Barriers to employment have been identified and reported in various studies such as PALS 2003, the Scott report, etc. The most frequently mentioned barriers are in the areas of self-esteem, access to reliable transportation services, education, and employers' willingness to hire persons with mobility impairment.
Job search for a person with spinal cord injury is a greater challenge than for persons without mobility impairments. In rural areas, lack of accessible transportation means that getting to an employment services provider, to an interview, or to work may be impossible. Computer access may not even be available for some at a distance from a major centre.
Stable employment is also difficult to achieve for persons with spinal cord injury. Health issues mean lost time and income for employees. Employers' being only willing to hire a person through a grant, such as a targeted wage subsidy, may result in repeated periods of unemployment and short-term employment. As soon as the funding is up, the person is let go and must start the job search all over again. These interruptions pose added stress and hardship for persons with spinal cord injury.
Funding for organizations that have expertise in assisting persons with spinal cord injury to maintain employment is always under threat of being cut. Transitioning of persons who have received services under one provider to new providers from year to year increases the stress level of many persons with spinal cord injury and increases their likelihood of not obtaining employment and self-reliance.
For example, many of CPA's clients had to be transitioned to new employment service providers in June of last year when our funding agreement concluded. For clients who face challenges every day, the loss of their rehabilitation counsellor was very upsetting. Each loss of funding makes clients feel more like second-class citizens. Each transition of service results in lost time as relationships are re-established.
With respect to seniors with a disability, data reported from PALS in the 2004 report showed that the likelihood of workers with disabilities 55 to 64 years of age remaining in the labour force is significantly lower than for younger workers. Nonetheless, the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics shows that in 2003 11% of seniors aged 65 to 69 years of age with disabilities continued to be employed all year, in comparison with 16% of their age peers without disabilities. This may cause reduced earning power, thereby adversely affecting the Canada Pension Plan benefits paid to persons with spinal cord injury over the long term.
The recent changes to the disability benefits under the Canada Pension Plan, which allow persons with a disability to be reinstated without a reapplication, are definitely a step forward. Persons with spinal cord injuries need to know that they can be reinstated if they must leave work for periods of time because of pressure sores or other health issues. This may gain even more importance as the population ages, since a disrupted work life can result in a lower pension benefit when it is needed most.