Sophie Cluzel: "We had to remobilize"

Sophie Cluzel is the Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, responsible for people with disabilities.

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In a context of health and economic crisis, the work is considerable.

The difficulties of people with disabilities in accessing employment are likely to worsen with the expected rise in unemployment.

Sophie Cluzel, Secretary of State for People with Disabilities, reviews the solutions to be implemented (this interview was carried out in October 2020, before the re-containment, as part of the Inclusion supplement of 20 Minutes, published on November 16, 2020 ).

Is disability still a priority for the five-year term today?

More than ever !

I was traveling with the President of the Republic at the beginning of October to reaffirm loud and clear that people with disabilities and their caregivers are at the heart of our public policies.

Our roadmap is all the more topical in view of the economic and social health crisis.

According to the 2019 Ifop barometer for France Handicap, 92% of respondents say they do not trust the government to fight poverty among people with disabilities.

How to reverse this trend?

During confinement, upon release and currently, the link with associations is continuous.

Since March 14, I bring them together every fortnight by video to be as responsive as possible to the needs of people with disabilities.

My action resulted in a series of important measures, in particular during confinement with exemptions for discharge, or the financial support of the ESAT [Establishment and service of assistance through work], which made it possible to maintain income for people and structures.

Also, I took care to protect individuals and families, so that the health crisis does not add to new difficulties: all the rights within the departmental houses of disabled people have been extended throughout the territory.

Even though I realize that it remains a difficult time for everyone.

The unemployment rate among people with disabilities remains twice as high as for the rest of the population.

What are the measures to remedy this?

We have already deployed various solutions which were bearing encouraging results, since in December we had fallen below the barrier of 500,000 unemployed people with disabilities.

But there was the crisis.

I therefore re-mobilized the trade unions and employers' organizations, as well as all the institutions that support employers.

We contacted the companies that had signed the “inclusion manifesto” to remind them of their commitments.

We have devoted 100 million euros to help recruiting a person with a disability, i.e. € 4,000 to the employer if he signs a CDD for more than three months, or a CDI between now and the end February 2021, with a qualification up to twice the minimum wage.

On this aid and the one for learning which goes up to € 8,000, I had the age limit removed.

These people will also be able to benefit from the supported employment system, that is to say the services of job coaches who support over time companies employing people with mental disabilities, in particular.

It is free support for businesses.

Disability, we must talk about it, because the levers exist to succeed.

In the same vein, there is the Duoday event which was scheduled for May but which has been postponed?

It will take place on November 19.

It will promote meetings between companies and people with disabilities and then leads, in many cases, to internships, fixed-term contracts and even permanent contracts.

For the 2020 edition, which takes place in a particular health context, the Duoday will be held only remotely [by interposed computers].

It is an event which has the virtue of breaking down prejudices on hiring in a company and which also makes it possible to lift the self-censorship of people with disabilities to go to employment.

The disability law requires companies to have 6% of disabled people in their workforce.

How do you get there?

It's moving forward, not fast enough of course, but it's moving forward.

Agefiph [Association for the management of the fund for the professional integration of disabled people] knocks on the door of certain companies to assess the best way to support them, and to explain to them that it is simple.

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