It’s a gray and rainy day. Just entering the office of the Department of Licensing and Inspection of the Sants-Montjuïc district, José Antonio Perujo approaches with a smile and asks if anyone needs their coat hung up. From the first moment, his positive attitude commands. He is one of the 25 Barcelona City Council workers who got a job after passing exams in 2021. They were not just any exams, but very special ones, since the Council adapted them for the first time for people with intellectual disability. For two years, he has been going to his workplace by metro from Hospitalet de Llobregat with the excitement of the first day. Among their functions: make sure that the printers don’t run out of paper, file and digitize documents, attend to the public when someone comes to hand out licenses or take the book of license signatures to the district headquarters.
Before becoming a civil servant, he had chained together temporary jobs – from janitor to food handler – but with the pandemic he became unemployed. After learning about the oppositions, he did not hesitate to apply. “For me it is a success to have reached such a high level. In addition, it is a fixed job that gives me security and financial stability. My parents are very proud,” he says.
To facilitate adaptation, he has a reference worker who assigns him tasks and attends to any questions that arise. In this case, his colleague is Ricard Saiz, who arrived later than José Antonio in the department. The complicity between the two is obvious. “He hosted me and he is very good. He is always ready to help”, emphasizes Saiz. “The welcome from the colleagues has been very good. We’ve had some dinners and we’ll play paddle tennis”, adds José Antonio, 43 years old.
In this process there is also a labor educator who accompanies and supports the worker and his work environment to achieve “full inclusion”. “Work is a right and people with disabilities have not been able to access the labor market or have had many difficulties there. It is very important that the public administration commits to this, since it allows them to consider a different, more participatory and independent life”, says Helena Gausí, psychologist of the employment counseling team of the Municipal Institute of People with Disabilities of the City Council and member of the project, which has the participation of entities from the third sector.
One of the requirements is that the selected people must have a disability equal to or greater than 33%, of which at least 25% must be intellectual. For this reason, the Consistory has created a specific job category, that of auxiliary services assistant, after carrying out a study to identify the new jobs. Some municipal sources report that 7% of municipal public offer places are reserved for people with a recognized disability of 33% or more. With the creation of the new category, it is specified that 2% of these places are for people with intellectual disabilities and 5% for people with other disabilities.
The City Council plans to open another call in the future, still waiting for the calendar to be finalized. José Antonio will return to the office tomorrow and encourages others to apply for future competitions. On Workers’ Day, he is clear that his position means much more than a job.
