Providing disabled persons equal employment and accessibility to the workplace

Dr. Ruwantissa ABEYRATNE

Accessibility is the key to ensuring that disabled persons enjoy the same quality of life as others and that they can expect equal opportunity in employment and the enjoyment of social life.

One accepted definition of a person with disability is : any person whose mobility is reduced due to a physical incapacity (sensory or locomotor), an intellectual deficiency, age, illness or any other cause of disability and whose situation needs special attention and the adaptation to the person’s needs of the services made available to all.

The right to employment is dependant on accessibility and one of the key areas in which the disabled are disadvantaged is employment. There are many societies in which persons with disabilities are more likely to be unemployed than others.

While there may be many reasons for this, one of the most significant factors is negative attitudes towards employing them. The notion that persons with disabilities do not make good employees remains ever-present.

However, the importance of a nation and the international community does not lie in their achievements but in their compassion and understanding.

In the 21st Century there is an increasing shift of focus from traditional concepts of competition to empathy and understanding, and the realization that a person’s contribution to society cannot be adversely affected by an impairment or disability.

The rights of the disabled have been universally acclaimed and recognised. The mere fact that such rights exist proves that the disabled can be discriminated upon, exploited and can be denied what others might consider their entitlements.

A landmark in this regard - The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol - was adopted on December 13, 2006 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and was opened for signature on 30 March 2007. There were 82 signatories to the Convention. This is the highest number of signatories in history to a UN Convention on its opening day.

It is also the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century and the first human rights convention to be open for signature by regional integration organisations. It marks a paradigm shift in attitudes and approaches to persons with disabilities.

The Convention is intended to be a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension. It adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The United Nations has formally dedicated the 3rd of December of each year for annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. With this dedication, the UN aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.

It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

Activities on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3 December 2007 which were based on the theme “Decent work for persons with disabilities” included a series of events at United Nations Headquarters that sought to dispel the myth that persons with disabilities are unable to work and contribute to the economy. Speakers effectively demonstrated that persons with disabilities not only make good employees, but that companies benefit from hiring them.

Accessibility

It is encouraging that there is a strong regulatory structure within the United Nations called Enable which has set standards and international accord on accessibility for the disabled.

This is done through the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the focal point within the United Nations system on matters relating to disability.

It is located in the Division for Social Policy and Development which is responsible for activities related to Social Policy and Development, Poverty Eradication and Employment, Generational Issues and Integration, Inclusive Development, NGO Issues, and Indigenous Issues.

The Division is part of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat New York.

The mandate of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities includes the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Standard Rules on Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities adopted in 1994, and the World Programme of Action Concerning Disabled Persons adopted in 1982.

In addition, the Secretariat prepares publications and acts as a clearinghouse for information on disability issues; promotes national, regional and international programmes and activities; provides support to Governments and non-governmental organizations; and gives substantial support to technical co-operation projects and activities.

The major objectives of the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are the following: (i) to support the full and effective participation of persons with disabilities in social life and development; (ii) to advance the rights and protect the dignity of persons with disabilities and; (iii) to promote equal access to employment, education, information, goods and services.

If the disabled were to be employed along the same lines as others, employers would have to provide information and facilities that would enable the disabled employee to access the premises of his employment both within and without.

The first step would involve State responsibility where States should encourage employers both in the public and private sectors to use common definitions for the different categories of persons with disabilities.

In order to achieve this objective, both States and employers (represented by an employers federation or similar body) should consult with the organizations that represent persons with disabilities when developing services and training programmes or when finding solutions for better serving persons with disabilities.

Consequently, States should publish, or encourage employers and interested organisations to publish, general information or guidance material relating to air travel by persons with disabilities.

Such information should, where practicable, be made available in alternative media such as Braille, cassettes, large print or computer diskettes. Employers should provide persons with disabilities who are recruited for employment with all available information concerning access to air services and airport facilities by disabled persons.

All areas in the building that disabled employees use should include facilities designed in such a way that persons with disabilities can reach them and use them without difficulty, in particular: lavatories; restaurants; shops; and communication equipment.

As far as possible, Facilities reserved or designed for persons with disabilities should be appropriately indicated by signs that are in accordance with internationally agreed standards.

All other signs should take account of the needs of persons with disabilities. In addition, and to the extent possible, employers should be encouraged to provide a means of transport between home and the work pace so that persons with disabilities can be transported without having to depend on a congested public transport system. If the employer is unable to provide this service the State could inquire into the feasibility of providing such transportation at subsidized rates.

The building should provide ramps wherever stairs obstruct the free passage of persons, mainly wheelchair users and people with mobility problems. Ideally, the entrance to a ramp should be immediately adjacent to the stairs.

A coloured textural indication at the top and bottom of the ramp should be placed to alert sightless people as to the location of the ramp.

All elevators should have sufficient space to accommodate at least one wheelchair in addition to a regular load of passengers. The floor of the elevator and the area in front of the elevator on each floor should have a non skid resilient surface or a low-pile fixed carpet.

The door opening interval should be no less than five seconds. Re-opening activators should be provided. The elevator should signal arrival at each floor by means of a bell and a light to alert sightless and hearing-impaired passengers simultaneously.

In the work station environment, signage should be positioned so as to avoid shadow areas and glare. Lighting in the work place, except reading and other lighting under the control of the employee, should be directed and controlled to prevent glare or shadows.

Lighting in the passenger cabin should not result in any sharp contrasts in intensity. Stairs should have a uniform riser height, uniform tread depths and a height for the first step on and the last step off that does not exceed the uniform riser height.

Tread surfaces should be firm and non-slippery and should not create glare. The top outer edge of each step should be marked by a contrasting colour strip, and handrails should be provided on both sides.

In terms of rest rooms within the work place, at least one unisex compartment should be accessible to a wheelchair user. Turning circles of 1.50 m diameter are recommended inside the rest room to allow for full-turn manoeuvring of a wheelchair. Accessible rest rooms should be marked with the international symbol of accessibility. No indication is needed if all rest rooms are accessible.

Also within the building, the employer should ensure that lifting systems or any other appropriate devices are made available in order to facilitate the movement of disabled employees.

Measures should also be taken to ensure that the hearing and vision-impaired are able to obtain information particularly in a building complex that houses the work place.

For disabled persons being set down or picked up at a building, reserved points should be located as close as possible to main entrances. To facilitate movement to the various areas of the building, access routes should be free of obstacles.

Conclusion

Accessibility is about improving access to goods, services and facilities for people with disabilities. This includes visual, physical, cognitive, and hearing disabilities. If the measures discussed above are to be implemented, there should inevitably be a legal structure supporting them through enforceable obligations.

There should consequently be, in any society, an obligation to accommodate the disabled by explicitly requiring employers to develop and effectively communicate a written policy and procedures regarding accessibility.

Contemporary aspirations of people living in the 21st century should ideally be based on human kindness and empathy, which are the pre-eminent values of modern day life.

These form the basis of a new list of overarching human rights which are more compelling than most traditional rights that have been considered to be the birthright and natural endowment of the citizen. In the modern context the individual looks for one fundamental right - which is the right not to be wronged.

The question then is, is the disabled person wronged by not being treated at the same level as others and by not being provided with the basics for equal employment such as accessibility. The answer must be yes.

Human rights should be viewed as something more than a concept which acts as a cultural artefact. They transcend fundamental rights, which are essentially political and civil rights, and expand to more basic rights such as the right to be equal to anyone or at least be considered as such.

The bottom line is that human rights are enjoyed by the citizen through good governance. The first conclusion that one can reach is that good governance is no longer assessed by the provision of services by a government or other governing body but rather by the extent to which improvements were made possible to the quality of life of the individual.

The second is that good governance has an international connotation, in that it should be assessed with the assistance and application of international standards.

Those with disabilities have proved time and again that they could do as well or better than others who are more fortunate. It is time for all to join hands with the United Nations in its efforts to ensure that the disabled are not treated as being different

The writer is Coordinator, Air Transport Programmes, International Civil Aviation Organisation, Canada

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