THE RIGHT TO DECENT WORK

OF
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

IFP/SKILLS WORKING PAPER NO. 14

Arthur O’Reilly
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Everyday we are reminded that, for everybody, work is a defining feature of
human existence. It is the means of sustaining life and of meeting basic needs.
But it is also an activity through which individuals affirm their own identity, both to
themselves and to those around them. It is crucial to individual choic e, to the
welfare of families and to the stability of societies.
Juan Somavia, ILO Director General, June 2001

All human beings, irrespective of race, creed or sex, have the right to pursue both
their material well- being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom
and dignity, of economic security and equal opportunity.
Declaration of Philadelphia, International Labour Conference, 1944

All ILO Members, even if they have not ratified the Conventions in question, have
an obligation arising from the very fact of membership in the Organization, to
respect, to promote and to realize, in good faith and in accordance with the
Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamental rights which are the
subject of those Conventions, including the elimination of discrimination in respect
of employment and occupation.
ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work 1998

Each Member shall, in accordance with national conditions, practice and

possibilities, formulate, implement and periodically review a national policy on
vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons (which) shall aim at
ensuring that appropriate vocational rehabilitation measures are made available
to all categories of disabled persons and at promoting employment opportunities
for disabled persons in the open labour market (and) be based on the principle of
equal opportunity between disabled workers and workers generally.
ILO Convention No. 159 concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment of Disabled Persons 1983

The promotion of full, productive and freely chosen employment …. should be

regarded as the means of achieving in practice the realization of the right to work.

ILO Recommendation No. 169 concerning Employment Policy

Contents

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................................I

THE RIGHT TO DECENT WORK OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES - SUMMARY OVERVIEW .1

PRINCIPLE INTERNATIONAL LEGAL INSTRUMENTS AND POLICY INITIATIVES............................................................ 2
CHAPTER 1 - INTERNATIONAL LEGAL INSTRUMENTS AND POLICY INITIATIVES
CONCERNING THE RIGHT TO WORK OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES ..........................................9
1.1 INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................................... 9
1.2 EARLY ILO MEASURES............................................................................................................................................ 9
1.3 UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS................................................................................................. 11
1.4 COUNCIL OF EUROPE : EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS............................................................ 12
1.5 ILO SOCIAL SECURITY CONVENTION.................................................................................................................. 13
1.6 FIRST ILO RECOMMENDATION DEVOTED TO VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION ............................................. 13
1.7 FURTHER ILO M EASURES 1958-68...................................................................................................................... 13
1.8 INTERNATIONAL COVENANTS............................................................................................................................... 14
1.9 UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF M ENTALLY RETARDED PERSONS ..................................................... 15
1.10 ILO MEASURES ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES................................................................... 15
1.11 ILO CALL FOR COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN ..................................................................................................... 16
1.12 UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF DISABLED PERSONS ............................................................................ 16
1.13 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF DISABLED PERSONS ................................................................................................. 16
1.14 UN W ORLD PROGRAMME OF ACTION AND DECADE OF DISABLED PERSONS ............................................... 17
1.15 ILO CONVENTION NO. 159 ................................................................................................................................... 17
1.16 MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CONVENTION NO. 159 ..................................................................... 18
1.17 EUROPEAN UNION RECOMMENDATION CONCERNING EMPLOYMENT FOR PERSONS WITHDISABILITIES... 19
1.18 UN CONVENTION RECOMMENDED ...................................................................................................................... 20
1.19 COUNCIL OF EUROPE - COHERENT POLICY FOR THE REHABILITATION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.... 20
1.20 ASIAN AND PACIFIC DECADE OF DISABLED PERSONS ...................................................................................... 21
1.21 UN STANDARD RULES ON THE EQUALIZATION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.... 21
1.22 VIENNA DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... 24
1.23 MONITORING THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS IN
RELATION TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES........................................................................................................ 24
1.24 COPENHAGEN DECLARATION................................................................................................................................. 25
1.25 EU TREATY A MENDMENT PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION.............................................................................. 27
1.26 COUNCIL OF EUROPE : EUROPEAN SOCIAL CHARTER........................................................................................ 28
1.27 THE INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION.................................................................................................................. 29
1.28 AFRICAN DECADE OF DISABLED PERSONS ......................................................................................................... 29
1.29 EU CHARTER OF FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS........................................................................................................... 30
1.30 EU DIRECTIVE ON DISCRIMINATION.................................................................................................................... 30
1.31 WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES.................................................................................................................................. 31
1.32 EDUCATION AND TRAINING..................................................................................................................................... 33
1.33 A NEW CONVENTION? ............................................................................................................................................. 34
CHAPTER 2 - WORK AND EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS .....................................................................................37
2.1 OPEN /COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT ..................................................................................................................... 37
2.2 SHELTERED EMPLOYMENT .................................................................................................................................... 39
2.3 SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT .................................................................................................................................... 42
2.4 SOCIAL ENTERPRISES ............................................................................................................................................. 44
CHAPTER 3 - MEASURES TO FACILITATE WORK AND EMPLOYM ENT ............................................49
3.1 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................................................................ 49
3.2 EMPLOYMENT SERVICES........................................................................................................................................ 51
3.3 TRAINING FOR EMPLOYMENT ............................................................................................................................... 52
3.4 FINANCIAL SUPPORTS............................................................................................................................................ 54
3.5 TECHNICAL AND PERSONAL SUPPORTS.................................................................................................................. 56
3.6 QUOTA SYSTEMS..................................................................................................................................................... 56
3.7 ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LEGISLATION................................................................................................................. 60
3.8 PERSUASION M EASURES........................................................................................................................................ 67
3.9 DISABILITY MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................................................... 68
3.10 CONSULTATION MECHANISMS............................................................................................................................... 69
3.11 INFORMATION , M ONITORING AND EVALUATION............................................................................................... 70
CHAPTER 4 - KEY ISSUES AND AN AGENDA FOR ACTION........................................................................73
4.1 KEY ISSUES .............................................................................................................................................................. 73
4.2 GENERAL PRINCIPLES TO INFORM THE DRAFTING OF A NEW TREATY........................................................... 76
4.3 WHAT SHOULD THE CONVENTION CONTAIN CONCERNING THE RIGHT TO W ORK? .................................... 78
ANNEX 1 - DEFINITIONS ..............................................................................................................................................81

ANNEX 2 - EARLY HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF WORK AND EMPLOYMENT

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (1900-1930) .........................................................85
A2.1 OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................................................... 85
A2.2 FROM THE BEGINNING ........................................................................................................................................... 85
A2.3 BELGIUM .................................................................................................................................................................. 86
A2.4 FRANCE .................................................................................................................................................................... 86
A2.5 GREAT BRITAIN....................................................................................................................................................... 86
A2.6 GERMANY ................................................................................................................................................................ 87
A2.7 CANADA ................................................................................................................................................................... 88
A2.8 UNITED STATES....................................................................................................................................................... 88
A2.9 WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES.................................................................................................................................. 90
A2.10PERIOD OF STAGNATION ........................................................................................................................................ 90
 INTRODUCTION
The ILO has commissioned this paper on ‘The Right to Decent Work of Persons with
Disabilities’ as a contribution to the deliberations taking place in preparation for the development
of a United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The paper is intended
to be of specific relevance to those involved in drafting the provisions concerning employment
and work in the proposed Convention. By examining the development over time of the ‘right to
work’ of disabled persons, the way in which this matter has been dealt with in international
instruments and national legislation to date, and the experience in implementing employment and
work opportunities, the paper will enable those involved in the preparation of the proposed UN
Convention to build on achievements so far.

A summary overview of the principal international legal instruments and policy of

relevance to the rights of people with disabilities, with a particular focus on employment and
work, is given at the outset. This is followed, in Chapter 1, by a more detailed description of
international instruments, policies and initiatives, including reference to the debates which have
taken place about their effectiveness in practice.

In Chapter 2, the focus is on the different options open to people with disabilities who
wish to work in open/competitive employment, sheltered employment, supported employment
and social enterprises. The chapter examines available evidence on the trends in each of these
categories and highlights the key issues faced in each case.

Chapter 3 deals with the main approaches which have been adopted at national level to
assist people with disabilities in securing, retaining and advancing in employment and work,
including legislation; employment services; training for employment; disability management;
financial, technical and personal supports; and/persuasion measures. The chapter also touches on
the processes of consultation, information gathering, monitoring and evaluation which are
essential elements of effective policies.

Chapter 4 reviews the key areas which still require attention, in spite of the range of
measures introduced at international, regional and national level to improve employment
opportunities for people with disabilities. The chapter suggests ways in which progress might be
made in each of these areas, and goes on to propose general principles which should inform the
new UN Convention, along with concrete provisions which the Convention might contain.

Annex 1 contains definitions of the key terms used, while Annex 2 gives a historical
flavour to the paper, by tracing the development of work and employment opportunities for
persons with disabilities in different industrialized countries in the early twentieth century.
 THE RIGHT TO DECENT WORK OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES1 -
SUMMARY OVERVIEW
Human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all2. This is the essence of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights 3 and finds specific application in the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights and other international instruments4 . States have affirmed this principle again and
again, including in the Copenhagen Declaration 5 , acknowledging that the promotion and
protection of those rights and freedoms is primarily the responsibility of governments. Acceptance
of that responsibility should have led to ready ratification and implementation of international
instruments and adherence to internationally recognized declarations concerning the elimination of
discrimination and the promotion and protection of human rights. That this did not happen to the
extent it should is evident from regular exhortations, including from Heads of States and
Government in Copenhagen, for greater compliance and the avoidance, as far as possible, of the
resort to reservations.

All human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. It is the duty of
States, regardless of their political, economic, social and cultural systems, to promote and protect
all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The right to development is an inalienable human right by virtue of which every human
person and all peoples are entitled to participate in, contribute to and enjoy economic, social,
cultural and political development, in which all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be
fully realized6 . Because all human rights are inviolable and none is superior to another, the
improvement of any one right cannot be set off against the deterioration of another7 . While
development facilitates the enjoyment of all human rights, the lack of development may not be
invoked to justify the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights. 8 In other words, the
promotion and protection of human rights should be progressed without conditions attached.

Poverty denies the enjoyment of practically all human rights. The importance of international
cooperation in the eradication of poverty and promotion of development is apparent. The principle
of international cooperation has been recognized in the International Covenants.

1
The terms ‘persons with disabilities’ and ‘disabled persons’ are used interchangeably, reflecting accepted
usage in different countries around the world.
2
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights, 25 June
1993
3
The Universal Declaration begins: ‘Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable
rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world….’
4
See Chapter 1
5
Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Summit for Social Development,
1995
6
UN Declaration on the Right to Development, 1986
7
UN Commission on Human Rights Working Group on the Right to Development, Jan. 2001, E/CN.
4/2001/WG. 18/2, para. 10
8
Vienna Declaration, op. cit.

1
Principle International Legal Instruments and Policy Initiatives
One of the earliest international acknowledgements of the right of people with disabilities to
work opportunities was made by the ILO in 1944. In a comprehensive and far-seeing
Recommendation, the ILO stated unequivocally that disabled workers, ‘whatever the origin of
their disability, should be provided with full opportunities for rehabilitation, specialized vocational
guidance, training and retraining, and employment on useful work.’ 9 The ILO said that persons
with disabilities should, wherever possible, be trained with other workers, under the same
conditions and the same pay, and called for equality of employment opportunity for disabled
workers and for affirmative action to promote the employment of workers with serious disabilities.

Four years later, the right to work of everyone, including persons with disabilities, was
copperfastened by the United Nations. Article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
could hardly be more explicit: ‘Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to
just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. Everyone,
without discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. Everyone who works has the
right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy
of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. Everyone
has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests’ 10 .

What proved to be one of the most important international instruments in relation to the right
to work of persons with disabilities was adopted by the ILO in 195511. Until the adoption of ILO
Convention No. 159 and Recommendation No. 168 almost thirty years later, Recommendation
No. 99 served as the basis for national legislation and practice in relation to vocational guidance,
vocational training, and placement of disabled persons. Recommendation No. 99 built on the core
provisions of earlier instruments in relation, for example, to vocational training, equality of
opportunity and equal pay for equal work.

The 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was drafted in
close consultation with the ILO, and reiterates those earlier provisions in binding treaty form12.
States Parties to the Covenant recognize the right of everyone to work, which includes the right to
the opportunity to gain one’s living by work freely chosen or accepted, and undertake to safeguard
that right. Steps to be taken to achieve the full realization of that right include vocational guidance,
training and productive employment. States Parties also commit themselves to equal pay for work
of equal value without distinction of any kind, safe and healthy working conditions, and equal
opportunity for everyone to be promoted in employment to an appropriate higher level, subject to
no considerations other than those of seniority and competence. The International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, also adopted in 1966 13, does not deal specifically with employment, but
it does contain an important provision prohibiting discrimination on any ground, including
disability.

9
Employment (Transition from War to Peace) Recommendation No. 71, 1944
10
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly on 10 Dec. 1948, Article 23
11
ILO Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation No. 99, 1955
12
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by G.A. Resolution 2200A (xxi) of
16 Dec. 1966
13
International Covenant on Civil and Po litical Rights, adopted by G.A. Resolution 2200A (xxi) of 16 Dec.
1966

2
 In 1971, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed a Declaration on the Rights of
Mentally Retarded Persons, which affirmed, inter alia, their right to perform productive work or to
engage in any other meaningful occupation to the fullest extent of their capabilities14 .

To encourage, assist and enable persons with disabilities to exercise their right to work on an
equal basis and without discrimination, the ILO Convention concerning Human Resources
Development (No 142), adopted in 1975, called on member States to develop and implement
open, flexible and complementary systems of general, technical and vocational education,
educational and vocational guidance and vocational training, including continuing employment
information. 15 An accompanying Recommendation16 spells out in detail how the provisions of this
Convention should be effected, reinforcing the principle of mainstreaming in vocational guidance
and training, highlighting the importance of educating the general public, employers and workers
in relation to the employment of persons with disabilities, and calling for adjustments in the
workplace, where necessary, to accommodate disabled workers. In an important reference, the
Recommendation notes that the ILO and UNESCO had collaborated closely with a view to
ensuring that the instruments of the two organizations pursue harmonized objectives and that they
would continue to do so with a view to the effective implementation of those instruments. In a
further measure,17 again reflecting its perception of the importance of multi-sectoral collaboration
among international bodies in pursuit of the exercise of the right to work of persons with
disabilities, the ILO called for a comprehensive campaign for vocational rehabilitation18 and social
integration of disabled persons, in cooperation and coordination with the United Nations, its
specialized agencies, and international, regional and non-governmental organizations, a campaign
which was to result in the International Year of Disabled Persons and the World Programme of
Action concerning Disabled Persons, among other initiatives.

Further affirmation of the right to work and the right to work-related services including
vocational counseling and training came almost immediately from the United Nations General
Assembly 19 .

Building on the ‘full participation and equality’ theme of the International Year and goal of
the World Programme of Action, and conscious that developments since its seminal
Recommendation No. 99 in 1955 had made it appropriate to adopt new international labour
standards concerning vocational rehabilitation and employment, the ILO adopted landmark
Convention No. 159 in 1983 20. The Convention sets out a number of fundamental principles which
should underlie vocational rehabilitation and employment policies, highlighting those of equal
opportunity and treatment, affirmative measures which should not be regarded as discriminating
against other workers, integration of persons with disabilities into mainstream work-related
programmes and services, services for those in rural areas and remote communities, the training of
14
UNGA Resolution 2856 of 20 Dec. 1971
15
ILO Human Resources Development Convention (No. 142), 1975
16
ILO Human Resources Development Recommendation (No. 150), 1975
17
ILO Resolution concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Disabled or Handicapped
Persons, adopted 24 June 1975
18
‘Vocational rehabilitation’ is a process which enables disabled persons to secure, retain and advance in
suitable employment and thereby furthers their integration or reintegration into society (ILO Code of Practice
on Managing Disability in the Workplace, 2002)
19
Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons, UNGA Res. 3447 of 9 Dec. 1975
20
ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention (No. 159), 1983

3
qualified staff, and the need to consult employers’ and workers’ organizations as well as
representative organizations of and for disabled persons. The accompanying Recommendation
No. 168 details measures which should be taken to promote equitable employment opportunities,
including the making of ‘reasonable adaptations to workplaces, job design, tools, machinery and
work organization’, and outlines steps which should be taken to ensure that the consultative
processes mentioned in the Convention work effectively21 .

The 1987 Global Meeting of Experts to Review the Implementation of the World Programme
of Action proposed that a guiding philosophy should be developed to indicate priorities for action
in the years ahead, and that the basis of that philosophy should be the recognition of the rights
(including the right to work) of persons with disabilities. The Meeting recommended that the
General Assembly convene a special conference to draft an international convention on the
elimination of all forms of discrimination against disabled persons. Following a failure by the
General Assembly to reach a consensus on this issue, the Standard Rules on the Equalization of
Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities were adopted on 20 December 199322 . The Standard
Rules are a set of non-compulsory guidelines, though the UN Economic and Social Committee
hoped they would become ‘international customary rules when they are applied by a great number
of States with the intention of respecting a rule in international law’ 23 . Employment is covered by
Rule 7, which calls on all States to take various measures, most of which are contained in earlier
relevant ILO Conventions and Recommendations, to ensure that persons with disabilities have
equal opportunities for productive and gainful employment in the labour market.

In a further reaffirmation of the right to work, the World Conference on Human Rights,
meeting in Vienna in 1993, in a direct reference to persons with disabilities, emphasized that
‘every person is born equal and has the same rights to life and welfare, education and work, living
independently and active participation in all aspects of society. Any direct discrimination or other
negative discriminatory treatment of a disabled person is therefore a violation of his or her
rights.’24 The World Conference called on governments to adopt or adjust legislation to assure
access to these and other rights for disabled persons.

Towards the end of 1994, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
pointed out that the effects of disability-based discrimination had been particularly severe in the
fields of education, employment, housing, transport, cultural life and access to public places and
services.25 The Committee considered the field of employment as one in which discrimination had
been both prominent and persistent. In most countries, the unemployment rate among persons with
disabilities was two to three times higher than that for others. Disabled persons were mostly
engaged in low-paid jobs with little social and legal security and often segregated from the
mainstream labour market. As the ILO had frequently noted, physical barriers such as inaccessible
public transport, housing and workplaces were often the main reasons why persons with
disabilities were not employed. The Committee drew attention to the valuable and comprehensive

21
ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation (No. 168), 1983
22
Resolution 48/96
23
A/C. 3/48/L.3, 1 Oct. 1993, p. 6
24
Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights on 25
June 1993, p. 18
25
General Comment No. 5 (1994)

4
instruments developed by the ILO, including in particular Convention No. 159, and urged States
Parties to the International Covenant to consider ratifying that Convention.

Heads of State and Government at the World Summit for Social Development in 1995,
acknowledging the particular employment difficulties faced by persons with disabilities,
committed themselves to putting the creation of employment, the reduction of unemployment, and
the promotion of adequately remunerated employment at the centre of strategies and policies of
governments, in full respect for those workers’ rights.26 The Programme of Action adopted by the
Summit includes taking effective measures to bring to an end all forms of discrimination against
persons with disabilities.27

Echoing the exhortation of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights a
year earlier, the Programme of Action calls on governments to enhance the quality of work and
employment by, inter alia, ‘strongly considering ratification and full implementation of ILO
conventions relating to the employment rights of…persons with disabilities.’28 Acknowledging the
singular role of the ILO at internat ional level in relation to the world of work and the particular
tripartite nature of its structure and operation, the Programme urges governments to promote the
role of the ILO, particularly as regards improving the level of employment and the quality of
work.

The European Social Charter recognizes the right of everyone to ‘have the opportunity to earn
(a) living in an occupation freely entered upon,’ and that all workers have the right to just
conditions of work. The Charter specifically acknowledges that disabled persons have the right to
independence, social integration and participation in the life of the community. 29

A European Union Directive, adopted at the end of 2000, outlaws direct and indirect
discrimination in the field of employment on a number of grounds, including disability. 30 The
Directive applies, inter alia, to selection criteria and recruitment conditions, vocational guidance,
vocational training, employment and working conditions, including pay. Importantly, the
Directive states that ‘reasonable accommodation’ shall be provided, i.e. that employers are to take
appropriate measures, where needed, to enable a person with a disability to have access to,
participate in, or advance in employment, or to provide training, unless such measures would
impose a ‘disproportionate burden’ on the employer.

The ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace was drawn up to provide
guidance to employers on practical means of implementing the types of measures contained in
international instrume nts such as those mentioned earlier. 31 The Code was developed and
unanimously agreed at a tripartite meeting of experts (representing governments, employers’
organizations and workers’ organizations), convened in October 2001 at the decision of the ILO
Governing Body, taken at its 277th Session in March 2000. While addressed mainly to employers,
26
Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of action adopted by the World Summit for Social Development,
1995
27
idem: para. 15 (i)
28
idem: para. 54 (c)
29
Council of Europe, European Social Charter (revised 1996)
30
Council directive 2000/78/EC of 27 Nov. 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in
employment and occupation. OJL 303, 2 Dec. 2000, pp. 16-22
31
ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, 2002

5
the Code should also prove of considerable benefit to governments, which play a primary role in
providing the necessary legislative framework for promoting equal opportunities and treatment in
the workplace, and to workers’ representatives, whose main concern is to protect workers’
interests. The contents of the Code are based on the principles underpinning international
instruments and initiatives. The Code should, accordingly, also help to inform the principles and
contents of the employment provisions of the proposed UN Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities.

There is no doubt that general international human rights instruments apply to all persons,
including persons with disabilities. Explicit confirmation was given in 1994 by the UN Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.32 The Committee acknowledged, however, that States
Parties devoted very little attention to persons with disabilities in their reports on compliance with
that Covenant. 33 The need for explicit, disability-related provisions in international human rights
instruments was recognized in later measures, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child
(Article 23), the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Article 18 (4)), and the
Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the Area of Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (Article 18), leading the Committee to conclude that ‘it is now widely
accepted that the human rights of persons with disabilities must be protected and promoted
through general, as well as specially designed, laws, policies and programmes’ 34 .

Despite existing national, regional and international laws and other instruments, and despite
the activities of international bodies and the efforts of non-governmental organizations, persons
with disabilities throughout the world continue to be subjected to widespread violations of their
human rights. This is an undeniable fact. In the field of employment, the available statistics
indicate that the unemployment rate among workers with disabilities tends to be twice or three
times that of other workers. Problems of access to the physical environment, including
transportation, housing and workplaces, coupled with still-held prejudices among many
employers, co-workers and the general public, aggravate an already difficult situation. This is not
to suggest that there has been no improvement. The significant growth in domestic anti-
discrimination legislation in recent years is encouraging, even though adoption of a law does not
guarantee its enforcement. The persistent efforts of international agencies, and in particular the
ILO, in promoting equal opportunity and treatment in employment continue to make important
inroads into the economic and social exclusion of persons with disabilities. If the provisions
contained in the international treaties and other instruments discussed in this report were fully
implemented, full equality and participation for persons with disabilities in the employment field
would be achieved. This, regrettably, is not yet the case. For people with disabilities and their
representative organizations, there is more to be done.

A number of attempts were made during the past fifteen years to have a specially designed
law, a UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, elaborated. In December 2001,
the UN General Assembly decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to consider proposals for
such a convention. The terms of reference of this Committee are:

32
General Comment No. 5
33
idem: para. 2
34
idem: para. 6

6
 “to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote
and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, based on the holistic
approach in the work done in the fields of social development, human rights and non-
discrimination and taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on
Human Rights and the Commission for Social Development”
The work of this Committee commenced in July 2002.

7
 CHAPTER 1 -
INTERNATIONAL LEGAL INSTRUMENTS AND POLICY INITIATIVES
CONCERNING THE RIGHT TO WORK OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

1.1 Introduction
This chapter reviews, in chronological order, the principal legal instruments and policy
initiatives concerning the right to work of persons with disabilities from the United Nations (UN),
the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Council of Europe and the European Union
(EU). It includes the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World
Conference on Human Rights in 1993, and the Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of
Action, adopted by the World Summit for Social Development in 1995.

1.2 Early ILO Measures

The International Labour Organization (ILO), founded in 1919, is the oldest of the specialized
technical agencies of the UN system. It is tripartite in structure, with representatives of employers’
and workers’ organizations having an equal voice with those of governments, of its 175 member
countries, in shaping ILO policies and programmes, through participation in the annual
International Labour Conference and membership on the ILO Governing Body. The primary goal
of the ILO is to promote opportunities for women and men to obtain decent and productive work,
in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. The ILO has four principal strategic
objectives:

to promote and realize standards, and fundamental principles and rights at work

to create greater opportunities for women and men to secure decent
employment

to enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all

to strengthen tripartism and social dialogue.
These objectives are realized through:
(1) The formulation of international policies and programmes to promote basic
human rights, improve working conditions, and enhance employment
opportunities.
(2) The creation of international labour standards, through the formulation and
adoption of Conventions, backed by a system to supervise their application, as
well as Recommendations and Codes of Practice, which serve as guidelines for
national authorities in putting standards into action. Conventions prescribe
international labour standards and are binding on ratifying States;
Recommendations provide guidelines for Members of the ILO; Codes of
Practice are agreed, non-binding rules and procedures.
(3) An extensive programme of international technical cooperation, formulated and
implemented in partnership with ILO constituents and development partners.
(4) Training, education, research and publishing activities.

9
The first international instrument containing provisions relating to the vocational rehabilitation of
workers with a disability was adopted by the International Labour Conference in 1925, just a few
years after the establishment of the International Labour Organization. 35 The Recommendation set
out principles which should be taken into account in determining compensation payment for
industrial accidents. It also recommended that ‘the vocational re-education of injured workmen
should be provided by such means as the national laws or regulations deem most suitable,’ and
urged governments to promote institutions which would provide such ‘re-education’.

Interest in vocational rehabilitation and employment opportunities for persons with

disabilities re-surfaced during the Second World War, largely because of the number of people
disabled during the war and the need to find trained workers to fill jobs left vacant by mobilized
workers. In May 1944, the International Labour Conference adopted a comprehensive
Recommendation (No. 71) on employment services, including labour market information,
vocational guidance and vocational training. One of the groups specifically covered by the
Recommendation was disabled workers who, ‘whatever the origin of their disability, should be
provided with full opportunities for rehabilitation, specialized vocational guidance, training and
retraining, and employment on useful work’. The Recommendation provides early examples of a
number of concepts such as mainstreaming, equality of opportunity and affirmative action:
(39) The criterion for the training and employment of disabled workers should be
the employability of the worker, whatever the origin of the disability.
(40) There should be the closest collaboration between medical services for the
disabled and vocational rehabilitation and placement services.
(41) Specialized vocational guidance for the disabled should be developed in order
to make it possible to assess each disabled worker’s capacity and to select the
most appropriate form of employment for him.
(42)
1. Wherever possible, disabled workers should receive training in company
with able-bodied workers, under the same conditions and with the same
pay.
2. Training should be continued to the point where the disabled person is
able to enter employment as an efficient worker in the trade or occupation
for which he has been trained.
3. Wherever practicable, efforts should be made to retrain disabled workers
in their former occupations or in related occupations where their previous
qualifications would be useful.
4. Employers with suitable training facilities should be induced to train a
reasonable proportion of disabled workers.
5. Specialized training centres, with appropriate medical supervision, should
be provided for those disabled persons who require such special training.
(43)
1. Special measures should be taken to ensure equality of employment
opportunity for disabled workers on the basis of their working capacity.
Employers should be induced by wide publicity and other means, and

35
Recommendation (No. 22) concerning the minimum scale of workmen’s compensation, 1925

10
 where necessary compelled, to employ a reasonable quota of disabled
workers.
2. In certain occupations particularly suitable for the employment of
seriously disabled workers, such workers should be given preference over
all other workers.
3. Efforts should be made, in close cooperation with employers’ and
workers’ organizations, to overcome employment discriminations against
disabled workers which are not related to their ability and job
performance, and to overcome the obstacles to their employment
including the possibility of increased liability in respect of workmens’
compensation.
4. Employment on useful work in special centres under non-competitive
conditions should be made available for all disabled workers who cannot
be made fit for normal employment. Information should be assembled by
the employment service in regard to the occupations particularly suited to
different disabilities and the size, location and employability of the
disabled population’. 36
Although Recommendation No. 71 did not specifically refer to gender differences in the
provisions concerning workers with disabilities, it did emphasize more than once ‘complete
equality of opportunity’ for men and women in respect, for example, of recruitment on the basis of
their individual merit, skill and experience, equal pay for equal work, and access to further
education and training.

The specific concern of the International Labour Organization for workers with disabilities
continues to run like a thread through that body’s Conventions and Recommendations. In 1946,
Convention Nos. 77 and 78, and Recommendation No. 79, concerning medical examination of
young people for fitness for employment, called for appropriate measures to be taken by the
competent authority for vocational guidance and vocational rehabilitation in respect of young
persons with disabilities. 37 Recommendation No. 83 and Convention No. 88, adopted in 1948,
concerning the organization of employment services, called for special measures to meet the needs
of workers with disabilities and recommended ‘conditions or special studies’ on such questions as
the placement of disabled workers.38 Included also was a recommendation that employment
services should not, in referring workers to employment, itself discriminate against applicants on
grounds of race, colour, sex or belief.

1.3 Universal Declar ation of Human Rights

On 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. There has been some criticism of the fact that the Declaration

36
Employment (Transition from War to Peace) Recommendation (No. 71), 1944, Section X
37
Medical Examination of Young Persons (Industry) Convention (No. 77), 1946; Medical Examination of
Young Persons (Non-Industrial Occupations) Convention (No. 78), 1946; Medical Examination of Young
Persons Recommendation (No. 79), 1946.
38
Employment Service Convention (No. 88), 1948; Employment Service Recommendation (No. 83) 1948.

11
ignores persons with disabilities, that disabled persons were not included as a distinct group
vulnerable to human rights violations, that disability is not mentioned as a protected category. 39

The UN General Assembly does, however, at the outset, proclaim the Declaration ‘as a
common standard of achievement for all peoples…’; Article 1 states that ‘All human beings are
born free and equal in dignity and rights…’; Article 2 states that ‘Everyone is entitled to all the
rights and freedoms set out in (the) Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth
or other status’.40 There can be little doubt that disabled people are covered by the Declaration,
even though not specifically mentioned.

Several of the articles of the Declaration relate to employment - Article 22 on the right to
social security; Article 23 (1) on the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and
favourable conditions of work and to protection against employment; Article 23 (2) on the right to
equal pay for equal work; Article 23 (3) on the right of everyone who works to just and favourable
remuneration ensuring for self and family an existence worthy of human dignity and
supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection; Article 25 (1) on the right to a
standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of self and family, including food,
clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the
event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in
circumstances beyond control; Article 26 (1) on the right to education, including that technical and
professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally
accessible to all on the basis of merit.

1.4 Council of Europe: European Convention on Human Rights

Founded in 1949 by ten Western European States, the Council of Europe - current
membership 41 States - is primarily an organization of intergovernmental cooperation devoted to
upholding parliamentary democracy, the rule of law, and the protection of human rights. The
outcome of the work of the Council of Europe falls into three broad categories. First, there are
international treaties - normally known as European conventions or agreements - which are
binding on the States which ratify them. Secondly, the Committee of Ministers addresses
Recommendations to governments regarding policies or legislation. Thirdly, there are reports or
studies which may examine and discuss various approaches or opinions on certain issues.

The European Convention on Human Rights, adopted by the Council of Europe in 1950,
might be regarded as the European equivalent to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.41 From a disability perspective, it is open to criticism because the main non-discrimination
provision (Article 14) does not include disability among the grounds on which discrimination is
prohibited, although it could be argued that it is implied in the phrase ‘or other status’.

39
See, for example, Degener T and Quinn G. A Survey of International, Comparative and Regional Disability
Law Reform. Paper presented at From Principles to Practice Symposium, Washington D,C., Oct. 2000, p. 16
40
Emphasis added
41
For a more detailed description and discussion, see Degener and Quinn, op. cit., p. 60 et seq.

12
1.5 ILO Social Security Convention
The 1952 Convention No. 102 on Social Security (Minimum Standards) called on the
institutions or government departments administering medical care to cooperate with the general
vocational rehabilitation services, with a view to the return to suitable work of disabled workers.42
It also provided that ‘national laws or regulations may authorize such institutions or departments
to ensure provision for the vocational rehabilitation of handicapped persons.’

1.6 First ILO Recommendation devoted to Vocational Rehabilitation

What was to be one of the most important instruments in relation to persons with disabilities,
ILO Recommendation No. 99, was adopted in 1955. 43 Until the adoption of Convention No. 159
and Recommendation No. 168 almost thirty years later, this international instrument served as the
basis for all national legislation and practice concerning vocational guidance, vocational training
and placement of disabled persons.44

Using a definition of ‘disabled person’ which is substantively the same as that currently in use
by the ILO,45 the Recommendation built on key provisions of earlier instruments in relation, for
example, to mainstreaming of vocational training, equality of opportunity, no discrimination in
pay for equal work, and promotion of research. Methods of widening employment opportunities
for workers with disabilities, in close cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations,
included quotas, reserved occupations, creation of cooperatives and the establishment of sheltered
workshops. The role of the ILO, in providing technical advisory assistance, organizing
international exchanges of experience, and other forms of international cooperation including the
training of rehabilitation staff was spelled out. The Recommendation also included special
provisions for disabled children and young persons.

1.7 Further ILO Measures 1958-68

ILO Convention No. 111 and Recommendation No. 111 concerning Discrimination in
Employment and Occupation, which were adopted in 1958, outline policies of non-discrimination
in the promotion of equal opportunity and treatment in employment.46 Given the ILO’s previous
attention to persons with disabilities, it is somewhat surprising that disability was not specifically
included in these particular instruments as a prohibited ground of discrimination. A proposal to
include disability as a ground of discrimination is currently before the ILO Governing Body.

Mindful of the effects of technological change on jobs, the ILO issued a Resolution in 1965
concerning techniques employed by member States in the rehabilitation and training of disabled
persons for new forms of employment. 47

42
Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention (No. 102) 1952, Article 35
43
Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation (No. 99), 1955
44
ILO, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998
45
See ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, 2002
46
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111), 1958; Discrimination (Employment
and Occupation) Recommendation (No. 111), 1958
47
Resolution concerning Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons, 1965

13
 The ILO’s continuing interest in workers with disabilities was reflected in the requirement in
Convention No. 128 (1967) that members should, under prescribed conditions,
(a) provide rehabilitation services designed to prepare a disabled person wherever
possible for the resumption of previous activity, or, if this is not possible, the
most suitable alternative gainful activity, having regard to aptitudes and
capacity, and
(b) take measures to further the placement of disabled persons in suitable
employment.48
That the ILO was determined to progress policy in vocational rehabilitation and to eliminate
all discrimination in relation to the employment of disabled workers was evidenced in 1968 by a
Resolution of the International Labour Conference concerning disabled workers, requesting the
Director General to carry out appropriate studies to enable the Conference to consider the possible
revision of the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation No. 99, 1955 (No. 99), or
the possible adoption of a new international instrument. 49

1.8 International Covenants

In December 1966, the UN General Assembly adopted two important Covenants, on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and on Civil and Political Rights.50 Together with the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (see 1.3 above), they form the International Bill of Human
Rights.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which was drafted in
close collaboration with the ILO, contains a number of important provisions relating to work and
equal employment opportunity:

Article 6:
1. The States Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right to work, which
includes the right of everyone to the opportunity to gain his (sic) living by
work which he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate steps to
safeguard this right.
2. The steps to be taken… to achieve the full realization of this right shall
include technical and vocational guidance and training programmes, policies
and techniques to achieve steady economic, social and cultural development
and full and productive employment under conditions safeguarding
fundamental political and economic freedoms to the individual.
Article 7:
The States Parties… recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of just and
favourable conditions of work which ensure, in particular:
(a) Remuneration which provides all workers, as a minimum, with:

48
Invalidity, Old -Age and Survivors’ Benefits, Convention (No. 128), 1967, Article 13
49
Resolution concerning Disabled Workers, adopted 24 June 1968
50
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, adopted by General Assembly Resolution 2200A (xxi) of 16 Dec. 1966

14
 (i) Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value
without distinction of any kind, in particular women being
guaranteed conditions of work not inferior to those enjoyed by
men, with equal pay for equal work;
(ii) A decent living for themselves and their families in accordance
with the provisions of the present Covenant;
(b) Safe and healthy working conditions;
(c) Equal opportunity for everyone to be promoted in his employment to an
appropriate higher level, subject to no considerations other than those of
seniority and competence….;’ The Covenant also guarantees the right to
education. 51
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights contains no specific provisions on
employment, but it does include an important safeguard against discrimination: ‘All persons are
equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.
In this respect, the law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and
effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as race, colour, sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.’ 52

Although disability is not explicitly included in either Covenant among the prohibited
grounds of discrimination, it is encompassed by the term ‘or other status.’ 53

1.9 UN Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons

In 1971, the UN General Assembly proclaimed a Declaration on the Rights of Mentally
Retarded Persons.54 The Declaration affirmed that mentally retarded persons had the same rights
as everyone else. Specifically, they had a right to such education, training, rehabilitation and
guidance as would enable them to develop their ability and maximum potential; a right to
economic security and a decent standard of living; a right to perform productive work or to engage
in any other meaningful occupation to the fullest possible extent of their capabilities.

1.10 ILO Measures on the Development of Human Resources

ILO Convention No. 142 in 1975 called on member States to develop comprehensive and
coordinated policies and programmes of vocational guidance and vocational training, closely
linked with employment, in particular through public employment services. Systems of vocational
guida nce, including continuing employment information, were to be extended to ensure that
comprehensive information and the broadest possible guidance would be available to all,
including persons with disabilities.55

Recommendation No. 150 spelled out in considerable detail how the provisions of
Convention No. 142 should be effected. Persons with disabilities should have access to
mainstream vocational guidance and vocational training programmes provided for the general
51
Article 13
52
ICCPR, Article 2
53
UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment No. 5, 1994
54
UNGA Res. 2856 (xxvi) of 20 Dec. 1971
55
Human Resources Development Convention (No. 142), 1975

15
population or, where this was not desirable, to specially adjusted programmes. It recommended
that every effort should be made to educate the general public, employers and workers on the need
to provide disabled persons with guidance and training to enable them to find suitable
employment, on the adjustments in employment which some of them might require, and on the
desirability of special support for them in their employment. Persons with disabilities were, as far
as possible, to be integrated into productive life in a normal working environment.56

1.11 ILO Call for Comprehensive Campaign

The ILO Resolution adopted on 24 June 1975 was short, but particularly significant for a
number of reasons.57 Referring to the fact that Rehabilitation International had declared the 1970s
to be the Rehabilitation Decade, the Resolution acknowledged growing public recognition of the
need for special measures to integrate disabled persons into the community, deplored the fact that
too many persons with disabilities, the majority of whom lived in developing countries, had very
limited opportunity for work, and called on all public authorities and employers’ and workers’
organizations to promote maximum opportunities for disabled persons to perform, secure and
retain suitable employment . The Resolution called for a comprehensive campaign for vocational
rehabilitation and social integration of disabled persons, in cooperation and coordination with the
United Nations, its specialized agencies, and international, regional and non-governmental
organizations, a campaign which was to result, inter alia, in the International Year of Disabled
Persons and the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons.

1.12 UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons

The UN General Assembly, at the end of 1975, proclaimed a Declarat ion on the Rights of
Disabled Persons. The Declaration affirmed that disabled persons had the same civil and political
rights as other people, as well as the right to, inter alia, education, vocational training, counselling
and placement services, the right to secure and retain employment or to engage in a useful,
productive and remunerative occupation. 58 The Declaration proclaimed that these rights were for
all disabled persons without discrimination on the basis of sex or other grounds.

1.13 International Year of Disabled Persons

On 16 December 1976, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 1981 the International Year
of Disabled Persons, with the theme ‘full participation and equality’. 59 Towards the end of 1981,
the General Assembly urged member States to consolidate and build further on the results of the
International Year in order to secure prevention of disability, rehabilitation and full integration of
disabled persons into society. The General Assembly also urged the Secretary-General, the
specialized agencies and other UN bodies to undertake or expedite measures already under way to
improve employment opportunities for disabled persons within these bodies at all levels. 60

56
Human Resources Development Recommendation (No. 150), 1975
57
Resolution concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Disabled or Handicapped
Persons, adopted 24 June 1975
58
UNGA Res. 3447(xxx) of 9 Dec. 1975
59
UNGA Res. 31/123
60
UNGA Res. 36/77 of 8 Dec. 1981

16
1.14 UN World Programme of Action and Decade of Disabled Persons
One year later, the UN General Assembly, stressing that the primary responsibility for
promoting effective measures for prevention, rehabilitation and the realization of the goals of full
participation and equality rested with individual countries and that international action should be
directed to assist and support national efforts in this regard, adopted the World Programme of
Action (WPA) concerning Disabled Persons.61 On the same day, the General Assembly
proclaimed the period 1983-1992 United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons and encouraged
member States to utilize this period as one of the means to implement the World Programme of
Action. 62

The World Programme of Action contains three overall aims – prevention, rehabilitation and
equalization of opportunities. Equalization of opportunities is defined as:
‘ the process through which the general system of society, such as the physical and
cultural environment, housing and transportation, social and health services,
educational and work opportunities, cultural and social life, including sports and
recreational opportunities are made accessible to all.’ 63
The WPA states that ‘experience shows that it is largely the environment which determines
the effect of an impairment or a disability on a person’s daily life’,64 an acknowledgement which
epitomizes the shift from a care/welfare approach to a social/rights one. 65

1.15 ILO Convention No. 159

It will be recalled that the ILO had some years earlier proposed considering a possible
revision of the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation No. 99 of 1955, or the
possible adoption of a new international instrument (see 1.6 above). Recommendation No. 99,
which was not linked to a convention, played a significant role in influencing national legislation
and practice. The extent to which it did so confirmed the Director-General’s comment in his 1964
Report to the effect that while conventions lay down obligations, it is possible, in certain areas,
‘that a standard which can be widely accepted may well be more effective in practice than
obligations which are unlikely to be equally widely assumed.’66

Building on the ‘full participation and equality’ theme of the International Year, and goal of
the World Programme of Action, the ILO adopted the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
(Disabled Persons) Convention No. 159 and Recommendation No. 168 in 1983. The Convention
requires member States, in accordance with national conditions, practice and possibilities, to
formulate, implement and periodically review a national policy on vocational rehabilitation and
employment of disabled persons. The renewed emphasis on full participation is reflected in Article
61
UNGA Res. 37/52 of 3 Dec. 1982
62
UNGA Res. 37/53 of 3 De c. 1982
63
para. 12
64
para. 21
65
A traditional approach to disability was to view it as a problem of the person. Policy response tended to be to
try to reduce or eliminate the disability largely through medical rehabilitation and/or to provide care/welfare
supports. Equalisation of opportunities, on the other hand, recognises that society is disabling when it fails to
provide equal opportunities for participation to all its members, opportunities to exercise the equal rights to
which all are entitled.
66
Quoted in ILO, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998, p. 4

17
1.2, which describes the purpose of vocational rehabilitation as being to enable a disabled person
to secure, retain and advance in suitable employment and ‘thereby to further such person’s
integration or reintegration into society’,67 the highlighted phrase being an addition to
Recommendation No. 99. The ‘equality’ goal is captured in Article 4 of the Convention:
‘The said policy shall be based on the principle of equal opportunity between disabled
workers and workers generally. Equality of opportunity and treatment for disabled
men and women workers shall be respected. Special positive measures aimed at
effective equality of opportunity and treatment between disabled workers and other
workers shall not be regarded as discriminating against other workers.’
The clear recognition of both women and men with disabilities will be noted. The Convention
prescribes the action to be taken at national level to implement the policy. It also reminds
Members, as did Recommendation No. 99 nearly thirty years previously, of the need, not only to
provide the relevant services, but to evaluate them with a view to their continual improvement.
The equality theme runs through Recommendation No. 168: for example,

- disabled persons should enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of

access to, retention of and advancement in employment which, wherever possible,
corresponds to their own choice and takes account of their individual suitability for
such employment (Article 7);

- in providing vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance to disabled persons,

the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers
should be respected (Article 8);

- measures should be taken to promote employment opportunities for disabled workers

which conform to the employment and salary standards applicable to workers
generally (Article 10).

The Recommendation reminds Members that such measures should include the making of
‘reasonable adaptations to workplaces, job design, tools, machinery and work organization’ to
facilitate training and employment. Given the increasing shift away from the ‘caring’ to the
‘rights’ model which was then beginning to take place at national as well as international level, the
Recommendation is forthright in stating that disabled persons should be informed ‘about their
rights and opportunities in the employment field.’ 68

1.16 Monitoring the Implementation of Convention No. 159

The ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations
(CEACR) is one of two supervisory bodies with responsibility for the regular supervision of the
observance by member States of their standards-related obligations69 . Members of the CEACR,
appointed by the ILO Governing Body for a renewable period of three years, are appointed in a
personal capacity among impartial persons of technical competence and independent standing,
drawn from all parts of the world. The CEACR reviews the periodic reports of member States on

67
Emphasis added
68
Article 16
69
The other regular supervisory body is the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards.

18
the measures which they have taken to give effect to the provisions of Conventions which they
have ratified.

In its report on a General Survey on the implementation of the provisions of Convention No.
159 and Recommendation No. 168,70 the CEACR commented that the principle of equality of
opportunity and equality of treatment in employment for disabled persons requires particular
attention in an environment characterized by global competition and deregulation of labour
markets, and emphasized the applicability of the Convention to all member States.
‘Convention No. 159 is a promotional convention: it sets objectives and lays down
basic principles to be observed in attaining them. Because its provisions are flexible as
to the attainment of its objectives, due account can be taken of the situation prevailing
in each country. They can be applied in all member States, regardless of the stage they
have reached in their activities for the vocational rehabilitation and employment of
disabled persons’.
Recalling the fundamental importance of consultations between governments and the social
partners, the Committee emphasized that consulting representative organizations of persons with
disabilities on vocational rehabilitation and employment matters was a crucial element of the
consultation process. It went on to strongly urge member States to promote the formation of truly
representative organizations of people with disabilities and to facilitate communication between
such organizations and administrative and technical bodies involved in vocational rehabilitation.

Noting that governments had not supplied detailed information on the situation of people with
disabilities living in rural areas and isolated communities, the Committee observed that these
persons are doubly affected, by their disability and by their distance from services available to the
general population and to people with disabilities living in urban centers and highlighted the
importance of community-based rehabilitation programmes in facilitating the integration of some
disabled persons into the economic and social life of their communities.

Observing on a general trend in national practice concerning persons with disabilities towards
the use of general services for vocational guidance, training, placement, employment and other
related services which exist from workers in general, the Committee noted that this process of
mainstreaming has contributed considerably to changing negative ideas and attitudes in regard to
the place and role of people with disabilities in working life and in society.

In a final comment, the Committee emphasized that the implementation of the Convention’s
provisions and the measures advocated by Recommendation No. 168 did not necessarily require
vast resources, but depended on a commitment of the relevant stakeholders. In view of this and the
fact that both instruments take into account the diversity of national situations and conditions, it
urged member States which had not yet done so to ratify the Convention.

1.17 European Union Recommendation concerning employment for persons with

disabilities
The original six member States of the then European Economic Community (EEC) (now the
European Union) had relatively similar social systems and levels of economic development, and
70
ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998

19
they did not perceive social policy as a major issue of potential disagreement. Hence, between
1957 and the first enlargement of the EEC in 1973, 71 social policy was not a serious pre-
occupation. There were two exceptions: free movement of workers and equal opportunities. The
focus of equal opportunities legislation was, however, primarily on gender balance. Concern about
the need for an active social policy increased with the entry into the Community of Greece in 1981
and Spain and Portugal in 1986.

While the Council of Ministers had no formal competency until the Treaty of Amsterdam in
1997 to adopt legal measures in the disability field, this did not prevent it from adopting non-
binding Recommendations and Resolutions.72 73 In 1986, a Recommendation was adopted urging
member States ‘to take appropriate measures to promote fair opportunities for persons with
disabilities in the field of employment and vocational training.’

1.18 UN Convention Recommended

The Global Meeting of Experts to Review the Implementation of the World Programme of
Action concerning Disabled Persons at the Mid-Point of the United Nations Decade of Disabled
Persons was held in Stockholm in 1987. It was proposed that a guiding philosophy should be
developed to indicate priorities for action in the years ahead, and that the basis of that philosophy
should be the recognition of the rights of persons with disabilities. The Meeting recommended that
the General Assembly convene a special conference to draft an international convention on the
elimination of all forms of discrimination against people with disabilities, to be ratified by States
by the end of the Decade. A draft outline of a convention was prepared by the Government of Italy
and presented to the General Assembly at its forty-second session. Further presentations
concerning a draft convention were made by the Government of Sweden at the forty-fourth
session. On neither occasion could a consensus be reached on the suitability of a convention. In
the opinion of many representatives, existing human rights documents appeared to guarantee
persons with disabilities the same rights as others. 74

1.19 Council of Europe - Coherent Policy for the Rehabilitation of People with
Disabilities
Probably the best-known Council of Europe Recommendation concerning people with
disabilities was adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 1992. ‘A Coherent Policy for the
Rehabilitation of People with Disabilities’ 75 is more comprehensive than the title might suggest. In
fact, its sub-title ‘A model rehabilitation and integration programme for national authorities’ is
probably a more useful description of the document, which includes detailed sections on
prevention and health education, education, vocational guidance and training, employment, social

71
In 1973, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland joined
72
For a more detailed discussion see Degener & Quinn, op. cit., p. 94 et seq.
73
Unlike the Council of Europe, the European Community Treaty provides the Institutions of the European
Union with legal powers which can be imposed on member States. Two types of law are used: Regulations
are directly and automatically effective; Directives typically allow member States discretion as to the method
of implementation and usually allow a number of years before full implementation. Recommendations and
Resolutions are also issued but are not binding.
74
United Nations, The Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, 1994
75
Recommendation No. R (92) 6, 9 Apr. 1992

20
integration and environment, social, economic and legal protection, personnel training,
information, statistics and research.

1.20 Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons

The Asian and Pacific region has by far the largest number of persons with disabilities in the
world. Most of them are poor, their concerns unknown and their rights overlooked. In April 1992,
the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), recognizing that
more needed to be done and, building on the results of the UN Decade, proclaimed the period
1993 to 2002 as the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons. 76 Thirty-three governments
had co-sponsored the resolution, which was adopted by acclamation. In December 1992, the
meeting to launch the Decade adopted the Proclamation on the Full Participation and Equality of
People with Disabilities in the Asian and Pacific Region and the Agenda for Action for the Asian
and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993-2002. In April 1993, the Commission adopted the
Proclamation and Agenda for Action. 77 Training and Employment forms one of the major policy
categories in the framework of the agenda for action. 78

On 22 May 2002, ESCAP, while ‘recognizing that since the inception of the Asian and
Pacific Decade, an overall improvement in all twelve policy categories under the Agenda for
Action is evident, although achievements have been uneven, with significant achievements in the
areas of national coordination and legislation and some improvement in t he areas of the prevention
of causes of disability, rehabilitation services, access to built environments and development of
self-help organizations of disabled persons, but a continuing and alarmingly low rate of access to
education for children and youth with disabilities and marked subregional disparities in the
implementation of the Agenda for Action’, adopted a resolution extending the Asian and Pacific
Decade of Disabled Persons for a further decade, 2003-2012.79

1.21 UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with

Disabilities
The Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities were
adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 20 December 1993. 80

In its resolution to the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Committee described the
Rules as follows:
‘Although these Rules are not compulsory, they can become international customary
rules when they are applied by a great number of States with the intention of
respecting a rule in international law. They imply a strong moral and political
commitment on behalf of States to take action for the equalization of opportunities.
Important principles for responsibility, action and cooperation are indicated. Areas of

76
Resolution 48/3
77
Resolution 49/6
78
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons,
1993-2002: Mandates for Action. New York: United Nations, 1994
79
Resolution 58/4 ‘Promoting an inclusive, barrier-free and rights-based society for people with disabilities in
the Asian and Pacific region in the twenty-first century’
80
Resolution 48/96

21
 decisive importance for the quality of life and for the achievement of full participation
and equality are pointed out. These Rules offer an instrument for policy-making and
action to persons with disabilities and their organizations. They provide a basis for
technical and economic cooperation among States, the United Nations and other
international organizations.’ 81
There are 22 Rules, ranging from Awareness-raising to International Cooperation.
Employment is covered by Rule 7:
‘States should recognize the principle that persons with disabilities must be empowered
to exercise their human rights, particularly in the field of employment. In both rural
and urban areas they must have equal opportunities for productive and gainful
employment in the labour market.
1. Laws and regulations in the employment field must not discriminate against
persons with disabilities and must not raise obstacles to their employment.
2. States should actively support the integration of persons with disabilities into
open employment. This active support could occur through a variety of
measures, such as vocational training, incentive -oriented quota schemes,
reserved or designated employment, loans or grants for small business,
exclusive contracts or priority production rights, tax concessions, contract
compliance or other technical or financial assistance to enterprises employing
workers with disabilities. States should also encourage employers to make
reasonable adjustments to accommodate persons with disabilities.
3. States’ action programmes should include:
(a) measures to design and adapt workplaces and work premises in such a
way that they become accessible to persons with different disabilities;
(b) support for the use of new technologies and the development and
production of assistive devices, tools and equipment and measures to
facilitate access to such devices and equipment for persons with
disabilities to enable them to gain and maintain employment;
(c) provision of appropriate training and placement and ongoing support
such as personal assistance and interpreter services.
4. States should initiate and support public awareness-raising campaigns
designed to overcome negative attitudes and prejudices concerning workers
with disabilities.
5. In their capacity as employers, States should create favourable conditions for
the employment of persons with disabilities in the public sector.
6. States, workers’ organizations and employers should cooperate to ensure
equitable recruitment and promotion policies, employment conditions, rates of
pay, measures to improve the work environment in order to prevent injuries
and impairments and measures for the rehabilitation of employees who have
sustained employment-related injuries.
7. The aim should always be for persons with disabilities to obtain employment
in the open labour market. For persons with disabilities whose needs cannot be
met in open employment, small units of sheltered or supported employment
may be an alternative. It is important that the quality of such programmes be

81
A/C 3/48/C.3 1 Oct. 1993, p. 6

22
 assessed in terms of their relevance and sufficiency in providing opportunities
for persons with disabilities to gain employment in the labour market.
8. Measures should be taken to include persons with disabilities in training and
employment programmes in the private and informal sector.
9. States, workers’ organizations and employers should cooperate with
organizations of persons with disabilities concerning all measures to create
training and employment opportunities, including flexible hours, part-time
work, job-sharing, self-employment and attendant care for persons with
disabilities.’82
The Rules provide for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur to monitor implementation
and provide reports to the UN Commission for Social Development. An international panel of
experts may be consulted by the Special Rapporteur or, when appropriate, by the Secretariat, to
provide advice or feedback on the promotion, implementation and monitoring of the Rules.

There was inevitably some disappointment that the General Assembly had failed to agree on
introducing a Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and adopted the non-binding
Standard Rules instead. 83 Depouy, then Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention
of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, described the establishment of an international
body or mechanism to supervise respect for the human rights of disabled persons as ‘one of the
most cherished aims of the non-governmental organizations’. Writing in 1993, as the Standard
Rules were being finalized, he stated:
‘Despite the many actions undertaken throughout the Decade and the valuable results
that have been achieved for disabled persons in many respects, it must be said that, at
the end of this period, persons with disabilities are going to find themselves at a legal
disadvantage in relation to other vulnerable groups such as refugees, women, migrant
workers, etc. The latter have the protection of a single body of binding norms, such as
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women,
the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of their Families, etc. In addition, those Conventions have established
specific protection mechanisms: the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women and the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant
Workers and Members of their Families are in charge of supervising compliance with
the Conventions… …there is no specific body in charge of monitoring respect for the
human rights of disabled persons and acting, whether confidentially or publicly, when
particular violations occur. It can be said that persons with disabilities are equally as
protected as others by general norms, international covenants, regional conventions,
etc. But although this is true, it is also true that unlike the other vulnerable groups,
they do not have an international control body to provide them with particular and
specific protection’. 84

82
UN Standard Rules, pp. 25-27
83
For example, Degener and Quinn, op. cit., refer to the Standard Rules as ‘a compensatory alternative’ (p. 18)
84
Depouy, L. Human Rights and Disabled Persons, United Nations, 1993, pp. 40-41

23
1.22 Vienna Declaration
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Conference on
Human Rights on 25 June 1993, reinforced the fact that all human rights are universal, indivisible,
interdependent and interrelated. The Declaration noted (Article 22) that ‘special attention needs to
be paid to ensuring non-discrimination, and the equal enjoyment of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms by disabled persons, including their active participation in all aspects of
society’. The Declaration emphasized (Article 64) that persons with disabilities should be
guaranteed equal opportunity through the elimination of all socially determined barriers, be they
physical, financial, social or psychological, which exclude or restrict full participation in society. 85

1.23 Monitoring the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
in relation to Persons with Disabilities
Towards the end of 1994, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights issued
a salutary reminder that, notwithstanding the many international instruments adopted over the
years by the ILO and the United Nations, States Parties to the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights had devoted very little attention to ensuring the full
enjoyment of the relevant rights by persons with disabilities. 86 Attributing the absence of an
explicit, disability-related provision in the Covenant to the lack of awareness of the importance of
addressing this issue explicitly, rather than only by implication, at the time of the drafting of the
Covenant over twenty-five years previously, the Committee drew attention to a number of more
recent international human rights instruments which had addressed the issue specifically, including

 the Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 23)

 the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Article 18 (4)) and

 the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the

Area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Article 18).

Reminding governments that the ultimate responsibility was theirs for remedying the
conditions that lead to impairment and for dealing with the consequences of disability, the
Committee pointed out that the effects of disability-based discrimination had been particularly
severe in the fields of education, employment, housing, transport, cultural life and access to public
places and services. Regarding the rights relating to work contained in Articles 6 to 8 of the
Covenant, the Committee considered the field of employment as one in which discrimination had
been both prominent and persistent. In most countries, the unemployment rate among persons with
disabilities was two to three times higher than the unemployment rate for others. Persons with
disabilities were mostly engaged in low-paid jobs with little social and legal security and often
segregated from the mainstream labour market. As the ILO had frequently noted87 , physical
barriers such as inaccessible transport, housing and workplaces were often the main reasons why
persons with disabilities were not employed. The Committee drew attention to the valuable and

85
UN General Assembly A/Conf. 157/23, 12 July 1993
86
General Comment No. 5 (1994)
87
For example in IOL Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998

24
comprehensive instruments developed by the ILO, including in particular Convention No. 159,
and urged States Parties to the Covenant to consider ratifying that Convention.

The methods to be used by States parties in seeking to implement their obligations under the
Covenant towards persons with disabilities are, the Committee pointed out, essentially the same as
those in relation to other obligations. They include the need to ascertain, through regular
monitoring, the nature and scope of the problems existing within the country concerned, the need
to adopt appropriately tailored policies and programmes to respond to what is required, the need to
legislate where necessary to prohibit discrimination and to eliminate any existing discriminatory
legislation, and the need to make budgetary provisions or, where necessary, seek international
cooperation and assistance. International cooperation is likely to be a particularly important
element in enabling some developing countries to fulfil their obligations under the Covenant.

The Committee drew particular attention to the situation of women with disabilities: ‘Persons
with disabilities are sometimes treated as genderless human beings. As a result, the double
discrimination suffered by women with disabilities is often neglected. Despite frequent calls by the
international community for particular emphasis to be placed upon their situation, very few efforts
have been undertaken during the Decade.’ The Committee urged States Parties to address the
situation of women with disabilities, with high priority being given in future to the implementation
of economic, social and cultural rights-based programmes.

The right to the enjoyment of ‘just and favourable conditions of work’ (Article7 of the
Covenant) applies to all disabled workers, whether they work in the open labour market or in
sheltered employment. The right to join a trade union (Article 8) similarly applies to all disabled
workers. Social security and income -maintenance schemes are particularly important for persons
with disabilities. The Committee referred to the UN Standard Rules, which state that States should
ensure the provision of adequate income support to persons with disabilities who, owing to
disability or disability-related factors, have temporarily lost or received a reduction in their income
or have been denied employment opportunities. Such support should reflect the special needs for
assistance and other expenses associated with disability. Support provided, adds the Committee,
should also, as far as possible, cover individuals (who are generally female) who undertake the
care of a person with disabilities: such persons are often in need of financial support because of
their assistance role.

1.24 Copenhagen Declaration

The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by the World Summit for
Social Development in March 1995, acknowledged that people with disabilities, who form one of
the world’s largest minorities, are too often forced into poverty, unemployment and social
isolation. In relation to employment, the Heads of State and Government at the Summit committed
themselves, inter alia, to put the creation of employment, the reduction of unemployment and the
promotion of appropriately and adequately remunerated employment at the centre of strategies and
policies of Governments, in full respect for workers’ rights, and giving special attention to
disadvantaged groups and individuals including persons with disabilities. The elimination of all
forms of discrimination is emphasized throughout the Declaration, and the Programme of Action
includes ‘taking effective measures to bring to an end all de jure and de facto discrimination

25
against persons with disabilities.’ 88 In a specific employment reference, the Programme states that
broadening the range of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities requires:

(a) ‘Ensuring that laws and regulations do not discriminate against persons with
disabilities;

(b) Taking proactive measures, such as organizing support services, devising incentive
schemes and supporting self-help schemes and small businesses;

(c) Making appropriate adjustments in the workplace to accommodate persons with

disabilities, including in that respect the promotion of innovative technologies;

(d) Developing alternative forms of employment, such as supported employment, for

persons with disabilities who need these services;

(e) Promoting public awareness within society regarding the impact of the negative
stereotyping of persons with disabilities on their participation in the labour market.’89

The Declaration and Programme of Action makes frequent mention of the need to achieve
equality and equity between women and men, including women and men with disabilities. In the
context of work and employment, parties to the Declaration commit themselves

- to promote changes in attitudes, structures, policies, laws and practices in order to eliminate
all obstacles to human dignity, equality and equity in the family and in society, and to
promote full and equal participation of urban and rural women and women with disabilities,
in social, economic and political life, including in the formulation, implementation and
follow-up of public policies and programmes;

- to promoting and attaining the goals of universal and equitable access to quality
education….making particular efforts to rectify inequalities relating to social conditions and
without distinction as to race, national origin, gender, age or disability;

- to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to rehabilitation and other independent
living services and assistive technology to enable them to maximize their well-being,
independence and full participation in society.

The Programme of Action acknowledges that empowerment and participation are essential
for democracy, harmony and social development and that gender equality and equity and the full
participation of women in all economic, social and political activities is essential: ‘the obstacles
that have limited the access of women to decision-making, education, health-care services and
productive employment must be eliminated…’ 90

The Programme calls on governments to enhance the quality of work and employment by,
inter alia

88
Programme of Action, para. 15 (i)
89
idem: para. 62
90
idem: p. 29

26
 - observing and fully implementing the human rights obligations that they have assumed

- safeguarding and promoting respect for workers’ basic rights, including freedom of
association and the right to organize and bargain collectively, equal pay for equal work and
non-discrimination in employment, and fully implementing the ILO conventions in the case
of States party to them.

1.25 EU Treaty Amendment Prohibiting Discrimination

Within the EU, disability issues had been largely regarded as a matter of social policy. The
European Commission, in a social policy White Paper published in 1994

- acknowledged that there was a need to build the fundamental right to equal opportunities
into European Union policies

- said it would ensure, through appropriate mechanisms, that the needs of disabled people
were taken into account in relevant legislation programmes and initiatives

- said it would prepare an appropriate instrument endorsing the UN Standard Rules on the
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

- promised it would prepare a code of good practice in relation to its own personnel policies
and practices on employing persons with disabilities

- said that, at the next opportunity to review the EU Founding Treaties, serious consideration
must be given to the introduction of a specific reference to combating discrimination on the
grounds of disability. 91

In December 1996, the EU Social Council adopted a Resolution which reaffirmed the
commitment of the member States to

- the principles and values that underlie the UN Standard Rules

- the ideas underlying the Council of Europe’s 1992 Resolution on a coherent policy for the
rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (see section 1.188)

- the principle of equality of opportunity in the development of comprehensive policies in the

field of rehabilitation

- the principle of avoiding or eliminating any form of negative discrimination on the grounds
of disability.

Also in December 1996, the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) - basically heads of

government of EU member States meeting to review the EU Treaties - agreed to include in the
draft revised Treaties a new article prohibiting discrimination based on a number of grounds,

91
‘European Social Policy – A Way Forward for the Union’.

27
including disability. What was finally approved in the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, however,
was a watered-down version of what had been agreed at the IGC:
‘….the Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission and after
consulting the European Parliament, may take appropriate action to combat
discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age
or sexual orientation.’ 92
While generally welcomed as an important step in the right direction, the amendment fell far
short - particularly in the requirement for unanimity and the optional nature of the provision - of
what many had hoped for.

1.26 Council of Europe: European Social Charter

The European Social Charter deals with economic and social rights. The original Charter was
opened for signature in 1961 and entered into force in 1965. It was added to in 1988 and
extensively revised in 1996. 93 In developing the Charter, the Council of Europe paid particular
attention to the work of, and the measures adopted by the ILO.

Part 1 sets out general principles which Contracting Parties undertake to accept. These
include the rights of everyone to appropriate facilities for vocational guidance (Article 9) and
vocational training (Article 10), the right of persons with a disability to independence, social
integration and participation in the life of the community (Article 15), and the right of everyone to
protection against poverty and social exclusion (Article 30).

Part 11 lists the obligations to which Contracting Parties are bound under each of the 31
articles in Part 1, which results in protection of rights in over one hundred areas. The breakdown
of Article 15, for example, reads as follows:
‘With a view to ensuring to persons with disabilities, irrespective of age and the nature
and origin of their disabilities, the effective exercise of the right to independence,
social integration and participation in the life of the community, the Parties undertake,
in particular:
1. to take the necessary measures to provide persons with guidance, education and
vocational training in the framework of general schemes wherever possible, or where
this is not possible, through specialized bodies, public or private;

2. to promote their access to employment through all measures tending to encourage

employers to hire and keep in employment persons with disabilities in the ordinary
working environment and to adjust the working conditions to the needs of the
disabled or, where this is not possible by reason of the disability, by arranging for or
creating sheltered employment according to the level of disability. In certain cases,
such measures may require recourse to specialized placement and support services;

92
Article 13
93
European Social Charter (Revised), Strasbourg, 3 May 1996. Any references in the above text are to the 1996
version.

28
 3. to promote their full social integration and participation in the life of the community
in particular through measures, including technical aids, aiming to overcome barriers
to communication and mobility and enabling access to transport, housing, cultural
activities and leisure.’

Notwithstanding its title, the European Social Charter is a legally binding treaty. However,
the number of rights protected depends on whether the Contracting Party has ratified the original
Charter, the 1988 Additional Protocol or the Revised Charter 1996. For example, under Part 111
of the 1996 Charter, a Contracting Party must agree to be bound by at least six of nine listed
Articles of Part 11. Article 15 is not included in this ‘core’ list. In addition, the Contracting Party
must agree to be bound by an additional number of articles or numbered paragraphs of Part 11
which it may select, provided that the total number of articles or numbered paragraphs by which it
is bound is not less than sixteen articles or sixty-three numbered paragraphs. Member States which
have only ratified the original Charter are only bound by a minimum of five out of seven core
articles and at least five others or forty-five paragraphs.

Allowing for the unusual ‘a la carte’ manner of obligations accepted, the European Social
Charter is still a valuable treaty which more member States should be encouraged to ratify. Non-
governmental organizations, in particular, need to be made more aware of its potential in terms of
promoting and advancing the rights of persons with disabilities.94

1.27 The Inter-American Convention

The Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against
Persons with Disabilities was adopted in June 1999. The Convention does not include rights. It is
the first regional treaty to define discrimination against persons with disabilities. The term
“discrimination against persons with disabilities” in this Convention means any distinction,
exclusion, or restriction based on a disability, record of disability, whether present or past, which
has the effect or objective of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment, or exercise by a
person with a disability of his or her human rights and fundamental freedoms. (Article 1.2a).

1.28 African Decade of Disabled Persons

The African Decade of Disabled Persons (1999-2009) was declared in July 2000 by
Organization of African Unity (OAU) Heads of State and Government. A Continental Action Plan
was adopted unanimously by participants at the Pan African Conference on the African Decade in
February 2002. The Action Plan is intended to provide guidance to member States and
Governments of the OAU in achieving the goal of the Decade – the full participation, equality and
empowerment of persons with disabilities in Africa. The Action Plan includes a range of measures
to be undertaken by member States in order to meet the objectives of promoting the participation
of persons with disabilities in the process of economic and social development, and to ensure and
improve access to training and employment.
94
See Kenny, T. Securing Social Rights across Europe: How NGOs can make use of the European Social
Charter, Strasbourg: Human Rights Centre, 1997; Council of Europe, The Social Charter of the 21st Century
– NGO Forum, Strasbourg, 12-13 May 1997, H/NGO (97) Forum 4; Council of Europe, The Implementation
of the Collective Complaints Procedure: Opinion of the Non-Governmental Organisations, Strasbourg, 14-16
May 1997, S C Coll/rep 12 e.

29
1.29 EU Charter of Fundamental Rights
The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union was proclaimed at the Nice
European Summit in December 2000. The Charter sets out, for the first time in the history of the
European Union, the full range of civil, political, economic and social rights of all European
citizens and all persons resident in the EU, including persons with disabilities. In the context of
work and employment, the most relevant provisions are:

- the right to human dignity (Article 1)

- the right to education and to have access to vocational and continuing training (Article 14.1)

- the right to engage in work and to pursue a freely chosen or accepted occupation (Article
15.1)

- any discrimination based on any ground including disability is prohibited (Article 21)

- equality between men and women must be ensured in all areas, including employment,
work and pay (Article 23)

- the right of persons with disabilities to benefit from measures designed to ensure their
independence, social and occupational integration and participation in the life of the
community (Article 26)

- the right of access to a free placement service (Article 29)

- the right to protection against unjustified dismissal, in accordance with Community law and
national laws and practices (Article 30)

- the right to working conditions which respect health, safety and dignity (Article 31.1)

- the entitlement to social security benefits and social services (Article 34.1).

A decision on the legal force of the Charter has been postponed until the next Treaty revis ion
discussions in 2004.

1.30 EU Directive on Discrimination

A new EU Directive on discrimination in employment was adopted by the EU Social Affairs
Ministers at the end of 2000. 95 The Directive prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on a
number of grounds, including disability, and applies, inter alia, to selection criteria and recruitment
conditions, vocational guidance, vocational training, employment and working conditions,
including pay. Importantly, the Directive states that ‘reasonable accommodation’ shall be
provided, which means that employers are to take appropriate measures, where needed, to enable a
person with a disability to have access to, participate in, or advance in employment, or to provide
training, unless such measures would impose a ‘disproportionate burden’ on the employer.
95
Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 Nov. 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in
employment and occupation. OJL 303, 2 Dec. 2000, pp. 16-22

30
 On age and disability, the Directive allows member States to take a further three years, if
necessary, beyond the normal three years to transpose the Directive into national law. Any
Member State doing so is required to report annually to the European Commission on the progress
it is making towards implementation.

1.31 Women with Disabilities

All human rights are universal and therefore unreservedly include women and men with
disabilities. Every person is born equal and has the same rights to life and welfare, education and
work, living independently and active participation in all aspects of society. Any direct or indirect
discrimination against a disabled woman or man is a violation of her or his rights.

Women with disabilities are more vulnerable to discrimination, (a) because they are women
and (b) because they have a disability. Many women with disabilities are further discriminated
against because they are poor. This double or treble discrimination suffered by women with
disabilities is often ignored or goes unnoticed because persons with disabilities are sometimes
treated as though they are genderless human beings. It is also largely neglected because little
information is available on its extent or impact. This situation does not appear to be improving. In
1993, for example, the then Special Rapporteur of the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities expressed his disappointment ‘at the virtually total
lack of bibliographic material on the specific problems of women with disabilities.’96 The UN
Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities, adopted in
December 1993, concern all people with disabilities, regardless of gender, race, age, etc, but
contain few direct references to the gender dimension, a fact regretted by the Special Rapporteur
of the UN Commission for Social Development.97

The 1998 report of the first General Survey on the application of Convention No. 159 and
Recommendation No. 168, both in States which have ratified the Convention and in those which
have not, comments succinctly on equality of opportunity and treatment between disabled men
and disabled women workers98 .
‘People with disabilities face many obstacles in their struggle for equality. Although
both men and women with disabilities are subject to discrimination, women with
disabilities are double disadvantaged by discrimination based on gender and their
disability status. Women with disabilities are more likely tha n their male
counterparts to be poor or destitute, illiterate or without vocational skills, and most
of them are unemployed. They have less access to rehabilitation services, they are
more likely to be without family or community support and they often suffer greater
social isolation due to their disability. The situation is dramatic, and the Director-
General of the ILO in 1981 pointed out that poor disabled women are all too
frequently deprived of all human rights. 99

96
Depouy, L. Human Rights and Disabled Persons. New York: United Nations, 1993, p. 20
97
Report to the Commission, Feb. 2000
98
ILO: Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998
99
ILO: Report of the Director General, ILC, 67th Session, Geneva, 1981.

31
1.31.1 Employment Barriers for Women wi th Disabilities
People with disabilities in general face difficulties in entering the open labour market, but,
seen from a gender perspective, men with disabilities are almost twice as likely to have jobs than
disabled women. 100 When women with disabilities work, they often experience unequal hiring and
promotion standards, unequal access to training and retraining, unequal access to credit and other
productive resources, unequal pay for equal work and occupational segregation, and they rarely
participate in economic decision-making. 101

A general trend worldwide is that women with disabilities are less likely to be referred to
vocational training, have a harder time gaining access to rehabilitation programmes, are less likely
to obtain equality in training, and if they are successfully rehabilitated, it is more likely to lead to
part-time jobs or worse-unemployment. Among the general public and rehabilitation counsellors,
the attitude still persists that women with disabilities are passive, dependent, and not capable of or
interested in taking up an occupation leading to employment. Studies have found that, even in rich
countries, major programmes designed to assist people with disabilities, such as supplemental
security income, disability insurance, workers’ compensation and vocational rehabilitation,
disadvantage women because of their relationship to labour market participation. Not only do
women receive fewer benefits than men, they also draw lower benefits. Moreover, despite their
greater need, disabled women receive less from public income support programmes.102

The ILO Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, in the report
of the General Survey on Convention No. 159 and Recommendation 168, notes that the reports
communicated by governments indicate that most countries apply the principle of equality of
opportunity in the fields of education, training and employment, without distinction based on race,
colour, sex, language or any other ground, such as disability. However, the general trend is to have
special initiatives for people with disabilities, but without targeting disabled women as a
vulnerable group that needs support. Consequently, since the legal framework is gender-neutral,
discrimination against women with disabilities can easily take place without being registered.

In order to combat discrimination against women with disabilities in training and

employment, several measures have been taken by the ILO, and these are reflected in a number of
standards, resolutions and policy statements.. The last resolution concerning ILO action for
women workers, adopted in 1991, reaffirmed the Organization’s concern for women workers,
including women with disabilities. Lastly, ILO Convention No. 159 states that equality of
100
For example, according to a study carried out in the United States almost 42 per cent of men with disabilities
are in the labour force, compared to 24 per cent of women. In addition, while more than 30 per cent of
disabled men work full time, only 12 per cent of disabled women are in full-time employment. Women with
disabilities who work full time earn only 56 per cent of the earnings of full-time employed men with
disabilities (these figures are taken from Bowe: Disabled women in America: A statistical report drawn from
census data (1984). Only 3 per cent of disabled women are registered in the labour force in Ghana (1996), 0.3
per cent in India (1991) and 19 per cent in the Philippines (1992). Most working women with disabilities are
to be found in the informal sector (E. Messel: Employment strategies for women with disabilities, paper
presented at the International Leadership Forum for Women with Disabilities (Washington, DC, 15-20 June
1997).
101
ILO; “Women swell ranks of working poor”, in World of Work, No. 17, Sep.-Oct. 1996, ILO Geneva.
102
N. Mudrick: “Disabled women and public policies for income support” (a study on the influence of income
support on the lives of women with disabilities), in M. Fine and A. Asch (eds.): Women with disabilities:
Essays in psychology, culture and politics (Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1988).

32
opportunity and treatment of disabled men and women workers shall be respected. The
Convention can be used in a strategy to remove barriers which stand in the way of full
participation and integration of women with disabilities in the mainstream of society and in the
economy.’ 103

The particular situation of women with disabilities continues to be inadequately addressed. A

recent study of employment policies for persons with disabilities for the European Commission
concluded in relation to this issue that ‘the gender perspective is generally not well integrated into
disability policy and little information is available on the differential impact of employment
policies for disabled people on men and women.’ 104

States parties to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

against Women are requested to include information on women with disabilities in their periodic
reports. In a sample of reports surveyed in 2001, little consistent reporting on the double
discrimination experienced by women with disabilities was found. 105

1.32 Education and Training

Fitting-persons-to-jobs and fitting-jobs-to-persons are multi-faceted processes. The key roles
played by education and training in particular continues to be highlighted by the ILO. These issues
were again cogently addressed by the International Labour Conference in 2000. The Conference
underlined the fact that education and training are essential for economic and employment growth
and social development.
‘Education and training are a means to empower people, improve the quality and
organization of work, enhance citizens’ productivity, raise workers’ incomes, improve
enterprise competitiveness, promote job security and social equity and inclusion.
Education and training are therefore a central pillar of decent work.’ 106
The Conference emphasized that education and training must cover everyone, and must be
carefully targeted at persons with special needs, including people with disabilities. In addition to
education and training, vocational guidance and counselling, job placement services, recruitment
and selection practices, educational and labour market information, job design, ergonomics,
working conditions and rewards, attitudes and motivation, all play inter-related roles in the whole
employment process 107 and need to be considered as part of work and employment policy for
persons with disabilities.

103
ILO, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998, pp. 35-36
104
Benchmarking employment policies for people with disabilities. European Commission, 2000.
105
Quinn, G. and Degener, T. Human Rights and Disability, summary report to the Office of the UN High
Commissioner on Human Rights, Feb. 2002.
106
ILC. Eighty-eighth Session, Geneva, 2000, Conclusions concerning human resources training and
development.
107
For detailed suggestions on placement strategies and practices see (1) Murray B and Heron R, Placement of
Job-seekers with Disabilities and (2) Heron R and Murray B, Assisting Disabled Persons in Finding
Employment – A Practical Guide, ILO, 1999 and 1997 resp.

33
1.33 A New Convention?
It will be recalled that, towards the end of the 1980s, efforts were made to have the UN
General Assembly elaborate a convention on the rights of persons with disabilities: the efforts
failed because of lack of sufficient support. It is interesting to note Depouy’s comment that those
discussions of the General Assembly concluded ‘with the postponement of that initiative’.108

The United Nations Consultative Expert Group Meeting in 1998 on International Norms and
Standards relating to Disability, in the course of considering more effective ways to promote and
protect the human rights of persons with disabilities, discussed, inter alia, the possible advantages
and disadvantages in formulating a new international instrument. 109

In 1999, the General Assembly of Rehabilitation International adopted a new Charter which
called, inter alia, for an international convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Representatives of Disabled People’s International, Inclusion International, Rehabilitation
International, World Blind Union and World Federation of the Deaf, meeting in Beijing in March
2000, expressed serious concern that UN instruments ‘have yet to create a significant impact on
improving the lives of people with disabilities’ and called for international collaboration towards
the development and adoption of a convention.

The UN Commission on Human Rights was also concerned about the adequacy of existing
measures. At its meeting in April 2000, the Commission adopted a Resolution 110 which invited the
High Commissioner for Human Rights to examine measures to strengthen the protection and
monitoring of the human rights of persons with disabilities. In response, the Office of the High
Commissioner commissioned a study to evaluate existing standards and mechanisms in the field
of human rights and disability. The preliminary findings of the study were presented at a meeting
in Geneva on 14 January 2002.

Meanwhile, in December 2001, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution 111 which
established an Ad Hoc Committee, open to the participation of all member States and observers to
the United Nations, to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral internatio nal
convention to protect and promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, based on the
holistic approach in the work done in the field of social development.

Participants at the 14 January 2002 meeting in Geneva agreed on the need for a multiple
approach to disability. There was wide agreement on the need for a focus on the human rights
dimension of the issues involved. The findings of the study underline how the drafting of a new
convention should not be seen as an alternative to strengthening attention to disability within the
existing international human rights system (‘twin- track approach’). The discussion broadened that
approach further, highlighting the need to strengthen social development efforts in the field of

108
Depouy, op. cit., para. 281 (emphasis added)
109
Report of the United Nations Consultative Expert Group Meeting on International Norms and Standards
relating to Disability, Univ. of California at Berkeley, 8-12 Dec. 1988
110
2000/51
111
56/168

34
disability and to integrate better the United Nations work in that domain with reinforced attention
to the matter from a human rights perspective (‘multi-track approach’).112

112
Note by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Study on Human Rights and Disability’, 14 Feb. 2002

35
 CHAPTER 2 -
WORK AND EMPLOYMENT OPTIONS
Persons with disabilities should enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of
access to, retention of and advancement in employment which, wherever possible, corresponds to
their own choice and takes account of their individual suitability for such employment. 113 Such
employment includes jobs in the open labour market which, again subject to individual suitability,
are open to persons without disabilities. For persons with disabilities for whom, for reasons of
choice and/or suitability, open employment may not be appropriate, alternative forms of
employme nt of a sheltered or supported nature are usually provided. There are numerous
variations of these options, across countries, depending on factors such as tradition and culture,
economic, social and labour market conditions, social welfare benefit systems, availability of
trained personnel, and influence of stakeholders, including disability organizations.

This chapter gives an overview of employment for persons with disabilities under four broad
headings:

 Open/Competitive Employment, including Self-Employment114

 Sheltered Employment

 Supported Employment

 Social Enterprises.

The next chapter will discuss measures to facilitate entry to and retention in employment
under each approach, with particular reference to employment policy and practice in industrialized
countries.

2.1 Open/Competitive Employment

The absence of adequate data in many countries makes generalization difficult. From the
information available, however, it is possible to draw some tentative conclusions about the current
situation. 115

The participation rate of persons with disabilities in the open labour force tends to be
considerably lower than that of other workers.

In Australia, the participation rate for males with a disability was about 60 per cent in 1998,
compared with 90 per cent for persons without a disability. The corresponding figures for females
were 46 per cent and 71 per cent, respectively. The unemployment rate among males with a

113
ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation No. 168, 1983
114
Self-employment is not dealt with as a separate category here, as it can exist under all categories.
115
For more detailed discussion, see European Commission, Benchmarking employment policies for people
with disabilities, 2000. This report covers Australia, Japan and the United States in addition to the 15 EU
member States.

37
disability was 14 per cent compared with 8 per cent for males with no disability. Corresponding
rates for females were 9 per cent and 8 per cent respectively.

In Canada, the general labour market availability of persons with disabilities was 6.5 per cent
in 2001, but they made up only 2.4 per cent of the federally regulated workforce. Disabled persons
were under-represented in every industrial sector, ranging from a low of 1.8 per cent in
transportation to 2.3 per cent in banking, 2.4 per cent in communications and 2.9 per cent in
‘other’ sectors. 116

In France, the unemployment rate for disabled workers in 1996 was three times higher than
that for the overall active population. Over the previous 10 years, the overall unemployment rate
increased by 23 per cent, but by 194 per cent for unemployed persons with disabilities. Disabled
workers who are unemployed tend to remain unemployed twice as long.

In Germany in 1997, the labour market participation rate for severely disabled persons was 37
per cent (West), compared with that for non-disabled persons of 80 per cent for men and 63 per
cent for women. The gap between the unemployment rate for persons with disabilities and the
overall unemployment rate widened between 1994 and 1997, rising from 15 per cent to 17.9 per
cent (disabled persons) and from 9.6 per cent to 11.4 per cent (overall). As in France, the duration
of unemployment tends to be almost twice as long as for workers without disability.

In Sweden, of the population between 16 and 64 years of age with a disability in 1998, 60 per
cent were employed, compared with 72 per cent in the general population. The unemployment
rates were 9 per cent (disabled workers) and 5 per cent (non-disabled workers).

In the United Kingdom, people with disabilities account for almost 20 per cent of the working
age population, but only about 12 per cent of all in employment. Disabled people are over six
times as likely to be out of work and claiming benefits as persons without disabilities.

In general, persons with disabilities in the labour market tend to have a lower level of
education than others. They are also more likely to be in part-time jobs. Unemployment rates vary
between types of disability, being highest among those with mental illness. In the U.K. it is
estimated that 75 per cent of those of working age with mental illness are unemployed. Based on a
review of available information, reasons given for high unemployment rates among persons with
disabilities include:

 Low level of education and training

 Declining demand for unskilled labour

 Reductions in the workforce of large enterprises and the public service

 Concern about accidents and insurance costs

 Reluctance to register as having a disability

116
National Institute of Disability Management and Research, Annual Report 2001, p. 4

38
  Lack of information on work opportunities

 Lack of awareness among employers of needs and abilities of persons with

disabilities

 ‘Benefits trap’

 Fear of losing welfare benefits

 Inadequate technical/personal supports

2.1.1 More Active Labour Market Policy

Many countries are concerned about increasing levels of unemployment among persons with
disabilities and their low rate of labour market participation, linked to concerns about increasing
social assistance costs. Details of specific measures are contained in the following chapter, but the
general thrust of new policy moves reflects a greater emphasis on greater activation of labour
market policy through:

 Measures to prevent and discourage welfare dependency

 Mainstreaming of employment and training services for persons with disabilities

 Incentives to participate in educational, training and work initiatives

 Greater involvement of employers

 Improving employment support services

 A more effective implementation of anti-discrimination legislation

 Greater enforcement of existing quota scheme provisions.

At present, passive measures (income transfers) consume a considerably greater proportion of

public resources than active labour market measures. While the scope for shifting the balance may
appear to be great, relatively high unemployment rates, coupled with a general economic
downturn in many countries, are making it difficult to implement some of these measures
effectively.

2.2 Sheltered Employment

It is generally accepted that for some disabled persons, open employment may not for various
reasons be a practicable option. In calling for measures to promote employment opportunities for
persons with disabilities, the ILO has recommended that such measures should include
‘appropriate government support for the establishment of various types of sheltered employment
for disabled persons for whom access to open employment is not practicable.’ 117 The UN Standard

117
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation (No. 168), 1983 (emphasis
added)

39
Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities states that while the aim
should always be for persons with disabilities to obtain employment in the open labour market,
‘for persons with disabilities whose needs cannot be met in open employment, small units of
sheltered or supported employment may be an alternative.’ 118

As the above ILO recommendation implies, there are possibilities for different types of
sheltered employment. In their survey of sheltered employment in various countries, Samoy and
Waterplas found that even the concept of sheltered employment does not have the same meaning
for all people:
‘When government officials are asked to present their system of sheltered employment
to foreigners (such as the authors), they will sometimes refer exclusively to
organizations providing productive work (in industry or services) to persons with
disabilities who have an employment contract and receive a wage. Other officials
from the same state or officials from another state may want to include organizations
where productive work is certainly not the only and often not even the main aim and
where persons with disabilities have no employment contract and receive no wages
but only a bonus in addition to their disability pension. Other interested parties, such
as workshop organizations or organizations of and for people with disabilities, may
share this view or disagree.’ 119
In their report, Samoy and Waterplas adopted a broad view of sheltered workshops, including
types of organization close to occupational centres or day centres. However, a minimum of
productive activity was required for an organization to be included. For countries where such
institutions are normally not considered as sheltered work, some information was gathered in
order to make comparisons possible.

The Council of Europe also uses a broad definition of sheltered employment:

‘Sheltered employment should be open to people who, because of their disability, are
unable to obtain or keep a normal job, whether supported or not; it can cover a
number of diversified situations, amongst which are sheltered workshops and work
centres. Sheltered work should have a double purpose: to make it possible for people
with disabilities to carry out a worthwhile activity and to prepare them, as far as
possible, for wor k in normal employment. To this end, all ways of facilitating the
passage from supported to ordinary employment should be devised, such as: the
setting up of sheltered work sections in work centres or work centres in sheltered
workshops; the setting up of sheltered work sections or work centres within ordinary
firms; individual or collective detachment of workers in sheltered workshops or work
centres to ordinary firms.’120
Some countries have found it useful, for planning purposes, to make distinctions between
certain forms of work and employment. In Ireland, for example, a committee set up to advise on a
strategy for employment for persons with disabilities in sheltered and supported work and
employment used the following definitions:

118
Rule 7 (7)
119
Samoy, E. and Waterplas, L. Sheltered Employment in five member states of the Council of Europe: Austria,
Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. Council of Europe, 1997, p. 6
120
Council of Europe, A coherent policy for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, 1992

40
 Work is the undertaking of organized tasks which may attract some forms of
remuneration, but which is not covered by employment protection legislation or pay-
related social insurance.
Employment is remunerated work which complies with statutory requirements in regard
to employment protection legislation, pay-related social insurance and income tax
liability.
Sheltered Work is work undertaken by persons with disabilities in workshops
specifically established for that purpose. People working in sheltered workshops
retain their s ocial insurance benefits and usually receive a small additional weekly
payment from the work provider. Sheltered workers are not employed and are not
covered by employment protection legislation.
Sheltered Employment is employment in an enterprise established specifically for the
employment of persons with disabilities and which is in receipt of special funding
from the State. 121
Many countries operate some form of sheltered employment system. 122 Comparison between
countries is difficult for a number of reasons, not least because the concept of sheltered
employment does not have the same meaning to all, even within the same country. A number of
general points may, however, be made.

 The philosophy of sheltered employment has been hotly debated in some countries
(e.g. Australia, United States) in recent years, with other supported employment
measures coming more into favour. In Europe, there appears to be little consensus,
with some countries providing a significantly smaller number of sheltered
employment places (per 1000 workforce) than others.

 Many sheltered workshops owe their origin to voluntary effort, often charities,
religious groups or groups of concerned parents. Gradually, they became subject to
state regulation and eligible for state subsidization.

 In general, sheltered employment was intended for persons who were unable or
unlikely to obtain or retain a job in the open labour market because of the severity of
their disability or limited working capacity. In many cases, a minimum level of
disability is specified as an entry requirement. The majority of those employed tend to
have an intellectual disability, though in some cases no distinction appears to be made
between intellectual disability and mental illness.

 In most countries, improving transition to the regular labour market is a stated policy
goal of sheltered employment. In reality, transition rates range from under 1 per cent

121
Employment Challenges for the Millennium. Report of the NACTE Steering Group on Sheltered and
Supported Work and Employment, NRB, 1997
122
For a detailed discussion see Samoy, E. and Waterplas, L., Sheltered Employment in the European
Community, Commission of the European Union, Brussels, 1992; Samoy, E. and Waterplas, L., Sheltered
Employment in five member states of the Council of Europe: Austria, Finland, Norway, Sweden and
Switzerland. Council of Europe, 1997; Thornton P., and Lunt, N., Employment Policies for Disabled People
in Eighteen Countries: A Review, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, 1997.

41
 to about 5 per cent, with most countries near the lower end of the scale.123 Reasons
given for low transition include reluctance of employers to recruit, reluctance on the
part of workshops to release their key workers, the low technological level of
workshop activities which restricts the potential skill levels of employees, and skills
training which often does not reflect the requirements of the labour market.

 Sheltered employment has been criticized in some countries for failing to provide
proper working conditions and employment contracts. In many cases, employees are
paid less than the minimum wage. In some cases, they receive only ‘pocket money’ in
addition to their normal disability benefit. Employment and occupational safety and
health laws often do not apply. There is generally no right to freedom of association
(to unionize).

Some of the criticisms of sheltered employment in relation to low transition, lack of

employment contracts, poor pay, etc. may reflect differences - or even uncertainty - in the
philosophy underlying the concept rather than inadequacies in policy, management or cost-benefit
returns. To assess the performance of sheltered workshops using criteria such as those mentioned
is open to question when those operating the system see their responsibility more in terms of care
and social service rather than employment promotion or economic returns.

2.3 Supported Employment

Supported employment originated in the United States as an alternative to traditional
rehabilitation programmes for persons with severe disabilities. It is defined by law and regulation
as paid work in integrated work settings, with ongoing support services, for persons with severe
disabilities. The provision of a minimum wage was added to US federal regulations for supported
employment in 1997. 124

There is a variety of ways in which supported employment may be provided. These include
individual placement, enclaves, mobile work crews and small business arrangements. 125 An
enclave is a group of individuals, usually three to eight, who work in a special training group
within a host company. Not all members of the group may move into the company’s regular
workforce. A mobile work crew may be a similar sized group, with one or more supervisors,
which travels through a community offering specialized contract services, such as gardening or
grounds-keeping. The small business option could be a manufacturing service or a subcontract
operation, with a small number of workers with disabilities and non-disabled workers. The
business might provide only one type of product or service.

123
See, for example, Thornton and Lunt, op. cit.; Samoy and Waterplas, op. cit.; Council of Europe, Note by the
Netherlands: Sheltered Employment for Handicapped People – Trends and Issues in the Netherlands, 12 Jan.
1993.
124
Wehman, P., Revell, G. and Kregel, J. Supported Employment: a decade of rapid growth and impact, in
Wehman, P., Kregel, J. and West, M. (Eds) Supported Employment Research: expanding competitive
employment opportunities for persons with significant disabilities. Rehabilitation Research and Training
Centre on Supported Employment, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1997
125
Moon, M. and Griffin, S. Supported Employment Service Delivery Models in Wehman, P., and Moon, M.
(Eds) Vocational Rehabilitation and Supported Employment. Paul H. Brooks Publishing Company: Baltimore
MD, 1988

42
 The individual placement option would appear to be the dominant one in the United States. In
1995, 77 per cent of supported employment participants were in individual supported employment
places, and 23 per cent in some type of group model. 126 There is no one ‘best’ model. As some
commentators have said:
‘there is a nearly infinite array of supported employment strategies and structures, each
of which combines a particular kind of work opportunity with a particular method of
ongoing support. Each has advantages and drawbacks in terms of generating real
employment outcomes while overcoming barriers to employment experienced by the
individuals with disabilities. No single alternative is ideal, and none fits all situations.
Development of supported employment programmes requires adaptation to local
employment opportunities and individual service requirements.’127
It was reported in 1997 that two-thirds of all supported employment participants in the U.S
were persons with intellectual disability, with the second largest group being persons with a
mental illness.128

The interpretation of supported employment has been found to vary from country to country.

 In the United Kingdom, for example, it includes programmes providing financial

subsidies to employers in respect of disabled workers with reduced productivity, as
well as job coach based activity as in the U.S. Of the 5,000 or so people employed in
the UK under the latter model in 1996, 90 per cent had an intellectual disability.

 In Norway, supported employment has been provided since 1996, with job coach
support guaranteed for three years.

 In the Netherlands, the parliament in 1992 asked the government to find a solution to
wage differences between supported employment programmes and sheltered
employment. In the supported employment programmes, wages were related to
productivity and supplemented with a disability benefit of up to 85 per cent of the
statutory minimum wage, while in sheltered companies full wages were paid. In
addition, the government was asked to cover the costs of job coaches. As a first step,
the supplementary benefit was raised to a limit of the minimum wage and a subsidy
was introduced towards the cost of job coaches. Under 1996 legislation, local
authorities may fund supported employment. Each job created in this way is treated as
a job in a sheltered company for the purpose of government funding. 129

 In New Zealand, the supported employment programme provides a wage subsidy for
two years.130

126
Wehman et al, 1997, op. cit.
127
Bellamy, G. T., Rhodes, L.E. and Albin, J. M. Supported employment. In Kieran, W.E and Stark, J.A. (Eds)
Pathways to Employment for Adults with Developmental Disabilities (pp. 129-138), Baltimore: Brooks, 1986
128
Wehman et al, 1997
129
Krug, R. Sheltered Employment in the Netherlands – Recent Developments. Paper presented at conference
on Disability and Employment, Dublin, 14 Oct. 1996
130
Saloviita, Timo, Supported Employment as a Paradigm Shift and a Cause of Legitimation Crisis, Disability
& Society, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2000, pp. 87-98

43
  In Finland, a survey of supported employment projects found that few defined
supported employment as supported, paid work in integrated settings: ‘generally, it
was understood to mean a variety of support options for employment or employment-
related activities.’ 131

2.3.1 Evaluation
A number of studies in the United States have shown that supported employment has
produced greater social and psychological benefits for workers, as compared with sheltered
placements, and to have been cost-effective for workers, taxpayers and society as a whole. 132 One
U.S. review of supported employment from its origins in the 1970s, however, quotes other studies
which accuse many programmes of ‘creaming’ i.e. taking less severely disabled persons as
participants.133 Because of the variations in definitions of supported employment, findings from
studies carried out in one country cannot be generalized to another. The U.S. legislation under
which supported employment is funded as a rehabilitation option specified that participants should
work at least 20 hours per week on average to be eligible for funding. Many of the positive cost-
benefit outcomes achieved in the U.S. resulted from savings in the reduced use of alternative
services and from tax receipts from earned income. In the U.K. many supported employment jobs
are part-time and below 20 hours per week. Where participants opt to retain their welfare benefit
and earn a small allowable amount in addition, welfare benefit expenditures are not reduced and
there is little, if any, flow back from tax. 134 This is not so much a feature of the supported
employment concept but is rather due to the relationship between benefit entitlement and job
earnings.

The concept of supported self-employment for persons with severe disabilities has been
receiving some attention, particularly in the United States. A number of articles which appeared in
a recent special edition of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, published to introduce its
readers to the concept, show how self-employment may be helpful in promoting individual
satisfaction for persons with significant disabilities, but they are also generally forthright in
acknowledging the high level of supports required at every stage of the business start-up and
operation. 135

2.4 Social Enterprises

The Social Economy, according to the European Information Centre for the Social Economy
(ARIES), is ‘based on the values of economic activities with social goals, sustainable
development, equal opportunities, inclusion of disadvantaged people, and civil society.’

The European Commission, which sometimes refers to the Social Economy as the Third
System, describes it as ‘the economic and social fields represented by cooperatives, mutual

131
idem: p. 91
132
Saloviita, op. cit.
133
Barbour, Wayne C. Supported Employment: the coming of full circle. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation,
13 (1999), pp. 176-174
134
Beyer, Goodere L. and Kilsby, M. The Costs and Benefits of Supported Employment Agencies. Research
Studies No. 37. Department for Education and Employment, UK. 1996.
135
Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 17 (2002)

44
companies, associations, along with all local job creation initiatives intended to respond, through
the provision of goods and services, to needs for which neither the market nor the public sector
currently appear able to make adequate provision.’ Enterprises of the Social Economy have been
defined as ‘those entities that do not belong to the public sector, are run and managed in a
democratic way, whose members have equal rights, and that adhere to a special regime of property
and distribution of profits whereby any surplus is reinvested in the growth of the entity and the
improvement of services offered to its members and society at large.’ 136 A wide variety of social
economy enterprises exist, all sharing similar values. They include social firms, social businesses,
social enterprises, community enterprises, community cooperatives, development trusts,
neighbourhood co-ops, worker cooperatives, social cooperatives, credit unions, microcredit and
mutual guarantee societies.

The European Union sees the Social Economy as an important part of the European
economic model. In a visit in 2002 to the European Confederation of Workers’ Cooperatives,
Social Cooperatives and Participative Enterprises (CECOP), the President of the European
Commission referred to the fact that cooperatives currently employ 2.3 million people in the EU.

The social economy has developed in different ways in EU member States, largely because of
different regulatory frameworks. In Italy, for exa mple, a new regulation on social cooperatives has
led to a major expansion of the sector during the past ten years, and assisted the reorientation of
the cooperative sector from a direct focus on delivering benefit for members to providing wider
benefits to the local community. 137

In the United States, the not-for-profit sector dates mainly from the 1960s. Such enterprises
benefit from a range of tax exemptions. U.S. government departments are required to procure
goods and services from not-for-profit organizations employing persons with disabilities, subject
to their being competitive on price and quality.

2.4.1 Current Employment of Persons with Disabilities in Social Enterprises

A recent review of employment policies for persons with disabilities in 18 in dustrialized
countries found little evidence of enterprise strategies directly targeted at disabled individuals. 138
While a number of countries offered start-up grants to persons with disabilities proposing to
become self-employed or to start up a new business, few mentioned social enterprises as specific
strategies to create additional employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.

In Japan, social firms/enterprises have provided work opportunities for severely disabled
individuals since 1981.

In Italy, the growth of work integration cooperatives started in 1974 when workers with
mental illness rebelled against working without pay, and set up a cooperative to do the same work

136
Quoted in Viorreta, C. The Social Enterprise in Spain. Paper presented at Transnational Meeting in Cagliari,
29 Sep. 1998
137
U.K. Department of Trade and Industry, Social Enterprise: a strategy for success, July 2002
138
European Commission, Benchmarking employment policies for people with disabilities, 2000

45
under contract.139 The movement advanced with the closure of psychiatric institutions in the late
1970s. Law 381 of 1991 introduced a new model of employment for persons with disabilities
based on social cooperation. Social cooperatives, which engage in a variety of commercial,
manufacturing, farming and service activities, employed over 17,000 disabled workers in 1997.

In Spain, ONCE (The Spanish Organization of Blind Persons) established a foundation

(Fundacion ONCE) in 1988, involving representation of different groups of persons with
disabilities. The primary goal of the Foundation is to provide employment for disabled people. In
1989, the Foundation set up FUNDOSA GRUPO as a holding or parent company of more than 60
enterprises, which in 1997 employed almost 6000 workers, of whom 72 per cent were disabled.
The enterprises operate in diverse sectors, including laundry, retail sales in hospitals and
community centres, telephone marketing, food production and data processing. 140

In the United Kingdom, there has been increasing interest in social cooperatives with between
40 and 50 such enterprises providing work for persons with disabilities in 1995. 141

The figures quoted may well considerably understate the number of disabled persons
currently working in social enterprises of various kinds. A Spanish report in 1998, for example,
estimated that there were almost one thousand social cooperatives in Spain. Of the total,
approximately 200 were in Cataluna. A 1995 study of social cooperatives in Cataluna found that
45 per cent were oriented to the integration of people with intellectual disabilities.142

According to a recent UK government report, there is no precise estimate of the number of

social enterprises in the U.K. A tentative estimate of the relative size of the social enterprise sector
in 2000 suggested that the social economy accounted for almost 7.3 per cent of all employment in
the U.K.: between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of this may be accounted for by social enterprise.
There is no indication of the number of persons with disabilities employed in the sector.

2.4.2 Future Potential

One of the fundamental characteristics of social enterprises is that they are created to respond,
by providing goods and services, to needs for which neither the private business sector nor the
public sector are able or willing to make provision. The future growth potential of the social
enterprise sector would, therefore, appear to offer significant possibilities for new employment
opportunities for persons with disabilities, provided any barriers to growth are removed or
reduced. These barriers have been identified, in the U.K., as

 poor understanding of the capacities and value of social enterprise

 limited information on the social, environmental and financial impact of social

enterprise

139
quoted in Thornton, P. and Lunt, N. Employment Policies for Disabled People in Eighteen countries. Social
Policy Research Unit, University of York, 1997
140
idem: pp. 237-8
141
idem: p. 270
142
quoted in Viorreta, op. cit.

46
  insufficient specialist support and advice from government and business

 difficulty in accessing finance

 insufficient account of the particular characteristics of social enterprises by financial,

legal and regulatory frameworks, or in procurement activities

 inadequate training of social enterprise managers in business, financial and personnel

management.

The U.K. government has developed a strategy aimed at overcoming these barriers and
allowing social enterprises to deliver significantly more public services.

47
 CHAPTER 3 -
MEASURES TO FACILITATE WORK AND EMPLOYMENT

3.1 Introduction
Vocational rehabilitation is a process which enables disabled persons to secure, retain and
advance in suitable employment and thereby further their integration or reintegration into
society. 143 That process, according to the ILO Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled)
Recommendation, 1955, 144 involves the provision of certain vocational services, in particular
vocational guidance, vocational training and selective placement. In 1983 the ILO, conscious that
significant developments had occurred since 1955 in the understanding of rehabilitation needs, the
scope and organization of rehabilitation services and the law and practice of many Members,
decided that new international standards were necessary to ensure equality of opportunity and
treatment to all categories of disabled persons, in both rural and urban areas, for employment and
integration into the community.

3.1.1 Convention No. 159

Convention No. 159, adopted in 1983, highlights the inextricable link which exists between
vocational rehabilitation and employment by calling on each Member, in accordance with national
conditions, practice and possibilities, to formulate, implement and periodically review a national
policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons. Such policy should:

 aim at ensuring that appropriate vocational rehabilitation measures are made available
to all categories of disabled persons and at promoting employment opportunities for
disabled persons in the open labour market;

 be based on the principle of equal opportunity between disabled workers and workers
generally; equality of opportunity and treatment for disabled men and women
workers should be respected; special positive measures aimed at effective equality of
opportunity and treatment between disabled workers and other workers should not be
regarded as discriminating against other workers;

 involve consultation with representative organizations of employers and workers, and

of and for disabled persons, with regard to implementation of the policy.

The Convention calls on the competent authorities to provide and evaluate vocational
guidance, vocational training, placement, employment and other related services, using, wherever
possible and appropriate, existing services for workers generally, with any ne cessary adaptations.
Measures are to be taken to promote the establishment and development of vocational
rehabilitation and employment services for disabled persons in rural areas and remote
communities, and to ensure the training and availability of rehabilitation counsellors and other
suitably qualified staff responsible for the vocational guidance, vocational training, placement and

143
ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, 2002
144
No. 99

49
employment of disabled persons. Convention No. 159 entered into force on 20 June 1985. As of
December 2002, Convention No. 159 has been ratified by 73 countries.

3.1.2 Recommendation No. 168

The accompanying Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons)
Recommendation, 1983 (No. 168) outlines measures, in addition to those mentioned in
Recommendation No. 99, which should be implemented. They include:

 measures to create job opportunities for persons with disabilities on the open labour
market, including financial incentives to employers and reasonable adaptations to
workplaces, equipment and jobs

 government support for sheltered employment, and for vocational training, vocational
guidance, and placement services for disabled person run by non-governmental
organizations

 promotion of cooperatives and small-scale industry

 elimination of physical, communication and architectural barriers

 dissemination of information on successful instances of employment integration

 exemption from taxes of training materials and specified assistive devices

 flexible job arrangements

 elimination of exploitation in training and sheltered employment

 applied research to further the participation of disabled persons in ordinary working

life.

Recommendation No. 168 also calls for community participation, in particular of employers’,
workers’ and disabled persons’ organizations, in the organization and operation of vocational
rehabilitation services. Special efforts should be made to ensure that services in rural areas and
remote communities are provided at the same level and on the same terms as for urban areas. The
proper training of personnel involved in the provision of vocational rehabilitation and employment
services is essential.

3.1.3 Current Practice

The following sections discuss briefly the main types of measures currently in use145 to assist
and facilitate persons with disabilities to secure, retain and advance in suitable work and
employment, under these headings:

145
More detailed information on measures in a number of countries may be found in other reports, including:
ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998; Thornton, P, and Lunt, N.
Employment Policies for Disabled People in Eighteen Countries: A Review. Social Policy Research Unit,

50
  employment services

 training for employment

 financial supports

 technical and personal supports

 quota systems

 anti-discrimination legislation

 persuasion measures

 disability management

 consultation mechanisms

 information, monitoring and evaluation.

3.2 Employment Services

In providing services such as vocational guidance, vocational training, placement and other
employment-related services to persons with disabilities, the competent authorities are exhorted to
use services available to workers generally, wherever possible and appropriate, with necessary
adaptations. 146 This is being increasingly done in countries where vocational rehabilitation
infrastructures have already been developed. 147

The range and types of services vary between countries, but may include vocational guidance
and counselling, with some countries (France and Belgium, for example) agreeing individualized
‘vocational pathways’ with disabled persons, which provide for different measures at different
stages, leading in many cases to job integration.

Other services include provision of information on training and employment opportunities,

job search training which encompasses preparation of job applications/resumes, interview
techniques, presentation skills, canvassing for jobs, and placement. Training in literacy and
numeracy is sometimes provided, where necessary. Preferential access to specified jobs is
provided in a number of countries. In Greece, for example, a proportion of jobs in certain
occupations, including messengers, cleaners, gardeners, receptionists, must be reserved by public
sector organizations and banks: preferential access is also given to licences for certain commercial
activities, such as taxis and newspaper stalls. Work experience, either on its own or as an integral
part of a training programme, is often provided, particularly for newcomers to the world of work.

University of York, 1997; European Commission, Benchmarking Employment Policies for People with
Disabilities, 2000.
146
Convention No. 159, Article 7
147
ILO, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998

51
 For persons with disabilities returning to work after an absence, individual back-to-work
action plans may be developed. Support measures include job coaching, particularly in supported
employment situations. Individualized support assistance in helping, for example, to deal with
difficulties with co-workers, may be provided through vocational advisers or through a special
scheme such as Arbeitsassistsenz (work-assistance) in Austria, which provides on-going
assistance during the initial integration and follow-up phases as well as crisis intervention where
continuing employment may be threatened for any reason. Early intervention such as ‘fresh-start’
initiation programmes aimed at young workers with disabilities within six months of their being
unemployed, and programmes aimed at assisting long-term unemployed disabled workers back to
work, are provided in many countries (for example, France, Belgium, Austria). Because of the
particular difficulties faced by workers with disabilities who have been unemployed for a long
time, intensified efforts are frequently made to assist disabled workers to participate in
educational, retraining or other programmes as soon as possible after they become unemployed.

3.3 Training for Employment

In many ways, training for employment for persons with disabilities appears to be going
through a transition, from programmes in specialized institutions to mainstream programmes for
general job seekers. For some countries, this transition is in its early stages, with training still
mostly in specialized institutions. In others, the majority of adults with disabilities receive their
training in mainstream programmes (the UK, for example). In Sweden, employment policies for
persons with disabilities are part of general labour market policies in any event. Almost all
countries, however, appear to be experiencing a variety of difficulties. This situation is aggravated
by high rates of unemployment which are making it particularly difficult for persons with
disabilities, even after completion of training, to find suitable employment.

For those countries in the early stages of mainstreaming training for persons with disabilities,
special classes, schools, and training institutions are still common. In many of these specialized
providers, both public and private, curricula tend to relate to jobs traditionally thought appropr iate
for disabled persons. This mismatch between training and the skill requirements of the labour
market hinders job placement possibilities and may well contribute to negative perceptions by
employers of the ability potential of many disabled persons.

Even where persons with disabilities are being encouraged to enter mainstream training, some
countries report that relatively few are doing so. Reasons given include physical inaccessibility of
training centres, distant or inconvenient location of training, courses which are not relevant,
inadequate transportation, unavailability and/or cost of child care, little flexibility in course design
or delivery.

Countries which are further along the mainstreaming path have recognized and are taking or
plan to take steps to deal with such issues. In the Netherlands, physical access is being improved in
vocational and adult education to improve opportunities for disabled persons to get a basic
qualification, and more flexible, module-based apprentice training courses are planned.
Individualized support for persons with disabilities in France through its ‘fresh-start’ initiatives
and further development of apprenticeship training, ‘sandwich courses’ alternating training and
work in enterprises, and preparation for working life in a mainstream environment are all
underway. In the United Kingdom, disabled people have priority access to mainstream

52
programmes, and specialist teams operate in jobcentres to assist persons with disabilities to gain
and retain employment. Special pre-training programmes have been introduced in Germany which
include advice and assistance in the transition from school to working life: courses in vocational
training centres have also been adapted in order to meet labour market requirements more
effectively. In Australia, short-term courses have been developed at local level to meet individual
needs: normally up to 12 months duration, the courses may be extended, if necessary, for persons
with disabilities. In Sweden there has been increasing cooperation between schools and placement
services.

For persons with a high level of disability, training for work continues to be provided mainly
in special institutions or in sheltered or supported employment programmes, although Australia
operates a programme which provides fully subsidized work experience, mainly in the private
sector, for those who cannot get a place on a mainstream wage-subsidy programme.

Greater efforts are being made to get employers more directly involved in developing and
providing training and employment opportunities, through financial and other incentives. Belgium
has a system of employer-based on-the-job training contracts for disabled persons: the employer is
not committed to hiring the trainee after the training contract but often does. Advisory committees
on the training and employment of disabled workers, which include representatives of employers’
and workers’ organizations as well as representatives of government and disability non-
governmental organizations, play a useful role in helping to develop policy and codes of good
practice, and in improving cooperation and coordination among the sectoral interests involved.

3.3.1 Key Issues

Workers with disabilities tend to fall behind other job seekers, particularly when overall
numbers of unemployed workers rise. While ignorance and prejudice may have a part to play in
such situations, a key factor is often their inability to compete on the basis of relevant skills or
qualifications. What an employer will look for in recruiting a new employee is, first and foremost,
the capacity to do the job (given reasonable accommodation, where necessary). Applicants who
can show that they have the necessary competence, or have the capacity to acquire it after suitable
training, have an advantage over applicants who cannot. Training, which should encompass skill,
knowledge and attitudes, is very often the key to success in finding a job. For persons with a
disability, professional training – under qualified instructors, and leading if possible to some form
of recognized certification – is an essential passport to gaining employment. This is why a national
policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons, as called for in ILO
Convention No. 159, is so essential. People with disabilities have the right to work, but they must
be given the means to enable them to exercise that right. Priority in vocational training policy and
provision, particularly in times of high unemployment, needs to be given to the most vulnerable if
they are not to become further disadvantaged in the labour market.

Many of the jobs for which disabled persons were traditionally trained do not exist any more,
especially in industrialized countries. The relevance of training programmes to current and likely
future labour market requirements needs to be critically reviewed to ensure that all programmes
are responding to such needs at all times.

53
 Physical accessibility remains a major barrier to many disabled persons seeking work or
training. This applies not just to the training or work place but to the local built environment –
including public transport, housing, shops, restaurants, places of recreation – used to a greater or
lesser degree by other employees. Considerable improvement has been made in many places, but
in general progress is slow, and many disabled persons remain excluded as a result.

Lack of coordination between government ministries or departments continues to be an issue

inhibiting the right to work of many disabled people. There are many good examples of how this
has been effectively resolved where the political will existed.

Many countries have accepted the principle of ‘mainstreaming’ in training and employment
services for persons with disabilities. In some cases, however, it has not progressed much beyond
the acceptance of the principle or the transfer of responsibility from one ministry to another. If
disabled persons are to participate on an equitable basis with others, whatever reasonable
accommodations are necessary, in terms of physical accessibility, job/training design, training
equipment and materials, modes of instruction, etc. must be carried out. In addition, the staff
members responsible for managing and operating the systems involved must be sufficiently
trained and equipped, not only in requisite knowledge and skill, but also in attitudes.

Mainstreaming in training programmes may have many implications, in addition to those

mentioned. An important consideration, for example, will be the basis on which training outcomes
are assessed. Indicators, such as placement rates, which may be used to measure the performance
of training programmes for some unemployed groups of workers may not be the most appropriate
for others. ‘Creaming’ or selecting those most likely to succeed, in order to enha nce placement
prospects of occupational training programmes is a recognized (if not always admitted)
phenomenon. 148

3.4 Financial Supports

Wage subsidies to cover a shortfall in productivity are one of the most commonly provided
financial supports to employers in encouraging the employment of workers with disabilities. In
some countries, such supports are time-restricted: in Sweden, four years, but up to eight years in
Germany, for example. The amount of subsidy varies: in Austria it can be up to 80 per cent of the
full wage in the first year of employment. The wage subsidy may be combined with a grant during
the initial period of adjustment.

Other financial supports to employers include:

 grants towards training costs

 training completion bonus grants for workplace modifications/special equipment

 grants for tutorial assistance

 retention bonus grants to hire personal assistants for disabled workers who need them

148
For a more detailed discussion see, for example, OECD Working Party on Employment, Occupational
Training and Retraining Measures for Specific Target Groups, 1986

54
  tax credits in respect of each new disabled worker (may be time-restricted, e.g. three
years in Italy)

 reductions in social security charges in respect of disabled workers.

In the Netherlands, where responsibility for disability prevention and rehabilitation of

disabled employees has been increasingly transferred from governments to employers, special
measures include:

 ‘trial appointments’: A person with a disability may work for up to three months
without the employer paying wages - unemployment benefit is continued during this
period

 a replacement grant may be paid to an employer if the disabled employee cannot

return to his or her former job and needs a different job in the company

 the employer may be exempted from having to pay wages during the first 52 weeks
of sickness of an employee if the employee was disabled when recruited

 during the first six months after hiring a disabled worker the employer is exempted
from supplementary insurance contributions in case the worker applies for disability
benefit.

In Sweden, employers are protected by law against excessive sick leave costs of an employee
with an illness which is likely to lead to a large amount of sick leave. Financial supports of various
kinds may also be available to persons with disabilities. In France, an employment bonus may be
paid to an unemployed disabled person who gets a job. Financial assistance towards public
transport costs if participating in training programmes may also be paid. Under a pilot scheme in
the Netherlands, persons with a disability may receive a personal budget in the form of vouchers
or tickets to enable them to purchase placement or other job integration services of their choice. A
similar ‘Ticket to Work’ programme operates in the United States.

A key concern of many disabled persons is that their eligibility for disability benefit or
pension may be adversely affected if they find a job and subsequently lose it for any reason. A
number of countries have taken steps to ensure that such concerns do not act as a disincentive to
persons with disabilities in seeking employment. In Spain, for example, eligibility to access former
disability benefit if laid off is assured by regulation. To encourage those on long-term disability
benefit in Finland to return to work, individuals may suspend their benefit for up to two years
during which they may enter training or employment without losing their entitlement. In many
countries, persons with disabilities are allowed to earn up to a certain level in pay without affecting
their disability insurance or social security benefits.

Grants may also be available to disabled persons who wish to set up their own business or to
establish a cooperative. Such measures are particularly important in countries, such as Greece,
where self-employment is high and a high proportion of all enterprises are small. In Italy, social
cooperatives with a workforce of which at least 30 per cent are persons with disabilities may be
exempted from social insurance contributions. Financial assistance may also be available to third-
party agencies to assist disabled persons in preparing and training for employment. In the United

55
States, for example, grants may be available to States to establish programmes of technology-
related training, access and assistance, and awards can be made to private agencies which deliver
assistive technology training and services at local leve l.

3.5 Technical and Personal Supports

The dividing line between technical, personal and even financial supports can be a very
narrow one. Is the provision of a guide dog to a person with a visual impairment a personal or a
technical support? In the context of employment it may qualify more as the latter. In any event, the
categorization is of less importance than the support itself and the role it plays in enabling a person
with a disability to exercise the rights to which they are entitled. Other non-financial supports in
relation to work and employment include assistance in arranging for a special driving licence; job
coaches to help facilitate the transition to employment; post-placement support; personal assistants
(to assist, if needed, in relation to personal hygiene or transport, for example); provision of readers
for workers with a visual impairment, particularly during the initial stage of training and/or
employment; provision of signers/sign language interpreters during interviews or in the
workplace; grants for or direct provision of personal aids (e.g. computer-based aids, clothing,
textbooks); technical aids and devices.

3.6 Quota Systems

By the end of 1923, Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland and France had adopted a quota system,
under which employers were obliged to employ disabled war veterans. Many other European
countries adopted a quota system approach after the Second World War, largely because of high
unemployment levels among people with disabilities and the general failure of a voluntary
approach. All systems were eventually extended to cover disabled civilians. Quota systems have
also been introduced in several countries of Asia and the Pacific (China, India, Japan, Mongolia,
the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand), Africa (including Ethiopia, including Ethiopia, Mauritius
and Tanzania), in the Arab States (e.g. Kuwait) and in Latin America (e.g. Brazil). While all quota
systems call for employers to employ a set minimum percentage of disabled workers, there are
variations between systems, particularly in relation to the obligatory or non-obligatory
requirement, and the nature and effectiveness of sanction in cases where an employer fails to meet
the requirement.

Waddington has divided European quota systems into three basic models:149
- Legislative recommendation with no sanction: Employers are not obliged to
employ a set percentage of workers with disabilities, but it is recommended that
they do so. Such a system has operated in the Netherlands since 1986. Under the
1947 Employment of the Disabled Act, public and private employers with more
than 20 employees were expected to employ a set quota of disabled workers.
People with disabilities could choose to register. The 1986 Handicapped Workers
Employment Act removed the registration requireme nt, extended coverage to all
those receiving disability benefits or an invalidity pension, and introduced a
quota target of between three and five per cent, to be achieved over three years.

149
Waddington, Lisa, Reassessing the Employment of People with Disabilities in Europe: from Quotas to Anti-
discrimination Laws. Comparative Labour Law Journal, 18, 62, 1996, pp. 62-101.

56
 The quota was voluntary and there were no sanctions for failing to meet it. By
1989, only 2.2 per cent of workers with a contract of more than 15 days were
disabled and by 1992 this figure was just two per cent. The government
concluded that a compulsory policy across all sectors was not practicable.
Employers are, nevertheless, required to continue to keep a record of disabled
employees.
- Legislative obligation without effective sanction : An example of this quota
system was that adopted by the United Kingdom after the Second World War.
The Disabled Persons (Employment) Act 1944 has been described as ‘the
foundation stone of disabled workers’ rights in the UK. 150 These rights to
mainstream employment were to be achieved through the Quota Scheme, which
required private employers with 20 or more employees to have at least 3 pe r cent
of their workforce made up of registered people with disabilities, and through the
Reserved Occupations Scheme, under which two occupations - passenger electric
lift attendant and car park attendant - were designated as reserved to persons with
disabilities. It was not an offence for an employer to be below the quota, but it
was an offence to recruit a non-registered person when below the quota or where
doing so would bring the employer below the quota, without an exemption
permit. An employer who committed such an offence was subject to a fine or a
term of imprisonment of not more than three months. The quota was abolished in
1996, when the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 came into force. There
appears to be general agreement that the quota failed to promote the employment
of people with disabilities, that it was inadequately monitored and enforced (there
were only 10 prosecutions for failure to comply, even though in 1993, for
example, less than 20 per cent of employers met their quota obligation), and that
it allowed large numbers of exemptions and exceptions. 151
- Legislative obligations with sanction: According to Waddington, the levy-grant
system is ‘the form of quota which has attracted most interest from those
countries which have sought to introduce or modify a quota system in the 1980s
and 90s. It involves setting a quota and requiring that all covered employers who
do not meet their obligation pay a fine or levy which usually goes into a fund to
support the employment of disabled people.’
The German quota system, which has often served as a model for other countries, was
established in 1974. There is a quota of six per cent for all public and private employers with at
least sixteen employees. Certain workers may be counted as occupying two or three quota places -
those whom the Employment Office considers particularly difficult to employ, because of their
degree of disability, and disabled persons who are receiving training within the firm. The
legislation refers to special categories of severely disabled persons:

1) Severely disabled persons whose working lives are especially affected because of the
nature or seriousness of their disability, in particular:

150 Doyle, Brian, Disabled Workers’ Rights, the Disability Discrimination Act and the UN Standard Rules,
International Law Journal, 25, 1 Mar. 1996
151
Doyle, op. cit.; Waddington, op. cit.: Hyde, Mark, From Welfare to Work? Social Policy for Disabled People
of Working Age in the United Kingdom in the 1990s. Disability and Society, 15, 2, 2000, pp. 327-341

57
 (a) those who need special assistance, on a more than temporary basis, in order to
engage in employment;

(b) those whose employment, owing to their disability, implies exceptional

expenses, on a more than temporary basis, for the employer;

(c) those who, because of their disability, are able on more than a temporary basis
to render only substantially reduced output;

(d) those whose extent of disability is at least 50 per cent attributable to mental or
psychological disturbances or to be subject to attacks;

(e) those who, because of the nature of the seriousness of their disability, have not
completed vocational training.

2) Severely disabled persons who have attained 50 years of age.

The Federal Employment Office monitors compliance with the scheme. Fines may be
imposed if the quota requirement is not met. In 1977 the average quota attained was 3.9 per cent,
compared with 5.9 per cent in 1982. 152

The monies collected through the compensation levy are used exclusively to promote
rehabilitation and employment of severely disabled persons. It provides grants, for example, to
assist employers who exceed their quota obligatio ns to meet extra costs such as adapting premises
or providing special training. The levy is often regarded, particularly during difficult economic
periods, as an additional tax to be paid by employers, and a more attractive option than hiring.

A similar quota system operates in France. Under 1987 legislation, every public and private
employer employing 20 or more persons is required to employ a quota of six per cent of persons
with disabilities covered by the law. The six per cent obligation was introduced on a gradual basis,
beginning with three per cent in 1988, rising to six per cent in 1991. Certain categories of disabled
workers are counted as one-and-a-half, two, or two-and-a-half individuals. Enterprises may fulfil
their employment obligation by:

 direct employment of beneficiaries under the law

 contracting with the sheltered employment sector

 reaching accords 153 to promote employment of disabled persons paying a contribution

to AGEFIPH154

In 1994, 62.8 per cent of employers met their obligation by payment of levy only, 19.8 per
cent by sub-contracts and levies, and 12.4 per cent by sub-contracts only. 155 In 1998, just over half
of all enterprises with 20 employees or more fulfilled their employment obligation by contributing

152
European Commission, Benchmarking employment policies for people with disabilities, 2000
153
Accords are negotiated agreements between employers and employees’ associations.
154
The joint agency for the management of integration funds for disabled persons.
155
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, 1996, quoted in Thorton and Lunt, op. cit., p. 98

58
to the fund. 156 The employment rate of disabled workers in the enterprises concerned in 1997 was
4 per cent (3 per cent in the public sector). This result led to the government launching, through
AGEFIPH, a three year Exceptional Programme (1999-2001) with particular focus on long-term
and youth unemployment. Actions fall under four headings:

 preparation and follow-up of integration in employment

 development and modernization of guidance and training structures

 enhancement of the actions of companies

 experimental measures.

Systematic measures to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in Japan were
introduced after World War II, following the enactment in 1947 of the Employment Security Law.
In 1960, a quota system was introduced, but with no obligatory provisions. Lack of compliance,
particularly by larger organizations, led to the introduction in 1976 of an obligatory quota system,
as well as a levy and grant system. The quota is 1.8 per cent for private enterprises and 2.1 per cent
for national and local governments. Double counting in respect of workers with severe disabilities
is allowed. A levy is imposed on enterprises which fall short of their quota: levies thus collected
are paid as grants to enterprises which hire disabled workers in excess of their quota and are also
used to subsidize new or modified facilities for workers with disabilities.

3.6.1 Comment
Discussing the assumptions underlying quota systems in Europe, Waddington says that such
systems are based on the belief that, without some form of legislative intervention, people with
disabilities would not make up even the specified percentage of the workforce:
‘… quotas are based on two related assumptions: (i) that employers will not hire large
numbers of disabled people unless they are required to do so, and (ii) that most
disabled people are unable to compete for jobs with their non-disabled counterparts on
an equal basis, and win them on their merits. In short, the assumption that disabled
workers are less valuable and less productive, and that, if such workers are to be
integrated in the open labour market, employers need to be obliged to hire them, and
sometimes even financially compensated for doing so
Numerous employers have taken their cue from the legislation, and accept these
assumptions. This is reflected in the fact that many employers resist the idea of, and
obligations under, quota systems, and frequently ‘buy’ themselves out of their
obligation where this is an option, preferring to employ a largely non-disabled
workforce. The history of the European quota systems amply demonstrates that an
employment system which is based on the idea that the protected group of workers are
inferior cannot achieve permanent and significant success, since employers will
attempt to evade their obligations to employ such workers.’ 157

156
European Commission, op. cit., p. 89
157
Waddington, op. cit., p. 71

59
 A recent study for the European Commission, which looked at employment policies for
disabled persons in eighteen industrialized countries, found no examples where quota systems
achieved their targets. Acknowledging the arguments that quota systems produce resources from
levies or fines which can be used to support other employment development measures, and that in
some cases sufficient disabled people may not be available to enable employers to meet their
quotas, the study concluded: ‘…it is clearly the case that in most countries the tide is swinging
away from quotas – either for their abandonment altogether (as in the UK), or for other measures
(active employment support for individuals and/or stronger anti-discrimination laws) to be given
higher profile and greater force.’158

3.7 Anti-Discrimination Legislation

Some European countries, such as Sweden, Finland and Denmark, as well as others including
Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United States, did not introduce quota systems and
decided instead to improve vocational training and rehabilitation and strengthen the voluntary
approach to employers. In addition, more and more countries have, with increased lobbying by
people with disabilities and their representative organizations, been taking the route of anti-
discrimination legislation, based in many cases on the experience in the United States dating from
civil rights legislation in the 1960s.

Perhaps the greatest seismic shift in the area of employment for people with disabilities has
been this move to anti-discrimination legislation. Like quota systems and other government-
sponsored schemes, anti- discrimination legislation assumes that specific measures are needed to
promote the employment of disabled people. Unlike quotas, however, such legislation says that
people with disabilities are able to compete for jobs on their merits, provided the environment in
which they do so does not discriminate against them because of their disability.

Anti-discrimination legislation is not new. Laws to pr omote equal employment opportunity

and equal pay for women have been around in Europe for decades, with similar legislation to
protect the rights of people on racial, ethnic, or religious grounds in many countries. One of the
reasons why it took so long to extend anti-discrimination legislation to disabled people may have
been the lack of effective collective advocacy to promote that cause.

It was reported in 2000 that more than 40 out of 189 UN member States had adopted some
kind of anti-discrimination legislation in respect of persons with disabilities.159 It is not intended to
compare those laws,160 but rather to note the increasing number of countries enacting such
legislation, and the fact that most of the laws were adopted during the 1990s.The following
country examples, which are by no means exhaustive, are presented to illustrate the variety of
approaches to this matter.

158
European Commission, Benchmarking employment policies for people with disabilities, 2000, p. 207
159
Degener, T. and Quinn, G. A survey of International, Comparative and Regional Disability Law Reform.
Paper presented at ‘From Principles to Practice’ Symposium, Washington DC. Oct. 2000
160
Such a comparative process would be difficult given the different legal systems and the different historic,
social, economic and political backgrounds of the countries concerned.

60
3.7.1 Australia
Australia has both national and state legislation to address discrimination against persons with
disabilities. The Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act 1992 over-rides state legislation
and prohibits discrimination on the ground of disability in work and employment as well as other
areas, including education. The Act is administered by a Disability Discrimination Commissioner
within the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, which investigates complaints of
discrimination. The 1992 Act allows for the development by organizations of Action Plans which
identify barriers for persons with disabilities within the organization and set out policies and
programmes, with time frames, for addressing them. The benefits of developing a Disability
Action Plan are threefold: it demonstrates a commitment to anti-discrimination principles, it can
be given to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to be taken into account if a
complaint is made against the organization, and it provides a tool for change.

3.7.2 Brazil
The Federal Constitution of Brazil of 1988 explicitly prohibits discrimination of any kind
concerning the recruitment of or salaries paid to persons with disabilities (Article 7). Law No.
7.853/89 concerning the Rights of Persons with Disabilities guarantees to persons with disabilities
the full exercise of their basic rights, including the right to work. This law makes it a punishable
offence to discriminate against a person on grounds of disability in employment or work.

3.7.3 Canada
Anti-discrimination measures in Canada take two legislative forms. Section fifteen of the
1982 Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees every individual ‘the right to equal protection
and equal benefit of the law without discrimination’ and covers discrimination based on mental or
physical disability. The Canadian Human Rights Act 1985 prohibits certain discriminatory
practices, and disability is included among the possible grounds. Both the Charter and the Act
allow for (but do not require) affirmative action to reduce disadvantages. While the Act did not
originally require an employer to make “reasonable accommodation” to enable a disabled person
to meet job requirements, an Amendment, introduced in 1998, includes a duty to accommodate:
“The duty to accommodate refers to the obligation of an employer, service provider, or
union to take steps to eliminate disadvantage to employees, prospective employees or
clients resulting from a rule, practice, or physical barrier that has or may have an
adverse impact on individuals or groups protected under the Canadian Human Rights
Act, or identified as a designated group under the Employment Equity Act.
The Canadian Human Rights Act provides that the special needs of a person relating to
a prohibited group of discrimination must be accommodated unless the employer or
service provider can prove that to do so would be an undue hardship.”
The second form of legislative measure, the Employment Equity Act, 1995, requires active
measures to deal with disadvantage, including making reasonable accommodation. Persons with
disabilities are among those covered by the Act.

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3.7.4 Costa Rica
In Costa Rica, Law No. 760 concerning Equality of Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the following cases relating to employment
and work: the use of recruitment procedures which have not been adapted to reflect the needs of
disabled job-seekers; the specification of requirements additional to those generally applied, in
relation to the recruitment of persons with disabilities; and the failure to employ a person on
grounds of disability.

3.7.5 Ethiopia
The Right of Disabled Persons to Employment Proclamation (Proclamation No.
101/1994 of 26 August 1994) aims to protect the rights of disabled persons to appropriate training,
employment opportunities and salary, and to stop any workplace discrimination. Se ctions 3 and 4
refer to how employment opportunities for disabled persons should be promoted in the open
labour market. They state that no selection criteria shall refer to the disability of the candidate, and
that necessary equipment shall be provided to allow a disabled person to carry out his duty. Article
6 emphasizes:

“Any disabled person whose rights are affected because of non-compliance

with the provisions of this Proclamation and regulations and directives
issued hereunder, may lodge his grievance to the organ empowered by law
to hear the labour dispute”.

Article 4 of the Right of Disabled Persons to Employment Proclamation, 1994 provides

for a quota Article 4), stating that posts suitable for persons with disabilities shall be identified and
reserved from among vacancies created in offices and undertakings. While the legislative
framework is in place to introduce quota regulations, these have not yet been introduced.

3.7.6 Mauritius
The Training and Employment of Disabled Persons Act 1996 of Mauritius contains an anti-
discrimination provision which makes it an offence for an employer to discriminate against any
disabled person in relation to advertisement of and recruitment for employment, and the
determination or allocation of wages, salaries, pensions and other matters relating to employment.
Any employer who discriminates against a disabled person shall be liable to compensatory
payment or to imprisonment. Under this Act, no disabled person shall be employed on work
which, with regard to the nature of his disability, is not suitable.

The Act also requires organizations with 35 or more employees to set aside at least 3 percent
of their positions for persons with disabilities. Employers who fail to meet the quota are required
to pay a financial contribution into a designated fund or may be liable to imprisonment.

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3.7.7 Philippines
The Philippines’ Magna Carta – Disabled Persons 1992, section 32, prohibits discrimination
against persons with disabilities in employment:
“ No entity, whether public or private, shall discriminate against a qualified disabled
person by reason of disability in regard to job application procedures, the hiring,
promotion, or discharge of employees, employee compensation, job training, and
other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment.”
The Magna Carta lists in detail acts of discrimination covered by this prohibition:
(a) limiting segregating or classifying a disabled job applicant in such a
manner that adversely affects his work opportunities;
(b) using qualification standards, employment tests or other selection criteria
that screen out or tend to screen out a disabled person unless such
standards, tests or other selection criteria are shown to be job-related for
the position in question and are consistent with business necessity;
(c) utilizing standards, criteria, or methods of administration that:
- have the effect of discrimination on the basis of disability; or
- perpetuate the discrimination of others who are subject to common
administrative control;
(d) providing less compensation, such as salary, wage or other forms of
remuneration and fringe benefits, to a qualified disabled employee, by
reason of his disability, than the amount to which a non-disabled person
performing the same work is entitled;
(e) favouring a non-disabled employee over a qualified disabled employee
with respect to promotion, training opportunities, study and scholarship
grants, solely on account of the latter's disability;
(f) reassigning or transferring a disabled employee to a job or position he
cannot perform by reason of his disability;
(g) dismissing or terminating the services of a disabled employee by reason of
his disability unless the employer can prove that he impairs the
satisfactory performance of the work involved to the prejudice of the
business entity: provided, however, that the employer first sought to
provide reasonable accommodation for disabled persons;
(h) failing to select or administer in the most effective manner employment
tests which accurately reflect the skills, aptitude or other factor of the
disabled applicant or employee that such test purports to measure, rather
than the impaired sensory, manual or speaking skills of such applicant or
employee, if any; and
(i) excluding disabled persons from membership in labour unions or similar
organizations.

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3.7.8 South Africa
The South African Constitution contains a Bill of Rights, which ‘enshrines the rights of all
people in our country and affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality and
freedom’. 161 Clause 9 - Equality, which forms part of the chapter on the Bill of Rights, states that
equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms, and that no person may
be discriminated against directly or indirectly on the ground of disability or on any of the other
grounds specified. Clause 9 also states that national legislation must be enacted to prevent or
prohibit unfair discrimination.

To promote the constitutional right of equality, eliminate unfair discrimination in

employment, ensure the implementation of employment equity to redress the effects of
discrimination and to give effect to South Africa’s obligations as a member of the ILO, the
Employment Equity Act was passed in 1998. The Act requires all employers to eliminate unfair
discrimination, direct or indirect, in any employment policy or practice, on disability or other
specified grounds. It is not unfair discrimination if an employer takes affirmative action measures
consistent with the purpose of the Act, or distinguishes, excludes or prefers any person on the
basis of an inherent requirement of the job. 162 The Employment Equity Act defines affirmative
measures as ‘measures designed to ensure that suitably qualified people from designated groups 163
have equal employment opportunities and are equitably represented in all occupational categories
and levels in the workforce of a designated employer’. Affirmative action measures must include:

 measures to identify and eliminate employment barriers which adversely affect

people from designated groups

 measures to enhance diversity in the workplace based on equal dignity and respect

 making reasonable accommodation for people from designated groups to ensure that
they enjoy equal opportunities and are equitably represented in an employer’s
workforce in all occupational categories and levels. This may include preferential
treatment and numerical goals, but excludes quotas. 164

The Act defines ‘reasonable accommodation’ as ‘any modification or adjustment to a job or

to the working environment that will enable a person from a designated group to have access to or
participate or advance in employment.’

Employers are required to prepare and implement an ‘employment equity plan’ setting out
objectives, specific numerical goals to achieve equitable representation of suitably qualified
people from designated groups within each occupational category and level, timetables, strategies
to achieve their goals, and procedures for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the
plan.

161
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act No. 108 of 1996, Chapter 2, clause 7
162
Employment Equity Act No. 55 of 1998, Chapter 11, clause 6 (2)
163
Including disabled persons
164
idem: clause 15

64
 Unfair discrimination in employment on disability grounds is further prohibited under the
Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000. The Act makes it clear
that disability discrimination includes failing to take reasonable steps to accommodate the needs of
a person with disabilities, and failing to identify or eliminate obstacles that unjustly limit or restrict
persons with disabilities from enjoying equal opportunities.165

3.7.9 United States

In the United States, the system of rehabilitation in the 1950s and 1960s still had a strong
medical component. A medical diagnosis underlay eligibility for the programme and effectively
determined the course of rehabilitation for the programme’s target populations.166 However, the
cause or origin of disability (e.g. war injuries) became less of concern under the evolving
programme and the range of eligible ‘groups’ expanded during the 1960s and 1970s. With the
passage of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, the emphasis moved to vocational rehabilitation, and
considerable investment followed in vocational rehabilitation facilities, sheltered workshops, day
activity centres and in training qualified rehabilitation professionals.

Part of the 1973 Act is concerned with eliminating employment discrimination, targeting in
particular public employers and firms contracting with the federal government. Disability
lobbyists argued not just for effective implementation but for an extension of the Act’s
requirements to employers in the private sector.

With the 1986 Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act, collective advocacy, developed from
the Civil Rights Movement, more and more influenced the broad national goals for rehabilitation:

- ‘vocational rehabilitation’ was largely replaced in the language of the Act with
‘rehabilitation’

- independent living was identified as a distinct service option for people without
immediate vocational goals 167

- supported employment was identified as a distinct programme and outcome for

the most severely disabled individuals requirements for need-based
programming were introduced:

 a formal state plan must be followed, based on the assessed needs of people
with disabilities

 eligibility must be based on expressed needs among severely disabled persons

165
Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination, Act No. 4 of 2000.
166
Menz, Frederick. Vocational Rehabilitation Research in the United States of America, in Floyd, Michael
(Ed.) Vocational Rehabilitation and Europe. London: Jessica Kingsley Publications, 1997
167
The independent living philosophy is about persons with disabilities taking responsibility for and control of
decisions affecting themselves, becoming self-reliant, and achieving full and equal participation in society.
Control over the individual’s rehabilitation programme was now very much in the hands of consumers of
rehabilitation services.

65
  an individualized rehabilitation plan must be developed based on individual
needs

 the state programme must be evaluated based on the extent to which it meets
the needs of persons with severe disabilities.’ 168

Public activism and organized advocacy continued, culminating in the adoption of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. This extended the anti-discrimination principle to
all private employers with fifteen or more workers. It also prohibited discrimination on the ground
of disability in housing, public accommodation, education, transport, communication, recreation,
institutionalization, health services, voting and access to public services.

In order to benefit from the employment protection provided by the ADA, the individual
must be qualified for the job in question. This means they must be able to perform the ‘essential
functions of the job’, following the making of ‘reasonable accommodation’, if necessary, a
‘reasonable accommodation’ being any modification or adjustment that is effective in allowing an
individual with a disability to perform the ‘essential functions’ of the job. Employers are obliged
to make such accommodations unless it would cause them ‘undue hardship’.

3.7.10 Viet Nam

The Ordinance on Disabled Persons of 1998 prohibits discrimination in hiring against
disabled persons for administrative and non-business positions. The Ordinance also provides for
tax benefits to employers who recruit persons with disabilities.

3.7.11 Zambia
The People with Disabilities Act No. 33 of 1996 in Zambia specifies that an employer shall
not treat a person with a disability different from a person without a disability in advertising for
employment, recruiting, offering terms or conditions of employment, considering promotion,
transfer or training of such persons or providing any other benefits related to employment. The
prohibition on discrimination also applies to learning institutions. Discrimination is defined in the
Act to mean:
- treating a person with a disability less favourably than a person without a disability
- treating a person with a disability less favourably than another person with a
disability
- requiring a person with a disability to comply with a requirement or condition in
which persons without a disability may have an advantage
- not providing different services or conditions required for that disability.

3.7.12 Key Issues

There are reports that anti-discrimination legislation which became effective in certain
industrialized countries some years ago has not been particularly effective in improving the
employment situation of persons with disabilities. A study to examine the implementation,

168
Menz, idem: p. 96

66
enforcement and effectiveness of anti-discrimination legislation in relation to employment in
different countries would be useful.

3.8 Persuasion Measures

As an addition or alternative to obligatory measures based on legislation or quota systems,
non-obligatory measures based on persuasion and self-regulation are found in many countries,
with the express purpose of promoting employment for persons with disabilities.

3.8.1 Information and awareness raising campaigns

Information and awareness raising campaigns, often organized by government agencies and
sometimes by employer groups, may involve public seminars, publications, features in
newspapers, local and national radio and television, websites, etc. Employer-led campaigns in
Sweden, for example, aim to increase interest in creating job opportunities for disabled people, and
emphasize that profitability and social responsibility are not incompatible. (Belgium, Canada,
France, Japan, Portugal).

3.8.2 Awards
Awards to employers for efforts to improve employment opportunities are intended to
recognize good employment policy and practice and to encourage other employers to do likewise
(Australia, Greece). Awards may be made by a government agency or by employer
networks/associations.

3.8.3 Other Measures

Symbols which public or private enterprises may use on their stationery, advertisements or
other company literature indicating their commitment to equal opportunity and treatment for
disabled workers are used to show good company practice and to encourage others. (Ireland, UK).
Codes of good practice for employers have been developed in Belgium and the UK. Disability
equality awareness training for employers and their employees is used in some countries, usually
provided by non-governmental disability organizations.

It is difficult to assess the usefulness of persuasion measures in influencing attitudes or

behaviour. The EU survey of employment policies for people with disabilities concluded that
disability organizations tend to believe that competing interests will almost always undermine
their effectiveness.169

3.8.4 Key Issues

While attitudes expressed in employer surveys may not always be reflected in employer
behaviour, persuasion measures should at least help to heighten awareness. Like voluntary quota
schemes, however, persuasion measures are no substitute for legislation and other obligatory
measures in promoting equality opportunity and treatment for workers with disabilities.

169
EU, op. cit., p. 209

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3.9 Disability Management
The practice of Disability Management has developed in recent years as a means of
facilitating the recruitment, advancement, job retention and return to work of persons with
disabilities. In the workplace, disability management is a proactive process, often integrated into
human resource development practices, that promotes the entry and promotion of persons with
disabilities, as well as strategies that include a range of prevention, rehabilitation and safe return-
to-work interventions to address workplace injury and disability. These strategies are undertaken
in a coordinated effort by workers’ representatives and management, who assume joint
responsibility for addressing disability-related issues in the workplace.

The ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace adopted in November
2001 was drawn up to guide employers, in all sectors and sizes of enterprise, to adopt a positive
strategy in managing disability-related issues in the workplace. While the ILO Code of Practice is
primarily addressed to employers, the document notes that ‘governments play an essential role in
creating a supportive legislative and social policy framework and providing incentives to promote
employment opportunities for people with disabilities. Moreover, the participation and initiative of
people with disabilities is important for the Code to be achievable.’ The contents of the Code of
Practice are based on the principles underpinning international instruments and initiatives designed
to promote the safe and healthy employment of all people with disabilities. The Code is not a
legally binding document and is not intended to supersede or replace national legislation. It is
intended to be read in the context of national conditions and to be applied in accordance with
national law and practice. 170

3.9.1 Job Retention

The ILO Code includes recommended practice in relation to workers who acquire a disability
while in employment, covering aspects such as policy, assessment and rehabilitation. Prevention,
early intervention and retention are issues receiving increasing attention in many countries. 171 Such
measures are supported in many cases by the insurance industry on the basis that job retention is
generally likely to be a less costly outcome than if the employee leaves work. Recent reviews of
employment policies for persons with disabilities identified relatively few examples of initiatives
in this area, but it is likely to assume growing importance to employers if it can be shown to prove
itself on cost-effectiveness grounds.

To date, a limited number of countries have actively promoted disability management as a

strategy in national policies concerning vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled
persons. Examples are cited here from Canada and the United States.

170
ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, Geneva, 2002
171
Thorton, P. International Research Project on Job Retention and Return to Work Strategies for Disabled
Workers, ILO: Geneva, 1998

68
3.9.2 Disability Management in Canada
A Code of Practice for Disability Management was launched in Canada in 2000. Endorsed
and funded in part by the federal government’s Labour-Management Partnership Programme, and
produced by the National Institute of Disability Management and Research (NIDMAR), the Code
provides practical guidelines, key criteria and outcome measures for implementing disability
management. Many organizations and their networks, including employers’ and workers’
organizations and organizations of and for persons with disabilities, are helping to facilitate the
employment, retention and return-to-work opportunities for disabled persons. Measures include
policy statements and provision of advisory and supportive services.

3.9.3 Disability Management in the United States

With few exceptions, there are generally no federal or state programmes for short-term or
long-term disability measures for non-occupational illness or injuries in the United States. This
role is usually filled by employer, union and/or employee funded programmes. The costs of short-
term and long-term payments, as well as workers’ compensation payment for work injuries, are
ultimately borne by employers through increased insurance premiums. Employers thus have an
incentive to reduce these costs. This has led to the introduction of what is termed disability
management, encompassing a variety of activities designed to prevent disabilities from occurring
and/or to minimize their impact on workers and employers. The activities include:

 safety programmes

 employee health and assistance programmes

 return-to-work programmes.

3.9.4 Key Issues

The ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace should be promoted
actively with a view to its wider dissemination to and use by governments, employers’ and
workers’ organizations.

3.10 Consultation Mechanisms

Convention No. 159 requires that representative organizations of employers and workers, as
well as those of and for disabled persons, are to be consulted on the implementation of national
policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment. Recommendation No. 168 states that these
organizations should also be able to contribute to the formulation of policies on the organization
and development of vocational rehabilitation services, and makes a number of recommendations
about the form their participation might take.

Based on its survey of national legislation and the information provided by governments, the
ILO’s Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations has found

69
that consultations, of different forms, are held in an increasing number of countries.172 In some
countries (for example, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Mauritius, Sweden, United Kingdom)
permanent councils or committees have been set up involving organizations of and for disabled
persons and are consulted on the implementation of national policy. In other countries, all three
representative groups are on various bodies responsible for drafting or implementing policies,
measures and programmes (in, for example, Chile, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, the Philippines,
Tunisia).

Some governments report that permanent bodies have been established to hold consultations
with employers’ and workers’ representatives. (Australia, Burkina Faso, Greece, Lithuania, for
example)

In other countries (for example, Argentina, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Iceland, Suriname,
Thailand, Zambia) only organizations of and for persons with disabilities appear to be consulted.

3.10.1 Key Issues

Vocational rehabilitation and employment for persons with disabilities should be seen as an
essential component of national employment policy. Government consultations on this issue
would undoubtedly benefit from the participation of employers’ and workers’ organizations, as
well as from the involvement of representatives of and for disabled persons.

3.11 Information, Monitoring and Evaluation

3.11.1 Information
The ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace 173 defines a disabled
person as ‘An individual whose prospects of securing, returning to, retaining and advancing in
suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognized physical, sensory,
intellectual or mental impairment’. This is a slightly amplified version of the definition used in
ILO Convention No. 159, which has successfully stood the test of time since its adoption in 1983.
For practical purposes, the Code of Practice definition may be seen as applying to any generalized
sections of this report.

In considering disability legislation and policies at national, regional or international levels,

however, one finds no such agreement. There are wide divergences in how disability is defined,
not only between countries, 174 but also between Ministries and programmes within countries.175

There is no consistent series of internationally comparable, reliable and valid data on people
with disabilities. This is partly because of the plethora of definitions used but also because of
deficiencies in the data collection methods employed. Thus, estimates of the numbers of persons
in the working-age population who are or might be classified as having disabilities vary between
countries, not only according to differences as to what constitutes a disability but also because of

172
ILO, Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons, 1998
173
ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace, 2002
174
See for example, OECD, Employment Policies for People with Disabilities, 2000, pp. 194-201
175
In Australia and Canada, for example

70
the variety of approaches used to gather and compile such data. These are not the only reasons
why cross-national comparisons are difficult. As a recent EU study of employment policies for
people with disabilities points out, no two countries operate substantially similar systems, and
there are major differences in almost all the main factors which impact on the structure and
delivery of disability and employment policy. 176 The UN General Assembly has urged
Governments to cooperate with the Statistics Division, Department of Economic and Social
Affairs of the UN Secretariat in the continued development of global statistics and indicators on
disability. 177

Comparisons between countries can be informative and useful, provided the bases for
comparison are valid. What are more important in the first instance however, are the relevance,
nature, quality, reliability and accuracy of information which informs the development of policy
and programmes in each country. From recent surveys it would appear that, with a few notable
exceptions (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden), the data required for
policy and programme development, planning, monitoring and evaluation are inadequate, and
seriously so in some cases.

Most of the countries concerned readily acknowledge the information gaps, recognizing that
inadequacies in data make effective policy formulation and planning difficult, and weaken the
case for resource allocation. Many have plans to improve their statistical information on the
employment of persons with disabilities.

3.11.2 Monitoring and Evaluation

Poor data render effective programme monitoring and evaluation well-nigh impossible.178
This assumes particular importance when increasing social security costs give rise to concern. For
example, in her 1998 report on job retention and return to work strategies, Thornton includes in a
list of ‘emerging issues’:
‘Principles of social solidarity are eroding fast in the Netherlands, with decreasing
public and political will to support the massive costs of the disability system….’ ‘A
response to the rising costs of sickness and disability benefits in the Netherlands and
in Sweden has been to shift responsibilities from the state to the enterprise….both for
payment of sickness benefit and for early intervention to reduce sickness absence’. 179

In the United States, the US General Accounting Office has criticized the fact that the
effectiveness of a large range of employment related programmes for people with disabilities has

176
EU, Benchmarking employment policies for people with disabilities, 2000
177
Resolution 54/121 of 17 Dec. 1999, ‘Implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning
Disabled Persons: towards a society for all in the twenty-first century.’
178
OECD Working Party on Employment: Manpower Measures Evaluation Programme. ‘Occupational
Training and Retraining Measures for Specific Target Groups,’ 1986
179
Thornton, P. International Research Project on Job Retention and Return to Work Strategies for Disabled
Workers, ILO 1998, p. 13

71
been subject to little or no evaluation. 180 The place of social security benefits in facilitating return
to work has also received special attention in the United States.
‘Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplementary Security Income programs
should not be viewed as exclusive and permanent sources of income to the person
with disabilities. They should, in every case possible, be used as stepping stones to
improving a person’s economic condition.’ 181
Few employment-related programmes for people with disabilities appear to have produced
evaluations which could be used to support a case for better funding.

The general need for better evaluation data is being reinforced by growing and competing
demands on public expenditure. Competition for resources exists not only within the overall
context of national economic policies, but also between disability policies (prevention versus
rehabilitation versus equal opportunity, for example) and within the disability employment area
itself. For instance, should available resources be allocated to train all those who have a disability,
concentrated on skill training for those most likely to get jobs, or devoted to those most in need?

The imprecision inherent in any evaluation programme does not mean that evaluations should
not be carried out or used as a guide to policy. There is no alternative, if policy affecting the future
is to be based on a reasonable assessment of the problems with which that policy must deal.

180
Thornton P and Lunt N. Employment Policies for Disabled People in Eighteen Countries: A Review, Social
Policy Research Unit, University of York, 1997, p. 276
181
Social Security Administration, 1994, quoted in Thornton and Lunt, op. cit., p. 277

72
 CHAPTER 4 -
KEY ISSUES AND AN AGENDA FOR ACTION

4.1 Key Issues

Despite the array of international, regional, and national laws and other instruments, persons
with disabilities throughout the world continue to be subjected to discrimination and denial of their
rights in the field of employment. Available statistics indicate that the unemployment rate among
workers with disabilities tends to be at least twice or three times that of other workers. Disabled
workers are generally concentrated in low-level, low-paid jobs, and are not adequately represented
at higher levels. Physical accessibility problems are commonplace, often reflecting negative
attitudes or prejudices among others in the labour market. The double discrimination (sometimes
treble, because of poverty) of women with disabilities is a particular affront to human dignity and a
denial of human rights on which priority action is overdue. It could be argued that if the measures
contained in existing international treaties were appropriately implemented, full equality and
participation would be achieved. This unfortunately, is not yet the case. There is no country in
which a major policy or programme initiative is not required. Much attention is currently being
directed towards the possible elaboration of a United Nations convention on the rights of persons
with disabilities. That process could take a number of years. In the meantime, there are a number of
key issues which need to be addressed towards achieving the goal of equality of opportunity and
treatment in the field of employment.

4.1.1 UN Human Rights Instruments

The final report of the study on Human Rights and Disability commissioned by the UN High
Commissioner on Human Rights, the executive summary of which was circulated at the
Commission on Social Development meeting in February 2002, contains a wide range of
comments and recommendations designed to improve the effectiveness of the UN human rights
system in the context of disability. These comments and recommendations are addressed to
governments, treaty-monitoring bodies, the Office of the High Commissioner, the UN Commission
on Human Rights, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations. They
undoubtedly have implications for international agencies, not least in relation to multi-sectoral
collaboration. Notwithstanding the understandable likely preoccupation with the elaboration of a
new treaty, this rich outcome from the Human Rights and Disability study should provide an
invaluable agenda for the future. It is important that an action programme be devised to address
that agenda, concurrent with the work on a new convention.

Until the proposed new convention with its commitments becomes effective, human rights
treaty-monitoring bodies, including the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
should explicitly monitor the compliance of States with their commitments under the relevant
human rights instruments in order to ensure the full exercise of those rights by persons with
disabilities.

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4.1.2 UN Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for persons with disabilities
Shortcomings in the Standard Rules which have been identified by the Special Rapporteur
concerning the gender dimension, persons with developmental and psychiatric disabilities and
housing, among other matters, need to be corrected.

The effectiveness of the monitoring process for the Standard Rules, which relies to a large
extent on postal questionnaires, should be reviewed.

4.1.3 ILO Convention No. 159 concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of
Disabled Persons
The twentieth anniversary of the adoption of Convention No. 159 in 2003 should be used to
encourage States which have not yet ratified Convention No. 159 to do so and to remind States
parties, where necessary, of their obligations under the Convention.

Given the central importance of consultations with the social partners and with organizations
of and for persons with disabilities in relation to national policies concerning the vocational
rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons, the ILO should consider conducting an
international review of the extent and effectiveness of consultation between organizations of and
for persons with disabilities, and governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations in relation
to vocational rehabilitation and employment issues.

4.1.4 ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace

The ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace should be promoted
actively with a view to its wider dissemination to and use by governments, employers’ and
workers’ organizations.

4.1.5 Women and Disabilities

The general neglect of particular issues affecting women with disabilities should be addressed
as a priority. Consideration should be given to proclaiming a Year of Women with Disabilities in
order to highlight the particular vulnerability of this group to discrimination and to elaborate a
special programme of action to address the problem issues.

4.1.6 Developing Countries

An estimated 80 per cent of all disabled people in the world live in rural areas in developing
countries. The majority has either limited or no access to the services they need. In the current
climate of economic and political uncertainty, the protection of the most vulnerable members of
society assumes greater importance. A particular responsibility rests on governments to counter or
alleviate the outcomes of market and other forces. A concerted effort is needed to increase the
range and level of international support and assistance to enable developing countries to improve
vocational rehabilitation, work and employment opportunities for women and men with
disabilities. Bilateral and multilateral development cooperation programmes should integrate
disability measures into their own overall approach.

Many development projects involve the construction of schools and vocational training
centres, the establishment of public transport systems, the setting up of new factories, workshops

74
and offices. If the particular needs of persons with disabilities are not planned for in those
developments, the result will reinforce their segregation and exclusion and deny them the
opportunities to which they are entitled. Experience elsewhere shows clearly that attempting to
make existing buildings accessible to people with different disabilities is both difficult and costly.
Attention should therefore to be paid to accessibility requirements from the early planning stage of
such construction.

The Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper approach to poverty reduction in low-income countries,
initiated by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, needs revision to ensure that it
adequately reflects the needs of people with disabilities who live in poverty.

4.1.7 Training for Employment

Priority in vocational training policy and provision, particularly in times of rising
unemployment, should be given to the most vulnerable if they are not to become further
disadvantaged in the labour market.

Many of the jobs for which disabled persons have been traditionally trained do not exist any
more. The relevance of training programmes to current and likely future labour market
requirements should be critically reviewed.

Physical accessibility remains a major barrier to many persons with disabilities seeking work
or training. Special measures are needed to create a truly barrier-free and non-discriminatory
environment.

While the principle of mainstreaming is being increasingly accepted, the effectiveness of the
practice needs to be urgently reviewed before disabled persons find themselves more
disadvantaged than before.

4.1.8 Multi-sectoral Collaboration

In many countries, responsibility for vocational training and retraining for persons with
disabilities has been assigned to the ministry or department responsible for general labour market
training, rather than to a specialized ‘disability’ ministry. This incorporation into mainstream is
seen as part of a more inclusive policy, in keeping with the goal of full inclusion and participation
of disabled persons in society. Such an approach implies that the needs of persons with disabilities
should be taken into account in policy making of all ministries and departments, and in the
processes and structures designed to implement policies and programmes. Given this, the work of
the ILO, UNESCO and WHO in relation to multi-sectoral collaboration should be pursued and
intensified.

75
4.1.9 Employment Promotion
Persuasion measures should be encouraged and intensified. Such measures are, however, no
substitute for legislation and other obligatory measures in promoting equality of opportunity and
treatment.

There appears to be considerable potential for creating additional meaningful employment for
persons with disabilities by expanding the range and types of social enterprises. The ILO should
take the lead in helping to remove or reduce barriers which are inhibiting the creation of new social
enterprises.

4.1.10 Statistical and Other Data

There is a general lack of reliable, valid and comparable data on the employment situation of
persons with disabilities. This makes it difficult to answers questions such as:

- have labour force participation rates increased for persons with disabilities?

- have unemployment rates for persons with disabilities increased/decreased and, if so, by how
much?

- do disabled workers enjoy the same rates of pay as others doing comparable work?

Inadequacies in data reliability and quality at any level make policy formulation and
programme planning difficult and weaken the case for resources allocation. Consideration should
be given to the setting up of a special Task Force to explore how data deficiencies in relation to
work and employment might be improved.

4.1.11 Programme Evaluation

Few employment-related programmes for persons with disabilities have been evaluated.
Competing demands on public expenditure emphasize the need for more evaluation. The
development of guidelines on best practice should be considered.

4.2 General Principles to Inform the Drafting of a New treaty

An important opportunity to take a further significant step towards achieving the goal of
equality of opportunity and treatment in the employment field arises from the General Assembly
decision to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral
convention to promote and protect the rights of persons with disabilities. The process of elaborating
a convention should be open and transparent, and should provide for full and meaningful
participation by all interested parties in a spirit of cooperation. Keeping that firmly in mind, and
taking into account existing international treaties and in particular, ILO Convention No. 159 and
related ILO instruments, the following general principles are suggested as a basis to inform that
process, particularly in relation to the employment provisions of the proposed Convention.

 The proposed Convention must be approached from a human rights perspective. It

should be informed by the overarching principle that all persons with disabilities,
without exception, are entitled to the full benefit and enjoyment of all fundamental
human rights and freedoms on the basis of equality and without discrimination.

76
 All international human rights instruments protect the rights of persons with
disabilities through the principles of equality and non-discrimination. The adoption of
international standards dealing specifically with the rights of persons with disabilities
should be seen as giving more detailed content to internationally agreed general rights
and freedoms.

 The Convention must apply to all categories of disabled persons.

 Special attention should be paid to the situation of people with disabilities facing
multiple discrimination including, in particular, women with disabilities and poor
disabled persons in developing countries.

 Special attention should be paid to the situation of persons with disabilities in rural and
remote areas.

 The provisions of the Convention should not conflict with existing provisions either of
national law or international instruments, in particular those of Convention No. 159
concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons.

 The provisions of the Convention should be regarded as minima, which States party
may go beyond in national law.

 The Convention should address itself primarily to governments, with whom the main
responsibility rests, while requiring States party to seek the cooperation of employer’
and workers’ organizations, and organizations of and for persons with disabilities.

 The Convention should recognize that equality of opportunity exists only when any
relevant restrictions or limitations caused directly or indirectly by a disability have
been compensated for by appropriate modifications, adjustments or assistance. Denial
of any such reasonable accommodation constitutes disability-based discrimination. It
should thus require governments not merely to abstain from and prevent measures
which might discriminate against persons with disabilities, but also to take affirmative
action to reduce or remove barriers to full participation and to give preferential
treatment, where necessary, in order to achieve equality of opportunity and treatment.
Such affirmative action measures should not be regarded as discriminating against
other workers.

 The Convention should recognize the importance of social dialogue in achieving the
rights contained in the Convention through national level negotiations and, in the case
of employment, in the concrete exercise of these rights in the workplace, through
collective bargaining.

 As public services become generally more privatized, private employers and providers
of goods and services, and other non-public bodies should increasingly become
subject to both non-discrimination and equality norms in relation to persons with
disabilities.

 Rights can only be properly exercised and protected if people are aware of their
existence and are in a position to access them. In other words, rights must be visible
and accessible, and there should be access to justice through easy-to-use dispute
prevention and settlement systems and to legal aid.

77
  The Convention should recognize the importance of having an institutional framework
to deal with the rights of persons with disabilities, appropriate to national conditions.

 The importance of international cooperation in the promotion of development and,

hence, in the effective implementation of the Convention should be strongly reflected,
and governments in particular urged to adopt special measures to help achieve that
goal.

 The elaboration process should be open and transparent. It should provide for
meaningful participation by all interested parties, in particular persons with disabilities
and their representative organizations.

 The Convention should include provision for a monitoring mechanism which should
involve the specialized United Nations agencies and other UN organs, in their
respective areas of competence.

4.3 What Should the Convention Contain Concerning the Right to Decent Work?
Note: The proposed Convention need not be limited to defining the rights of persons with
disabilities. It may also set down governmental obligations for ensuring those rights. It may
include substantive articles as well as application provisions.

 States party to develop, implement and periodically review national policies and
systems on vocational rehabilitation and employment.

 States party to recognize the right to decent work of persons with disabilities
according to personal capabilities, which includes the right to the opportunity to gain a
living by work freely chosen or accepted, the right to vocational guidance, vocational
training, placement and employment-related services.

 The right, according to personal capabilities, to secure and retain employment or to

engage in a freely-chosen, useful, productive and remunerative employment.

 Vocational rehabilitation and employment measures to be made available and

accessible to all categories of disabled persons.

 Wherever possible, persons with disabilities to avail of these services with and under
the same conditions as other workers with any necessary adaptations or assistance, as
required.

 The right to decent, just and favourable conditions of work which ensure, in
particular:

- equal pay for work of equal value

- equality of opportunity and treatment for disabled men and women

- safe and healthy working conditions

- equal opportunity to be promoted to an appropriate higher level, subject to no

considerations other than competence, experience and the inherent requirements of
the job

78
 - rest and leisure and reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays
with pay, as well as remuneration for public holidays.

 The right to social security, including social insurance, and to a decent standard of
living

 Social/Security/Insurance benefits should not constitute a disincentive to vocational

rehabilitation or employment

 The right to join trade unions

 Equal opportunities and equal treatment in matters of employment and occupation

without discrimination on the grounds of disability

 Protection against exploitation and any treatment of a discriminatory, abusive or

degrading nature

 The right to protection in cases of termination of employment

 Measures to be taken to promote employment opportunities for persons with

disabilities which conform to the employment and remuneration standards applicable
to workers generally

 Special positive measures aimed at effective equality of opportunity and treatment

between workers with disabilities and other workers not to be regarded as
discriminating against other workers

 Elimination of physical, communication and other barriers and obstacles affecting

transport and access to and free movement in training and employment premises

 The provision, where necessary, of support measures including technical supports,

wage subsidies, and ongoing personal services to enable persons with disabilities to
secure, retain and advance in employment

 Special measures to be taken to meet the vocational rehabilitation, work and

employment needs of women with disabilities and other disabled persons facing
multiple discrimination.
 Special measures to be taken to meet the vocational rehabilitation and employment
needs of persons with disabilities in rural areas and remote communities
 Special measures to be taken to assist in overcoming prejudice, misinformation and
attitudes unfavourable to the employment of persons with disabilities
 All States Parties to be encouraged to develop and adopt suitable legislation
prohibiting direct and indirect discrimination in the field of training and employment
on the grounds of disability, such legislation (a) to apply, inter alia, to recruitment and
selection, vocational guidance, training and retraining, employment and working
conditions, pay, retention, dismissal and promotion; (b) to include the requirement
that reasonable accommodation be provided by employers where necessary to ensure
equality of opportunity and treatment
 No provision in the Convention should affect any provisions which are more
conducive to the realization of the right to decent work of persons with disabilities

79
 which may be contained in the law of a State party to the Convention or international
law in force in that State, in particular Convention No. 159 concerning Vocational
Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons.
 States party to ensure that other employment-related laws and regulations do not
discriminate against persons with disabilities
 States party to ensure the development of alternative forms of employment for
persons with disabilities who may not have the capacity to work in the open labour
market
 Sheltered workshops to provide, not only useful and remunerative work, but
opportunities for vocational advancement with, wherever possible, transfer to open
employment
 States party to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to legal and other
support to enable them to exercise their right to vocational rehabilitation and
employment
 Representative organizations of employers and workers, and representative
organizations of and for persons with disabilities, to be consulted on the
implementation of vocational rehabilitation and employment policies for disabled
persons
 States party, by methods appropriate to national conditions and practice, to pursue the
policy in respect of decent work for persons with disabilities under the direct control
of a national authority
 The role of the ILO in the field of vocational rehabilitation and employment of
persons with disabilities to be promoted, particularly with regard to:
- the encouragement and facilitation of international cooperation
- the utilization of the ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the
Workplace
- the improvement of reliable and valid statistical and other information
- the promotion of research and evaluation of programmes and practices.

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 ANNEX 1 -
DEFINITIONS
The following definitions of terms used in this report are based on the ILO Code of Practice
on Managing Disability in the Workplace.

Adjustment or accommodation

Adaptation of the job, including adjustment and modification of machinery and equipment
and/or modification of the job content, working time and work organization, and the adaptation of
the work environment to provide access to the place of work and to facilitate the employment of
individuals with disabilities.

Competent authority

A ministry, government department or other public authority having the power to issue
regulations, orders or other instructions having the force of law.

Disability management

A process in the workplace designed to facilitate the employment of persons with a disability
through a coordinated effort addressing individual needs, work environment, enterprise needs and
legal responsibilities.

Disabled person

An individual whose prospects of securing, returning to, retaining and advancing in suitable
employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognized physical, sensory,
intellectual or mental impairment.

Discrimination

Any distinction, exclusion or preference based on certain grounds which nullifies or impairs
equality of opportunity or treatment in employment or occupation. General standards that establish
distinctions based on prohibited grounds constitute discrimination in law. The specific attitude of a
public authority or a private individual that treats unequally persons or members of a group on a
prohibited ground constitutes discrimination in practice. Indirect discrimination refers to apparently
neutral situations, regulations or practices which in fact result in unequal treatment of persons with
certain characteristics. Distinction or preferences that may result from application of special
measures of protection and assistance taken to meet the particular requirements of disabled persons
are not considered discriminatory.

Employer

A person or organization employing workers under a written or verbal contract of employment

which established the rights and duties of both parties, in accordance with national law and
practice. Governments, public authorities and private companies as well as individuals may be
employers.

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Employee assistance programme

A programme – either jointly operated by an employer and a workers’ organization, or by an

employer alone, or a workers’ organization alone – that offers assistance to workers and frequently
also to their family members, with problems liable to cause personal distress, which affect or could
eventually affect job productivity.

Employers’ organization

An organization whose membership consists of individual employers, other associations of

employers or both, formed primarily to protect and promote the interests of members and to
provide services to its members in employment-related matters.

Equal opportunity

Equal access to and opportunities for all persons in employment, vocational training and
particular occupations, without discrimination, consistent with Article 4 of ILO Convention No.
159.

International labour standards

Principles and norms in all labour-related matters which are adopted by the tripartite
International Labour Conference (governments, employers and workers). Theses standards take the
form of international labour Conventions and Recommendations. Through ratifications by member
States, conventions create binding obligations to implement their provisions. Recommendations are
non-binding instruments which provide guidance on policy, legislation and practice.

Job adaptation

The adaptation or redesign of tools, machines, workstations and the work environment to an
individual’s needs. It may also include adjustments in work organization, work schedules,
sequences of work and in breaking down work tasks to their basic elements.
Job retention

Remaining with the same employer, with the same or different duties or conditions of
employment, including return after a period of paid or unpaid absence.

Mainstreaming

Including people with disabilities in employment, education, training and all sectors of society.

Organizations of and/or for persons with disabilities

Organizations which represent persons with disabilities and advocate for their rights.

Return to work

The process by which a worker is supported in resuming work after an absence due to injury
or illness.

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Vocational rehabilitation

A process which enables disabled persons to secure, retain and advance in suitable
employment and thereby furthers their integration or reintegration into society.

Works council/workplace committee

A committee of workers within the enterprise with which the employer cooperates and which
is consulted by the employer on matters of mutual concern.

Worker/employee

Any person who works for a wage or salary and performs services for an employer.
Employment is governed by a written or verbal contract of service.

Workers’ representatives

Persons who are recognized as such under national law or practice, in accordance with the
Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135), whether they are: (a) trade union
representatives, namely representatives designated or elected by trade unions; or (b) elected
representatives, namely representatives who are freely elected by workers of the undertaking in
accordance with provisions of national laws or regulations or of collective agreements and whose
functions do not include activities which are recognized as the exclusive prerogative of trade
unions in the country concerned.

Working conditions

The factors determining the circumstances in which the worker works. These include hours of
work, work organization, job content, welfare services and the measures taken to protect the
occupational safety and health of the worker.

Working environment

The facilities and circumstances in which work takes place and the environmental factors
which may affect workers’ health.

Workplace

All the places where people in employment need to be or to go to carry out their work and
which are under the direct or indirect control of the employer. Examples include offices, factories,
plantations, construction sites, ships and private residences.

Workstation

The part of the office or factory where an individual works, including desk or work surface
used, chair, equipment and other items.

Work trial

Work activity to provide experience in or test suitability for a particular job.

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 ANNEX 2 - EARLY HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF WORK AND EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (1900-1930)

A2.1 Overview
‘Variations in physical, mental and sensory functioning have always existed among
human beings. Yet, people with functional limitations, disabilities, have always run the
risk of being excluded and marginalized. Throughout the centuries we have designed
and constructed our societies as if persons with disabilities did not exist, as if all
human beings can see, hear, walk about, understand and react quickly and adequately
to signals from the world around them. This illusion, this misconception about human
nature, this inability to take the needs of all citizens into account in the development of
society is the main reason for the isolation and exclusion of persons with disabilities,
which we can observe in different forms and to different degrees all over the world. It
will take a long time to change this pattern of behaviour, which is deeply rooted in
prejudice, fear, shame and lack of understanding of what it really means to live with a
disability. However, international efforts to improve the living conditions for persons
with disabilities have begun and progress is being made. A more systematic effort to
improving living conditions of persons with disabilities started long ago in the
emerging industrialized nations. During the last 50 years the so-called advanced
welfare states have developed comprehensive programmes and services in order to
meet the needs of persons with disabilities.’182
In the context of work and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities, the starting
point was probably about 35 years earlier than that, though there has been a significant acceleration
in the pace of change during the past two decades or so. Concepts such as equality of opportunity,
justice, rights, choice, recognition and acceptance of diversity, and ‘reasonable accommodation’
(though by another name) are not unique to the independent living movement or the transition to
the so-called social and rights models. They can be found in descriptions of the development of
vocational rehabilitation, leading to the ability to work, in certain countries at the time of the First
World War, 1914-1918. 183

A2.2 From the Beginning

The general depiction of people with disabilities as objects of health, welfare and charity
programmes, often resulting in their segregation and exclusion from mainstream activities,
including employment, began to be seriously questioned in the early part of the twentieth century.
A growing realization that persons with a disability had not only the motivation to work but the
capacity to do so, led to the early development of policies and programmes to enable disabled
persons to secure, retain and advance in suitable employment, and to return to work after an
absence due to illness or injury. A particular stimulus for the latter, it must be said, was the need for
trained workers to replace those called to fight in World War I.

182
Final Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission for Social Development on monitoring the
implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities on his
second mission, 1997-2000 (E/CN. 5/2000/3 Annex)
183 Harris, Garrard, The redemption of the disabled: A study of programmes of rehabilitation for the disabled of
war and industry, New York, Appleton, 1919

85
A2.3 Belgium
In the early days of the First World War, a place of refuge, with medical and surgical
treatment for all who needed it, developed near Havre, France, for Belgian soldiers disabled in
fighting in their homeland. 184 What soon became known as the Depot des Invalides quickly became
a centre for medical care and vocational instruction. The curriculum included carpentry,
brushmaking, toymaking, plumbing, cooperage, mechanics, wood and metal turning, electrical
work, upholstery, shoemaking, tailoring, printing, envelope making and the manufacture of
artificial limbs. Wages were paid, some of which was deposited in a savings account to be given to
the individual when he left. The advantages of vocationally rehabilitating disabled soldiers to
enable them to contribute to the war effort in a supporting role led to the establishment in 1916 of
the Ecole Nationale Belge des mutilés de la guerre at Port Villez in France. Training courses
included poultry farming, market gardening, office/clerical work, teacher training and over forty
technical trades. The school was maintained by the Belgian Government and those attending
received the regular rate of army pay plus a portion of the proceeds of the sale of articles produced.
For those with the capacity for and interest in studying for a profession such as law, medicine,
natural sciences, etc. opportunity was provided to study in Paris.

A2.4 France
Vocational rehabilitation and return to work programmes in France had a somewhat similar
development to that for Belgian disabled soldiers. The municipality of Lyons opened its first school
for this purpose in December 1914, followed by a second six months later. Other municipal
authorities, departmental governments, trade unions and private charities followed suit. The
Ministry of Commerce adapted vocational schools under its jurisdiction so that soldiers with
disabilities could attend. By the end of 1916, over 100 schools were available for vocational
rehabilitation. A National Office was set up the same year to coordinate matters.

‘In the larger schools,’ according to Harris, ‘the training offered is divided into instruction in
manual trades, office work and general schooling. Figures show that the manual trades most in
demand are shoemaking, tailoring, basketry, harnessmaking, saddlery, tinsmithing and carpentry.
The reason for the popularity of these trades is that they will afford a living almost anywhere, in the
city or in a tiny village. They do not require expensive equipment, and they are the trades selected
by the men themselves. Most of the soldiers are from villages and small towns, and these desire to
acquire a trade that, when eked out with their pension, will give a good living and yet not be too
exacting. These men will open shops in their homes, and have time also to work in the garden,
cultivate their tiny farm patches, and attend their vines.’185 Other trades taught included mechanics,
typography, lithography, bookbinding, locksmith, brushmaking, toymaking and box-making,
welding, mould making and stucco work, vehicle painting, photography, diamond cutting, sabot
and galoche making, stonecarving, hairdressing, dental mechanics and wireless telegraphy.

A2.5 Great Britain

The aftercare of disabled soldiers and sailors in Great Britain pre-World War One had been
principally a matter of private initiative and financial support. 186 State provision consisted largely
of a small pension and, where needed, artificial limbs. This approach was changed utterly when an
official report in February 1915 stated that primary responsibility in this regard was with
government. The report recommended:

184
Paragraphs 4 to 9 rely heavily on Harris, op. cit.
185
idem: p. 88
186
idem: p. 93

86
(1) ‘The care of soldiers and sailors should be assumed by the State.

(2) This duty should include:

a) the restoration of the man’s health where practicable;

b) the provision of training facilities if he desires to learn a new trade;

c) the finding of employment for him when he stands in need of such assistance.’ 187

The principal pre-war agency of after-care work was the Royal Patriotic Fund Corporation,
which held in trust the Royal Patriotic Fund, an amalgamation of private charitable funds, dating
back in origin to the Crimean War. The Military and Naval War Pensions Act, 1915 created the
Statutory Committee for administration of the Fund, and the Committee and its system of local
committees were brought under the control of the Ministry of Pensions when it was established in
1916. The Statutory Committee was, in turn, dissolved under further legislation the following year
and the Ministry of Pensions, and Local War Pensions Committees, were charged with ‘the
medical treatment or training for industrial life that a discharged soldier may need.’

Training was provided as needed, in technical schools, agricultural colleges or workshops,

though in the case of the last named it was expected that the individual would be employed
permanently in the shop. For others, placement was organized through the training institution or
local labour exchange. Trade advisory committees were set up jointly by the Ministries of Pensions
and Labour in the principal trades for which training was given, to advise ‘as to conditions under
which the training of disabled men in the trade can be best given, the best methods of training, the
suitable centres for it, and generally how to secure uniformity in training.’ Other local ‘technical
advisory committees’ were set up to advise on suitable local schemes for training individuals and
the prospects of their employment after training. Both types of committee included equal
representation of employers and trade unions. A key characteristic of the British system appears to
have been its ability to respond to individual needs and local conditions.

A2.6 Germany
In many ways, at the beginning of the war, Germany was in a better position than many other
countries to deal with the issue of vocational rehabilitation. A leader in orthopaedic surgery and
rehabilitation, Germany also had a well developed network of disability centres, many of which
had workshops teaching a variety of trades. Employers’ insurance associations also had a number
of hospitals which provided services.

It appears that the government accepted responsibility for the medical rehabilitation of
disabled soldiers, while vocational rehabilitation and return to working life were the province of
private charity or individual states. As an example, the 900 bed hospital in Nurnberg was made
available by the city authorities, complete with up to date orthopaedic equipment. General and
theoretical instruction was provided in the city’s schools, and practical work in the hospital
workshops.

Skills taught included: left-hand writing, typewriting, stenography, commercial courses, farm
bookkeeping, decoration and design, office management, tailoring, painting, bookbinding, printing,
locksmithing, shoemaking, saddlery, weaving, orthopaedic mechanics, carpentry, farming,
blacksmithing, brushmaking. Additional courses provided in Düsseldorf included telegraphy,

187
Quoted in Harris, op. cit. p. 95

87
electrical and metal work, cardboard and leather-work, plastering, upholstery and dental
mechanics.

There were a number of agricultural schools for disabled servicemen, some of which provided
training as farm teachers. It was considered that the main need was to equip the small peasant
farmer to return to his own holding where, with the help of other family members, he might
manage truck gardening, poultry-raising, etc.

A number of major employers maintained their own hospitals to rehabilitate former

employees disabled in the war and to provide suitable work opportunities afterwards.

A2.7 Canada
The issues of vocational rehabilitation and return to working life for disabled servicemen was
a new one for Canada when it arose for the first time in 1915. Having learned what they could of
the early experiences of some of the European countries, Canada set about developing its own
system to meet its own needs. The authorities concluded at an early stage:

(a) that every case would be an individual one, and should be dealt with accordingly,

(b) that as a matter of fundamental policy, vocational rehabilitation - which they saw as
helping an individual to make the transition to civilian employment - should be strictly
a civilian and not a military affair,

(c) that, as a motivational factor, it should be made clear that no matter how much an
individual might manage to earn following rehabilitation, his status as a government
pensioner would not be affected.

As soon as possible after the disabled individual got to the hospital, he was seen by a
vocational adviser. If at the end of hospital treatment the serviceman was able to return to his
former civil occupation, the vocational work with him was ended. If not, the vocational officer
would work with him to ascertain his capacities, experience and inclinations and to hopefully agree
a suitable choice of occupation in which there would exist a good prospect of future employment.
Assistance with placement was also provided.

Farmers were given special inducements - including homesteads and financial loans in cases -
to go back to work on the land. They were trained as tractor and farm mechanics, as creamery
workers, in poultry raising and horticulture.

By 1918, the Canadian government was providing training in about two hundred occupations.

A2.8 United States

For some years before the war, there had been growing interest in the United States in
vocational education. The Federal Vocational Education Act, approved on 23 February 1917,
created a substantial fund to be distributed among the States which accepted the terms of the Act,
on a dollar for dollar matching basis, for vocational education. The Act established the Federal
Board for Vocational Education to administer the fund and oversee the implementation of the
legislation. When the United States entered the war on 6 April, 1917, one of the first tasks of the
Board was to assist in providing personnel trained for technical war occupations.

88
 When the need for vocational rehabilitation of disabled servicemen arose, the lessons from
European and Canadian schemes were studied. There was general agreement that the work of
training and returning individuals to civil life was a matter for civilians, not the military. The
Smith-Sears Vocational Rehabilitation Bill became law on 27 June 1918. 188

Harris claims that the motivation underlying the establishment of vocational rehabilitation was
markedly different as between Europe and the United States:
‘The work of vocationally rehabilitating the disabled in Europe had its origin in
compassion and charity. Its rapid development came through the necessity of using all
available manpower and the recognition of the possibility of substituting retrained but
physically disabled men for those yet physically able, but detained behind the lines as
workers in essential war industries. Its present status is due primarily to the insistent
demands of war work, but partly in addition to the realization by European
Governments that there will be a great shortage of trained men in all lines of industry
after the war. That country possessing the greatest reserve of skilled workmen, even
though in some respects physically disabled, will have a distinct advantage in
recuperation over those less favourably situated. With the United States none of the
foregoing considerations was the moving cause of the resolution to reeducate for civil
life its disabled men, prevented by reason of their injuries from returning to their
former means of gaining a livelihood. Indeed, these considerations played small part in
the decision, and then only as incidentals of benefit and cause associated with a course
already shaping itself upon broader and even higher grounds. That the programme had
phases that might rebound to the national good was pleasant to contemplate, but the
seeking of a direct national benefit, either as a present or as a post-bellum excuse or
reason was never considered as a governing factor.
In brief, the position of the United States, as evidenced by its legislation on the subject
of vocational rehabilitation for disabled soldiers and sailors, is that the Nation owes
them neither charity nor alms; that their sacrifice and service deserve more than a
gratuity; that the Nation is in fact indebted deeply to them, and under the highest moral
obligation to discharge its debt fully and generously; and that complete restoration to
pre-war civil status is a matter of simple justice to the men who have been disabled and
handicapped by reason of their service in defending the commonwealth against its
armed foes.’ 189
As further explanation of what he saw as the philosophy underlying the US approach, Harris
was extremely critical of the ‘obsolete pension system’ and its ‘pernicious effects upon the
pensioners and the public, and upon legislation and politics’, arguing that ‘restoration and
restitution, including such compensation as might be necessary to accomplish these objects and the
establishment of equality of opportunity190 was the course to be followed. 191

As in Canada, the U.S provided vocational advisers to assist the individuals in career decision-
making, ‘the primary endeavour (being) to fit the individual man for the job for which his

188
It is interesting to note that the original measure included provision for the vocational rehabilitation of
persons disabled at work, as well as those disabled in war. The former was dropped, however, as the President
and Cabinet had undertaken to bring no legislation before Congress at that time which did not relate to war
measures.
189
pp. 173-4
190
emphasis added
191
idem: p. 174

89
inclination and capacity seem to indicate the strongest probability of success, scientifically adjusted
to the likelihood of there being a demand for his services in the line of work selected.’ 192

It was recognized that prejudice against hiring persons with disabilities existed among many
employers. Special programmes to help reduce or eliminate it were launched as part of the
placement and follow-up effort. Trade unions supported the policy of vocational rehabilitation in
the US, as they did in Europe.

Harris records that ‘…where special appliances, safeguards or equipment are required as
means of overcoming special handicaps, these must be provided under fair agreements with
employers, and some supervision after placement will be necessary to insure the proper carrying
out of such agreements.’193

As the war ended, legislation to extend the provisions of the vocational rehabilitation system
to persons acquiring a disability in the workplace was being introduced.

A2.9 Women with Disabilities

The legislation and systems described above were designed with disabled servicemen in mind.
Little attention, if any, appears to have been given to the vocational rehabilitation needs of women
who acquired disabilities during World War One, presumably because relatively few service-
women served in the front line. That work opportunities for women with disabilities was an issue
of concern, at least in the United States, might however be gleaned from research reports such as
that published in 1921,194 which examined vocational guidance and placement approaches for a
thousand women in Boston, many of whom had disabilities of varying kinds.

A2.10 Period of Stagnation

The issue of vocational rehabilitation and work opportunities for persons with disability
largely faded from political agendas during the economic depression of the 1930s, emerging again
during the Second World War, with quota systems forming a large part of the response in many
cases.

192
idem: p. 217
193
idem: p. 241. An early example of reasonable accommodation.
194
Eaves, Lucile, Gainful Employment for Handicapped Women, Boston Council of Social Agencies, 1921

90
 For more information

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