Annual Meeting of the State Working Group on Inclusion Companies

State Disability Commissioner with an open ear

Witten. Claudia Middendorf, State Commissioner for Disabled Persons and Patients in NRW, was a guest at the annual meeting of the State Working Group of Inclusion Companies in Witten. She took the opportunity at the Ardey Hotel to find out about the whole range of contents of the various inclusion companies in NRW. The main topics of the discussions were the recently passed new implementation law of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for the implementation of the Federal Participation Act (BTHG) as well as questions about the permanent financial security of the inclusion companies.

"For me, it is clear that politics must consistently support inclusive companies in their efforts to offer permanent employment to people with disabilities," said Middendorf. Here, unnecessary hurdles must be removed and corresponding funding and financing possibilities beyond the equalisation levy must be examined, Middendorf continued. She promised to continue talking to the ministry in Düsseldorf about these issues. "We are very grateful for her open ear and her willingness to support us," emphasised Regina Schafmeister, spokesperson for the state working group. Schafmeister is herself the managing director of several inclusive companies and knows how important inclusive work has become socially, but also economically. "Inclusion companies are a good approach to creating good labour market opportunities for people with disabilities. Inclusion companies operate in the primary labour market, but they also have to face the competition in their sector and prove themselves in the free market," Schafmeister continued. As a rule, about half of all employees of an inclusive company have a handicap.