Kruuse: we’re on the right path

Photo: Mihkel Maripuu

Urmas Kruuse blames soc dems and IRL for giving working capacity reform discussions political twist.

Health/labour minister Urmas Kruuse (48, Reform Party) declares willingness to spend entire summer travelling Estonia telling people how the work capacity reform provides dozens of thousands feeble people with new life-enhancing opportunities, thus making them happier.

Somewhere, dozens of thousands of work incapacity pensioners are sitting by themselves, listening to politicians debating it out on the high-sounding work capacity reform. And their fears are deepening: what about me? For Ants who lives in Antsla, what will the reform make better?

Firstly: people will not be worse off. Via activity requirements, by altering attitudes in society and case organisation, the probability for people to be able to increase their incomes will be increased, manifold, multiple manifold.

Let’s say I’m Ants, from Antsla, and I didn’t understand a word of what you just said.

Their opportunity to find a job will increase, manifold.

How will it increase for me, in Antsla? Who will come to me?

No one will come to you. If you want the same old life you are having now, living on pension one way or another, you’ll maintain the option. Depending on whether you’ll be drawing work capacity benefit to the full i.e. €320 or partially, €180.

If you belong to either of these groups, your pension may increase. Should it decrease, for any reason, then till the next assessment the difference will be compensated, and nothing changes.

If you have come to realise you’d like to work – a prudent choice, I think –, then you go to Töötukassa (unemployment insurance fund – edit). There, your capacity and competence will be assessed, and, according to that, differing services will be organised to raise your competence and bring down hindrances in entering the labour market and finding a job.

Ants still fails to get what you’re saying! And I can’ go to Töötukassa whenever I will. Ants will have to go to Töötukassa when the current pension term is up.

Stop! Let’s begin at the lowest level. I’m not interested in anything, I am not going to that Töötukassa, I will live as I please. Then it really may happen like was said by the soc dem [Heljo] Pikhof (Riigikogu social committee chairwoman – edit), that he will be deprived of work incapacity pension.

We have said that would be the last and the least prudent means. I presume there’s no such Ants over there in South Estonia. I presume Ants wants to work.

The local social worker who must know Ants who has been unemployed for five or ten years must go to see Ants, if the latter has not been to Töötukassa himself. She goes and tells Ants that now we will go to Töötukassa; or else she calls Töötukassa and says we have an Ants here who actually wants to work but, at the moment, he has such low motivation that he’s unable to express it and we need to help him.

If that will not happen, we are lost, destroyed; we are losers as a state. A local government cannot oppose work capacity reform, the state. If Ants starts to go to work, his taxes will be coming to the local government.

The Commune gets his taxes, but what will change for Ants?

His income increases and his quality of live increases. He is better integrated into the society and feels his worth. He will be more joyful, cheerful, and sociable. He will see the sun and starts to relate to people better. Otherwise, he’ll die of depression.

I think it ever so important what Töötukassa, via case organisers, wants to do for such people. More time must be taken with these people than a one-off trip to the hamburger stall. In and out, fast.

In that sense, we are on the right road, and it is not right to criticise us that we are spending much money on it (the work capacity reform – edit). And even if it were so, that we spent more than was planned, but should reach our goal for people to get jobs and overcome hindrances long-term... Including those who want to work, and those who are ready to provide work.

It is being asked if hundreds of thousands of specific euros would not be spent, till 2020 by when the reform is applied, just to help a narrow circle of people to get jobs, or should we rather review the entire social system?

Töötukassa has substantiated why they need so many staff (up to 600 employees for the work capacity reform – edit). It’s another matter how much tax revenue we will have during that time, and the sums are about as large as the start money for Töötukassa.

Anyway, we, social ministry, including me and the government, have considered that these will be the starting years so as to make the reform sustainable. The idea can only be one: as the EU money runs out, we must be capable to keep going by ourselves.

At the Tuesday open meeting of Riigikogu social affairs committee, a lot was said about social welfare measures. That’s a parallel part of the reform. We did not talk about work incapacity pensioners with no disabilities. These are a half of the 100,000.

At the launching phase of the reform, we will surely have more of such people whom we can activate and help to a larger degree, whose problems are smaller. Along the way, we will acquire knowhow to help people with deeper problems.

A look at the work incapacity pensioners’ diagnosis, they include very many people about to retire, as well as long-term unemployed and people with low work capacity. Meanwhile, the handicapped may be even more motivated to work than they. We may be headed in a totally wrong direction, focussing on the so-called easier cases and let the handicapped wait, or what?

That’s not quite so. Those with severe disability are dealt with by Social Insurance Board, offering them rehabilitation in the social sense. For some of them to make it to the labour market as well.

The global practice clearly says that with no activity requirements applied, if people and employers will not be activated via Töötukassa, it will not kick into gear. What we can do is break down barriers in society. In a study, 68 percent of employers said they were willing to employ these people.

That’s a hypothetical promise!

Exactly. In real life, having met with employers who have already hired people with partial work capacity, some are highly satisfied with them. Their dedication to work is of a totally different order. [Riigikogu Reform Party faction member] Jüri Jaanson said at the social committee that in many cases the people with problems compensate it with totally other capacities, which is a positive for employers.

In the work capacity draft act, there is no reference whatsoever that any obligation would be laid on employers. Employment Contracts Act does say one ought to offer other work, but when an employer says there’s nothing else to offer, that’s it. Even now, Töötukassa is offering motivation packages, but employers will not bother with that. These options aren’t being used!

To change attitudes in society, dos and do not’s won’t work. See what’s happened! We can’t be content with the system.

From 2000 till now, numbers of work incapacity pensioners have increased 2.2 times. Of these, 50,000 do not go to work. A half. We pay social tax for them. In labour taxes, this is no small sum.

We are discussing whether labour taxes ought to be lowered; meanwhile, we are not using it to support those who do employ people with reduced working capacity. On the other hand, we are lacking labour force.

We might just say let’s postpone the reform. If we can’t start on time, there’s the risk factor of missing the EU money. This, also, is a place to make a choice. I do not favour the option.

Our people are going about presenting the reform and are being told, by people, that they desire the reform, that they be actively dealt with. Again: no need to worry that the current money will be wasted on anyone. But none of them may assume that while they currently have 60 percent work incapacity, and a corresponding pension, that so it will be till the end of their lives. Their health condition can and may indeed be improved.

Here we bump into the poorly functioning rehabilitation. In reality, with most people, health situation and work capacity are not increasing.

We so desire to describe the worst cases and do nothing. Do we want to split the society by ordering companies to hire the disabled, or to favour the disabled? I don’t think that’s right.

Our society will be healed by us being able to treat these people as equals and let them have an impact, according as they are able. If we’d go down the road that in somebody’s eyes they would want to be a privileged bunch, that’s not wise, that’s not helping these people. I am willing to have meetings the whole summer and discuss these things.

What else can you do!? That’s your job, as a minister!

At the moment, the attack has focussed on the narrowest part (those with severe disabilities, caregivers of such people and others – edit), but we know that social welfare is a broader whole. Same with local governments: there comes the moment when we will ask if we want these people in our local governments, if we are willing to help them?

I agree that some local governments have not seen a handicapped person, a handicapped child, for they don’t have them. Therefore, it is adequate that, via the social welfare system, we want to develop and impose minimal standards for social welfare services over Estonia. 

That’s another issue.

It is not. This is a law that also will have to reach the government, and is a part of the reform. For that, there is the Social Welfare Act and labour market and labour market services amendment act, the draft of which has been completed and Helmen (the soc dem social minister Helmen Kütt – edit) must take it to the government. Therein, rehabilitation etc is dealt with.

Currently, the handicapped are extremely active, but nobody seems to stand for other work incapacity pensioners. Who will stand for them? Will I have to stand for them, or what?

What I’m really disturbed by, especially these past few days, is how the topics of the reform have been taken to a totally political level. I’m a little sad for that. Again, the soc dems have issued a declaration. Is it us really trying to help people? We have tried to forget the political party dimension.

I is surprising for me to hear what Margus Tsahkna (IRL) is saying, after leading Riigikogu social affairs committee for years. I would ask him, where was he all these two years? I have been here for two and a half months and I must explain to him the essence of the reform. It ought to be the other way round: he should explain to me, the new minister.

In your dreams, when might work capacity act be ratified?

In my dreams, within this year. We need to make use of other EU structural fund means as well. Use of these is preconditioned on starting the reform. If this gets postponed, all else gets postponed.

Still, Töötukassa is even now able to deal with the issue and I am glad that they are doing it. Now, the issue is that the lawgiver may, considering the discussion and other circumstances, to alter the reform starting date of July 1^st 2015.