Uppeldi og menntun - 01.07.2015, Page 106

UPPELDI OG MENNTUN/ICELANDIC JOURNAL OF EDUCATION 24(2) 2015106
SOCIAL ( IN )EQUALITY: COLLABORATIVE REFLECTION
‘functionings’. The education level of people with intellectual disabilities is low, and
while their right to compulsory through upper secondary level education has been
stated in the legislation, their training and education has not found a niche within the
labor market. The education level is, therefore, not simply about the person’s impair-
ment or inabilities to follow the national curriculum; it is rather about limited capabil-
ities to function, because of complex and closely linked aspects which limit what the
person is able to achieve.
Employment
In 2014, six years after the collapse of the banking system, 11.1% of the nation was
below the low income cut off point or at risk of poverty or social exclusion which is,
however, better than what can be expected in the European Union (Statistics Iceland,
2015). For decades, the Icelandic state has emphasized economic and social security
and, similarly to other Nordic welfare states, it is characterized by high employment
rates and equal distribution of wealth (Jónsson, 2001). Nonetheless, according to
recent research in Iceland, approximately 56% of disability pensioners report financial
difficulties to the point of limiting their well-being, especially those with children
(Arnalds, Tryggvadóttir, & Snæfríðar- og Gunnarsdóttir, 2014). Furthermore, research
in Iceland suggests that people with intellectual disabilities lack access to economic
and material resources as well as paid work (Björnsdóttir & Traustadóttir, 2010).
Barnes and Mercer (2005) argue that employment is commonly viewed as central to
social inclusion and point to the marginalization of disabled people from the labor
market as a major factor in their social exclusion. In a recent survey in Iceland, about
49% of disabled respondents reported being unemployed, not enrolled in school or in
daycare, and not actively seeking employment (Arnalds et al., 2014). However, these
numbers do not take into account those who are unable to work or be active due to
their health status and those who are not interested in any such participation.
The CRPD recognizes the right of disabled people to work on an equal basis with
others and that includes labor rights (United Nations, 2006). The employment rate
of disabled people in Iceland in 2011–2012 varies among municipalities; for example
the highest employment rate (83%) is in the Westfjords where 70% are in segregated
training or sheltered workshops and only 13% in the open labor market (Ministry of
Welfare, 2013). When Steindór graduated from upper secondary school, 20 years ago,
he obtained a job at a sheltered workshop in Reykjavík‘s suburbs where, for the first
few years, the employees did not receive any wages for their labor and had to pay a
monthly fee for their participation. Although Steindór considered this to be a good job
experience, he found the arrangement extremely unfair and was more than pleased
years later when the monthly fee was discontinued and steady wages paid. It was
his long-time dream to leave the sheltered workshop and take a job in the open labor
market, but he never received the encouragement and support he needed to leave the
sheltered work environment. Steindór now says: ‘It was my dream, but today I am
happy at the sheltered workshop. I would never get the support I need in the open
labor market. It is not going to happen.’