Occupational Disabilities Bill Aims to Curb Benefits
A new occupational disabilities reform is aiming to cut the number of people on disability benefits by half, to 50,000.
“Our general idea is to help people with special needs who are able and willing to go back to work,” Minister of Social Affairs Taavi Rõivas told Postimees on Thursday, adding that there are currently 63,000 out-of-work people on work disability benefits, in addition to others who have jobs and are still receiving benefits.
The reform aims to employee at least 13,000 currently jobless people with disabilities, and take away benefits from those who are already earning the average wage, with the whole benefits system transfering from the responsibility of the Social Insurance Board to the Unemployment Insurance Fund by 2015, when the reform is set to enter force.