry of Labor of Russia identified signs of discrimination against people with disabilities in employment issues by Order No. 777.

Putin before raised pensions for certain categories of Russian citizens.