BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – People with disabilities have protested outside Romania’s labor ministry against a measure they say could leave them jobless.
About 200 protesters – some in wheelchairs, others with crutches – carried banners Tuesday in Bucharest saying “We want to work, not beg!”
They were angry at a government emergency decree that means companies with more than 50 employees no longer have to hire a certain number of disabled people or to use a department that hires special-needs personnel.
It is scheduled to take effect Sept. 1.
A federation that represents non-governmental social services said the decree could lead to 2,000 people with disabilities losing their jobs.
A statement said, “We refuse to be considered invisible and unimportant and to … obey decrees that can change our lives with a single signature.”