In another unpalatable consequence of austerity, the government has fired handicapped workers – putting them out for the controversial “mobility” programme, which, as the workers say themselves, will leave them on the shelf very possibly for the rest of their lives.
“If there is no longer work for people who see well, I think this means it will be very difficult for me to find work elsewhere,” blind telephonist Maria do Alívio Caseiro told reporters.
Caseiro, 49, is just one of 268 workers “let go” by Porto’s Social Security department this week.
The mobility scheme, described by unions as the “largest sacking of staff in Portugal in recent years” involves pruning back on employees by axing their jobs and sending them home. For the first year, they receive 60% of their salary; in the second they receive 40% and in the third they can be sacked altogether.
Of the almost 700 Social Security workers due to be put on the scheme this year, numerous are handicapped.
In Porto, where Caseiro works, there are seven others with sight-impairments, one deaf and dumb and another with a mental disability.
As Caseiro explained, the knock-on consequences of dismissal will be devastating for many families. A grandmother, Caseiro is responsible for two grandchildren and shares her home with an unemployed visually-impaired partner.
Non-handicapped workers have the chance of retraining under the mobility plan, and many are being assessed as dismissal notices go out this week, writes Correio da Manhã.
