PROTECTED UNITIES – oportunity to employ disabled people Model of social economy ADV (Near to You) Romania

What means social economy? Social Economy - a sum of social enterprises, and it represents the third economic sector which has its own dynamics, relatively different from that one of the public and private sectors.

Economic criteria:  A continuous activity for the production of goods or supply of services: social enterprises, unlike perhaps non-profit organizations, are involved in producing something, whether it's products or services, and this is their reason to exist, but also their vehicle for sustainability.  A high degree of autonomy: social enterprises are created and governed as private initiatives. They are not under the control of the public express/authorities, although they may be beneficiaries of facilities granted by them.  A significant level of economic risk. Those who establish these companies assume the risks, and their existence depends on the ability of members to ensure the initiators/resources needed for their operation/functioning.  A level of paid work. They require a certain level of paid work, to which you can add, like the rest of the non-profit organizations, volunteer work/self-supporting work or service.

Social criteria: An explicit goal for the benefit of the community: social enterprises must serve a group or a community, from the social perspective, and to promote social approach. An initiative launched by a group of individuals (the result of the collective processes, which involve people belonging to a smoother or a group with clearly defined goals and needs). The power of decision in Iasi is not related, or based on the level of invested capital. A participative leadership Limited distribution or resilience further. The profit generated is reinvested mainly in development or in other social actions and rarely distributed, and then in a small extent, in order to avoid the classic approach to maximize profits, the characteristic of the economic sector of the market.

Who does the social economy? non-profit traditional forms: foundations associations parishes (forms of organisation of religious legal personality in some states) associative traditional economic forms: cooperatives mutual societies classical economic forms: limited liability companies joint-stock companies partnerships public-private.

Supporting the employment of persons with disabilities in Romania?!  Lack of stimulation of employers who would like to hire people with disabilities - the total grant provided by art of Law No. 76 of 2002 on the unemployment insurance system and stimulation of human labor is for 18 months, in condition of employment insurance for another 3 years, and they are not disambiguated/differentiated per degree of disability or for the support persons.  Saving is done on the degrees of disability, not according to ability of work.  Lack of supporting projects/programmes for the integration of persons with disabilities in work - possibly from the amounts collected by the application of the Law 448/2006 from employers with more than 50 employees that do not have guaranteed (employed) 4% persons with disabilities. Employers are not supported with the employment assisted service, employment service and service protected education and prevocational training.

Mihaela Steliana Munteanu Director of development and communications ADV România Tel e.mail: