site.bta Labour Ministry Will Prioritize Future of Labour, Support for People with Disabilities under Bulgarian EU Presidency

Labour Ministry Will Prioritize Future of Labour, Support for People with Disabilities under Bulgarian EU Presidency

Sofia, March 1 (BTA) - The Labour Ministry will prioritize the future of labour, early child development, and support for the disabled during the Bulgarian EU Presidency.

The priorities were presented by Caretaker Labour Minister Galab Donev at a meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.

The Bulgarian side has outlined several areas where development will be sought within the debate on the future of labour: industrial relations, new working skills, entrepreneurship, labour mobility, equal opportunities on the labour market and abolition of discrimination, said Donev.

The Labour Ministry will seek guarantees that the European Social Fund will continue after 2020 to encourage employment and job quality, improve access to the labour market, promote high levels of education and skills, and assist the transition from eduction to employment and boost economic, social and territorial convergence.

The third priority of the Labour Ministry are early child development policies. According to Donev, the concept for an early child development is comparatively new but it is possible to tap experience from projects for social inclusion and measures under the Operational Programme for Human Resources Development. The Labour Minister said that education and care in early childhood are an important tool.

Another priority will be support for the people with disabilities and their full-fledged membership of society. A transition from medical to social approach in care, the protection of their rights and support for making environment accessible will be the fourth priority.

Caretaker Health Minister Ilko Semerdjiev and chair of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation also outlined the priorities of his ministry.