A regulation included in the health bill allows people with disabilities to work after going on pension, Labor and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameus said on Tuesday in Parliament.
During the plenary debate on the institution of 'personal doctor', Kerameus said that the extension of the measure already implemented by other workers will bring a positive change to thousands with a disability, "taking another significant step forward in cultivating a collective mentality of substantial equality and opportunities for all."
The government's priority, she said, was to protect rights of people with disabilities in Greece, following international and European directives and obligations, as well as the national strategy of people with disabilities 2024-2030 that the New Democracy government introduced.
"In this direction, we are proposing a regulation according to which i-EFKA insured individuals will have a right to a main pension because of disability from a common illness, without having to stop working, as required up to now," Kerameus said. The dilemma was "work or state support," she added, an outdated mentality that ruled out state support for people with disabilities who wanted to work.
According to the proposal, the regulation will be retroactively applied as of January 1, 2024, she said, affecting thousands who have applied for a disability pension and can only get it if they stop working. All pensions rejected as of January 1, 2024 will be reconsidered under a more favorable regime, she said.