High-Level Forum on Sickness, Disability and Work: Programme

9:00-9:30

Registration

9:30-9:45

Opening session

• Welcome address
  Ms. Bettina KASHEFI, State Secretary for Social Security, Sweden
• Welcome address
  Mr. John MARTIN, Director, OECD

9:45-11:00

Key findings in the OECD review

Chair: Ms. Eva UDDEN SONNEGARD, State Secretary for Employment, Sweden

• The relevance of OECD’s main findings and conclusions
  Mr. Alard DU BOIS-REYMOND, Head of the Disability Insurance, Switzerland
• NGO comments on OECD’s key messages
  Mr. Ingemar FÂRM, President of the Swedish Disability Federation 
• Labour market, welfare and disability reform in view of the economic downturn
  Mr. Paul GREGG, Professor at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom 

General discussion

11:00-11:30

Coffee

11:30-12:45

Session 1: The right services to the right people at the right time: What works in OECD countries?

Chair: Ms. Monika QUEISSER, OECD

• Does the Ticket-to-Work really give people choice and control?
  Mr. David RUST, Deputy Commissioner for Social Security, United States
• Experiences with an outcome-based funding model
  Ms. Sharon ROSE, Branch Manager, Participation Policy, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, Australia
• Expected and surprising lessons from early identification and intervention
  Ms. Nancy WAYLAND-BIGLER, Chief, Development Unit, Federal Social Insurance Office, Switzerland, Switzerland
• Implementing institutional change successfully
  Mr. Ilija BATLJAN, Mayor of Nynäshamn, Sweden

General discussion

12:45-14:00

Lunch hosted by the Swedish Government

14:00-15:15

Session 2: Governments cannot do everything: Supports and incentives for employers

Chair: Mr. John MARTIN, Director, OECD

• What can be learned from the Dutch approach to employer responsibilities and incentives?
  Mr. Piet Hein DONNER, Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Netherlands
• Lessons from Germany’s system of prevention and workplace management
  Mr. Franz THÖNNES, Parliamentary State Secretary for Labour and Social Affairs, Germany 
• What can governments expect from employers in an effort to raise employment of people with partial work capacity?
  Ms. Sofia BERGSTROM, Sweden, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD 

General discussion

15:15-15:45

Coffee

15:45-17:00

Session 3: Reemployment is the goal: Reforming sickness and disability benefits

Chair: Ms. Bettina KASHEFI, State Secretary for Social Security, Sweden

• Lessons and outcomes from the Danish flex-job scheme
  Mr. Torben JENSENS, Head of Division, Ministry of Labour, Denmark 
• Encouraging results from a large-scale reassessment of current disability beneficiaries
  Ms. Irene NIJBOER, Deputy Director General P&I, Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, Netherlands 
• What can be learned from the introduction of Pathways-to-Work and the new Employment and Support Allowance?
  Mr. Neil MCIVOR, Head of Analysis, Department for Work and Pension,United Kingdom 
• Is there a case for making disability benefit schemes more similar to unemployment benefit schemes?
  Ms. Renée ANDERSSON, Sweden, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD

General discussion

17:00-17:30

Closing session

• Summing up of Day One
  Rapporteur Mr. Michael WISEMAN, Professor at the George Washington University, United States
• Closing remarks
  Ms. Eva UDDEN SONNEGARD, State Secretary for Employment, Sweden

17:30

Cocktail (at the venue)

20:00

Dinner for Ministers and their representatives
(Restaurant Solliden at Skansen, Gustavianska Våningen,Djurgårdsslätten 49-57, Stockholm)

Hosts: Mr. Sven Otto LITTORIN, Minister for Employment, Sweden and Ms. Cristina HUSMARK PEHRSSON, Minister for Social Security, Sweden

8:00-8:30

Registration (in the Sheraton Hotel)

9:00-10:00

Opening session

Chair: Mr. Bo SMITH, Chairman of OECD’s Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee, Ministry of Employment, Denmark

• Welcome address
   Mr. Sven Otto LITTORIN, Minister for Employment, Sweden
• Report on the discussion and conclusions of Day One
  Rapporteur Mr. Michael WISEMAN, Professor at the George Washington University
• The European Union’s position
  Mr. Vladimír ŠPIDLA, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, European Commission
• The position of the employer organisations
  Mr. Gert NACHTIGAL, Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, Germany
• The position of the trade unions
  Mr. Roland SCHNEIDER, Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, France

10:00-11:15

Session 1: Tackling the problems: What works and what does not?

Chair: Ms. Mary HANAFIN, Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Ireland

• Input on Norway by Ms. Laila GUSTAVSEN, State Secretary for Labour and Social Inclusion, Norway
• Input on Denmark by Ms. Inger STØJBERG, Minister for Employment, Denmark
• Input by Mr. Patrick GOHET, Inter-ministerial Director for People with Disability, France
• Input on Switzerland by Mr. Yves ROSSIER, Director, Federal Social Insurance Office, Switzerland
• Input on Greece by Ms. Sophia KALANTZAKOS, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Employment and Social Protection, Greece

General discussion

11:15-11:45

Coffee

11:45-12:45

Session 2: Looking into the short-term future: What impact will the economic downturn have on policy responses
Chair: Mr. David RUST, Deputy Commissioner for Social Security, United States

• Input on the Netherlands  by Mr. Piet Hein DONNER, Minister for Social Affairs and Employment, Netherlands
• Input on Germany by Mr. Franz THÖNNES, Parliamentary State Secretary for Labour and Social Affairs, Germany
• Input by Ms. Karen JACKSON, Assistant Deputy Minister for Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
• Input on Finland by Ms. Liisa HYSSÄLÄ, Minister for Health and Social Services, Finland

General discussion

12:45-14:15

Lunch hosted by the Swedish Government

14:15-15:15

Session 3:  Implementing the required changes: making structural disability reform happen

Chair: Mr. Aart DE GEUS, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD

• Input on Czech Republic by Mr. Jiří KRÁL, Director General for Social and Family Policy, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Czech Republic
• Input on Poland by Ms. Agnieszka CHLON-DOMINCZAK, Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Labour and Social Policy, Poland
• Input on Sweden by Ms. Cristina HUSMARK PEHRSSON, Minister for Social Security, Sweden

General discussion

15:15-15:50

Session 4: Looking ahead: Areas for possible further investigation

Chair: Mr. Sven Otto LITTORIN, Minister for Employment, Sweden

• Introduction by Mr. Aart DE GEUS, Deputy Secretary-General, OECD

General discussion

15:50-16:00

Closing session

• Conclusion of the meeting by Ms. Cristina HUSMARK PEHRSSON, Minister for Social Security, Sweden