‘Labour market policies are severely neglected’

What are your most important issues? And what is the greatest social sustainability challenge relating to disability?

– Through our international organisations, we are involved in the UN’s Agenda 2030. Compared with the previous millennium development goals, Agenda 2030 has an explicit focus on nobody should be excluded. ‘Universal design’, from the outset designing products, environments, programmes and services in a way that includes as many people as possible without the need for later adaptations, is a fundamental principle of a sustainable social development. The challenge is to ‘get it right from the start’ and have the knowledge and methods available to support it.

Long-term unemployment is very high among the target group whose interests you look after; what investments are required so that more people gain employment?

– Unfortunately, labour market policies for people with disabilities are severely neglected; a real overhaul is needed. Basically, no reforms have been carried out since the 1980s, which saw the introduction of the wage subsidy and the creation of Samhall [a state-owned company tasked with creating meaningful and stimulating work for people with disabilities]. Despite relatively large investments in the government budget, the funding does not lead to more people in work, not even during strong booms. Consequently, just over 200,000 people who say they want to, and are able to, work are not being utilised as a workforce resource. New budget investments are not what is primarily needed, but a funding reform that enables the funding to be followed at the individual level.

What are the most important messages you have for the country’s employers?

– A long-term sustainable business presupposes recruiting widely for people with various experiences, for both greater innovation and quality development, but also as legitimacy that the workforce reflects the whole population. My impression is that many employers want to recruit more widely but lack the tools and methods to accomplish this. What is required here are better knowledge and methods development. In collaboration with a number of actors from various sectors of society, we are conducting exciting development work on this very subject within the framework of a project called Universell Utformning av Arbetsplatser [Universal Design of Workplaces]..

Mikael Klein was interviewed by Anki Elken, Senior Consultant at New Republic. ‘Three Quick Questions…’ is a series of interviews conducted by New Republic.