Key government, business and labour leaders, together with senior representatives from the disability management provider communities, practitioners and persons with disabilities gathered for the 1st International Forum on Disability Management in Vancouver, BC, May 27-29, 2002.
Co-chaired by Brian Payne, President of Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, Ottawa and Steve Hill, Senior Vice-President, Human Resources, Weyerhaeuser, USA, the Forum drew over 400 participants from a dozen countries.
Setting the stage for this first in a planned series of International Forums on Disability Management were welcoming remarks by Her Honour Iona Campagnolo, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, followed by realistic and thought provoking comments from the Forum's Honorary Chair, the Honourable Claudette Bradshaw, Federal Minister of Labour for Canada.
Minister Bradshaw outlined her assessment of current employment conditions for persons with disabilities by stating that "representation of persons with disabilities by federally regulated private sector employers was 2.3 percent, while they accounted for only 1.0 percent of all new hires and 2.0 percent of all promotions".
When speaking about the newly released ILO Code of practice on managing disability in the workplace, Minister Bradshaw articulated what emerged as the Forum's recurring theme of "Our challenge now is to convert words into action. We all know that the best framework won't do a thing unless employers and unions…adopt the Code's principles and take action".
Echoing Minister Bradshaw's call to action was Minister Walter Riester, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs for the Government of Germany, who, together with senior representatives of German industry, labour and insurance, was instrumental in offering leadership, legislative and practical solutions to the universal challenge of effective reintegration for persons with disabilities. He was eloquent in stating "That people with disabilities or threatened by disabilty participate in working life and society as a whole would seem to be self-evident. But for the people concerned, it is not at all an automatic reality, but something that has to be practically achieved again and again with reflection, a combination of different solutions and a lot of will-power and energy."
While emphasizing societal and social values, Minister Riester, in referring to the ILO Code of Practice also highlighted the economic contribution from effective reintegration programs by saying, "It is also based on evidence that enterprises may gain from the retention of experienced workers who become disabled, and on indications that, under certain conditions, significant savings can be made in terms of health costs, insurance payments and time lost."
Cost effective solutions, leading edge research and statutory models forming balanced win-win outcomes, highlighted through the economic and social results demonstrated by effective Disability Management program implementation from around the world were the cornerstones of this groundbreaking Forum. The quest for transferable solutions, resulting in measurable outcomes for both employers and workers, prompted the participation of key industry, labour and stakeholder leaders.
This is perhaps best reflected in an observation by Shelly Wolff, Program Leader, Disability Programs, General Electric Company that "I learned a great deal from many of the presenters and of course most importantly made several networking contacts that will assist me as I continue my work for both General Electric and the industry here in the US".
With Dr. Friedrich Mehrhoff, Director, Rehabilitation and International Relations, German Federation of Workers Compensation Boards, summing up the international dimension of this Forum by suggesting "our goal was to initiate a global platform for stakeholders dealing with work retention strategies and to integrate politicians, employers, unions and insurers…all conference participants noticed a common sense of being on the right way and enforcing the movement of Disability Management world-wide."
