MANY WITH DISABILITIES REMAIN BARRED FROM WORKPLACE

OUR Labour Courts have had numerous cases condemning employers for their discrimination. Despite this, it is incredibly difficult for people with disabilities to even get an interview.

Often, I get requests from individuals asking whether they have to outline their disability in their application forms. The problem arises when employers specifically ask, in the application forms or in their initial interview, whether the applicant has a disability and whether the disability might affect the individual’s productivity.

Every individual is advised to answer the questions truthfully and to challenge the employer if there is a hint of negativity towards a disability.

Over many years, I have been involved with Epilepsy SA (Western Cape) and I often get individuals who have reported discriminatory practices, and others who have remained silent about their condition. Under certain circumstances, it might not be necessary to outline the disability, but it is recommended to share the information with the potential employer. The applicant should explain how the disability is managed and how it would not interfere with the position and the ability of the applicant to perform.

Few companies have policies in place on how to accommodate those with disabilities and few human resource practitioners have experience in tackling any associated problems that might arise.

Unfortunately, our society is not geared for the disabled sector. We have recently seen a group representing those with disabilities in the Cape province trying to manoeuvre themselves and travel by rail. The report has been horrendous. The railway system is not geared towards people with disabilities. There have been reports from people who used to travel by rail but feel it is too dangerous or too risky to use that form of transport.

Those with disabilities need transport to get to work and if this is not available from the public sector, it makes it incredibly expensive and difficult for people with disabilities to get to work.

Very seldom does anyone consult people with disabilities. They are left out of the planning, implementation and monitoring stages. Accessibility on all sorts of levels is difficult. Even with new facilities, these are often neither practical nor comfortable. Many employers don’t want to provide aids and devices to make the life of their disabled staff better. Even a slight modification is sometimes denied. Often, staff with disabilities have a greater need for access to health services and, once again, the need often puts employers off.

My experience has also been that when staff have an accident, most employers look at terminating the relationship due to ill health. Seldom do employers try to work with an individual and their organisation to ensure that the person can be included back into the workforce.

The code does call for “promoting the availability, knowledge and use of appropriate, suitable and affordable assistive devices and technologies”. Often, the devices and technology are available at reasonable prices. However, there must be encouragement and education to show that assistive devices and equipment for persons with disabilities can be adapted to local conditions.

We have to understand that every person with a disability has a right to decent work and to protection against unemployment.

We have more than enough adequate legislation and will soon have more legislation to protect people with disabilities.

The legislation is only the first step. Once we have the legislation in place, it needs to be properly implemented and policed. It would be wonderful to see the Department of Employment and Labour rolling out training guides for employers and trade unions.