EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ITALIAN LABOUR MARKET

The integration of persons with disabilities and with reduced work capacity in the labour market represents one of the biggest challenges for labour market policies. The non-integration of disabled people in the labour market causes huge costs for the countries’ economy. The European Union’s aim is to transform passive social support into active support by means of labor market policy measures, to help people to obtain gainful employment and to raise employment levels of people with disabilities and with reduced work capacities. Earlier this target group has to work in the sheltered employment. But it changed from the 90’s years because of the social model of disability definition. Nowadays the main goal to help this target group integrates in the open employment. The members of European Union imagine this aim on other way. The Scandinavian countries or England prefer the equal opportunities and the personalised mainstreaming programmes and services. Other European countries, as Germany, Austria or Italy prefer the rehabilitation quota system. Thus, the labor force participation and employment rates for people with disabilities and with reduced working capacities are strong differences between the European countries. But lot of other options also influence the member of countries’ policy and employment system. Since the Amsterdam Treaty the European Union has devoted exceptional attention to the equal opportunities of disabled people, the enforcement of equal treatment, and the reduction of the dangers of discrimination, as it is, a significant part of persons with disabilities and reduced work capacity do not have a full-time job, they become unemployed two or three times more frequently than their abled-counterparts, and dispose of lower salary, therefore they need the help of their family and the community. This study examines the Italian situation. It bases on statistics on the Italian target group and provides comparisons with people without disabilities, Italian and international studies, researches. Applying a secondary research method, it aims at discussing the labour market and employment characteristics of target group. The research shows the people with disabilities and with reduced working capacities’ labor force participation and employment rate, as well as the labor forces institutional services in Italy