Download 2nd Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for

2nd Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Social Cohesion
(Istanbul, Turkey. 11 – 12 October 2012)
Presentation by the Minister of Labour and Social Insurance of the Republic of
Cyprus, Mrs. Sotiroula Charalambous,
Plenary Session 4:
Protecting and empowering groups of vulnerable persons, particularly in times
of crisis.
Good afternoon to all.
Without a doubt, social cohesion is key for the protection and empowerment
of vulnerable persons. As defined in the Council of Europe’s Revised Strategy for
Social Cohesion, social cohesion means “… a society’s capacity to ensure the wellbeing of all its members by minimising disparities and avoiding marginalisation; to
manage differences and divisions and to ensure the means of achieving welfare for
all.”
At the Moscow Conference, I mentioned that social cohesion is a fundamental
determinant of whether people will be protected from the risks associated with
globalisation and changes in society. This statement is even more relevant today as
we are in the midst of an economic crisis with far-reaching consequences, especially
on vulnerable groups of society. We are living in a conflicting environment. The crisis
imposes pressures to curb public expenditure in order to respond to the financial
markets but, at the same time, the social impact of the financial and economic crisis
means that more people are in need of social protection and social services.
Now is the time for societies to strengthen their efforts for social cohesion and
sustainable, comprehensive and effective social protection systems, especially for
the most vulnerable groups in our societies. Having said that, I would like to highlight
that social protection is of high political significance as an element of the social
contract between citizen and state.
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The critical question to be addressed, which in my opinion requires deep analysis
and thinking, is not only what constitutes a sound social protection system, but how
this can be best achieved in times of economic crisis. Social protection and social
services must be regarded as useful economic stabilizers and their efficiency and
effectiveness must be strengthened. Within this framework, it is of utmost importance
to ensure that social policy is not undermined in the process of fiscal consolidation.
I would like to mention, at this point, that the overarching priority of the Cyprus
Presidency of the Council of the European Union is to work towards a “Better
Europe”, giving emphasis to promoting growth and job creation, in parallel with
solidarity and social cohesion. These aims are particularly relevant in view of the
economic crisis. Without placing emphasis on both growth and combatting poverty,
we will not achieve the goal of a competitive Europe of innovation, a Europe of
solidarity and cohesion, a Europe for all.
On a national level, we aim to secure an adequate standard of living for all, in order
to offset the negative effects of the economic crisis. To this end, we believe that the
inter-dependence between social, employment and economic policies is extremely
important.
We are focusing on implementing a holistic approach and targeted measures. I will
give you a few examples.
Within the scope of our aim to combat poverty and social exclusion, we lay emphasis
on enabling people from disadvantaged backgrounds (such as with low educational
or technical qualifications), to acquire the necessary skills to respond to labour
market needs. Measures include further training and lifelong learning programmes,
as well as subsidised employment schemes.
At the same time, we are promoting the labour market participation and social
inclusion of persons with disabilities by developing a system for the Assessment of
Disability and Functioning and through implementing a project for vocational training,
which
is
combined
with
supported
employment
and
social
entrepreneur
programmes. Besides, in accordance with legislation enacted in 2009, people with
disabilities who fulfil certain objective criteria, are entitled to be recruited in public
organisations up to a quota of 10% of vacant posts.
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With regard to income support, we are providing special assistance to older persons
living under the poverty threshold. We are also in the process of reforming our public
assistance legislation with the aim of meeting the financial needs of vulnerable
groups in a rational and targeted manner and implementing additional activation
measures. The legislation reform encompasses separate legislation and schemes for
certain categories of vulnerable groups, according to their particular needs.
Tackling child poverty and social exclusion is a priority for Cyprus. Within this
framework, we lay emphasis on promoting the well-being of children. It is our belief
that a low risk of poverty among children does not automatically safeguard their wellbeing. We, therefore, consider family support to be extremely important. Our
supportive and preventive services include income and activation support,
counselling and family guidance, home-help and care services aiming at the
reconciliation of work and family life.
It is important to note that we do not view care services only as a means of meeting
the needs of employed parents and encouraging women’s participation in the labour
market. We also give emphasis to the needs, rights and welfare of the children and
the adult dependants receiving such services and monitor the services, in
accordance with standards of operation set in legislation.
We consider participation to be an essential dimension of social cohesion as it
enables members of society to contribute to and influence both the development
process and decision-making in matters that concern them. Participation empowers
people and makes them feel that they are an important part of society, thereby
enhancing solidarity. This is why we have mainstreamed citizen participation in most
of our decision-making structures. For example, legislation and decisions of the
Council of Ministers ensure that NGOs representing vulnerable groups in society are
members of advisory boards concerned with specific social issues, such as
demographic and family policy, ageing, special needs, disability, family violence,
drug abuse, etc.
Children and older persons are sometimes categorised as vulnerable groups in need
of empowerment. However, in Cyprus, the Elders’ Parliament and the Children’s
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Parliament are prime examples of citizen participation. They present their views and
suggestions on matters that concern them at special sessions of the House of
Representatives. An innovative development, conducive to solidarity, has been the
enhanced cooperation between the Children’s and Elders’ Parliaments, which
commenced in 2010.
We encourage community participation, through the Grants-in-Aid Scheme. By
providing technical advice and grants to voluntary organisations and local authorities,
they establish needed support services on a local level. In this way, flexibility and
diversity of service provision is achieved in both urban and rural areas, social
cohesion is enhanced through the active involvement of community bodies in
identifying and meeting social needs, and pressure on public spending is reduced.
Community services include care services for children, elderly persons and people
with disabilities, as well as group support services for vulnerable groups of society,
such as persons with mental or physical illnesses, persons who experience family
violence, persons who are prone to substance abuse, etc.
The nature, scale and pace of issues that need addressing for the protection and
empowerment of vulnerable groups, vary considerably from country to country and
there may be divergent views on actions to be taken. We need to find those solutions
that fit our respective societies - the needs of both the economy and the people.
I look forward to hearing the views of my colleagues.
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