The author analyzes inclusion polices and practices for workers with disability within the labor market in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Disability is above all a social product, and work inclusion strategies adopted in Brazil are inadequate as they do not take into account relevant aspects of the world of labor and of the actors involved in it. In 2003, thirty five interviews were conducted with 22 workers with physical disability, six of their superiors and co-workers, and seven professionals and leaders of institutions concerned with workers' disability. Specific legislation and employment statistics were analyzed, and institutions were visited, evidencing that the quota system for employment is not sufficient to ensure reasonable number of jobs for workers with disability. The author identified that inclusion strategies and practices are marked by situations that could be called " inequality ironies", as, for example, the fact that superiors at work compel employees to treat "persons with disability" as "normal people"; that disability is considered as a "virtue", as it facilitates job access; that workers with disability are used as examples of "good workers" and discipline, due to their ability to overcome limitations.
people with disabilities; occupational health; social inequality; work; public policies
