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Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Malta (RATIFICATION: 1988)

Other comments on C159

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Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the Convention. Vocational rehabilitation and employment policies for persons with disabilities. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government reports that, according to data from Malta’s Public Employment Service (Jobsplus), the number of persons with disabilities in employment increased from 1,797 in 2013 to 3,578 in 2018 (2,474 men and 1,104 women). The Government attributes this increase to the implementation of a set of measures that include: enforcement of the 2 per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities in enterprises employing more than 20 workers established under sections 15 and 16 of the Persons with Disability (Employment) Act; implementation of the “Access to Employment” and the “Bridging the Gap” schemes, supporting the transition of persons with disabilities from unemployment to employment (including through providing subsidies to employers and exempting them from social security contributions). Other initiatives include pre-employment training and job coaching provided by the Job Bridge Training Centre and the one-year Sheltered Employment Training (SET) programme. The Government reports that compliance by employers subjected to the quota increased from 11 per cent in December 2015 to 60 per cent in December 2017. It also refers to the implementation of the European Union (EU)-funded “100 Mirrors Initiative”, a pilot project that provides coaching, mentoring and job shadowing services for women with disabilities who wish to become entrepreneurs. In addition, the Committee notes the implementation of the EU-funded Person-focused Inclusion (INK) project, whose objectives include strengthening the competencies of persons with disabilities and supporting their inclusion in the labour market, as well as the REACH project (also funded by the EU), that provides persons with disabilities with social services, as well as with independent living and employability skills, to promote their social inclusion and reduce their risk of poverty. The Committee nevertheless notes that, according to the 2020 Malta Country Report of the European Commission (2020 EC report) developed in the framework of the 2020 European Semester, even if the employment rate of persons with disabilities, which stood at 37 per cent in 2017, has increased significantly, more than doubling over the past decade, it remains one of the lowest in the EU (EU average: 51 per cent). The 2020 EC report highlights that the activity rate of persons with disabilities in Malta remains very low. According to the report, as of 2018, 30 per cent of persons with disabilities were at risk of poverty and social exclusion, compared with 17 per cent of persons without disabilities. In its concluding observations on Malta, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) expressed concern that: (a) article 17(3) of the Constitution restricts the right to access education and vocational training to “persons with disabilities that are incapable of working”; (b) the current quota system (…) seems ineffective, being applicable only to larger employers with 20 or more employees; (c) the State party uses medicalized criteria to assess the suitability of persons with disabilities to work (…); and (d) there is a high number of employers who do not employ persons with disabilities irrespective of their ability to work effectively (document CRPD/C/MLT/CO/1, 17 October 2018, paragraph 39). Lastly, the Committee recalls that, in its previous comments, it noted that the Employment and Training Corporation Strategic Plan 2016–18 contemplated the review of the Employment and Training Services Act with a view to strengthening the penalties imposed on employers that fail to comply with the statutory employment quota. The Government reports that no further amendments have been introduced to the Employment and Training Act. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the status and impact of the measures adopted to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the open labour market, including the implementation of the statutory 2 per cent employment quota for persons with disabilities. It also requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to replace any assessment of suitability to work with an assessment that considers the needs and requirements for reasonable accommodation at work for persons with disabilities; and to raise awareness among employers on the capacities of persons with disabilities and their right to equal access to employment opportunities to work in the open labour market.

Article 4. Effective equality of opportunities and treatment between men and women workers with disabilities, and between workers with disabilities and other workers. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government reports that, in accordance with section 22(1)(i) of the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act, 2000, the Equal Opportunities Compliance Unit (EOCU) within the National Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability initiated 65 cases concerning denial of reasonable accommodation in the public and private sectors between 2012 and 2014. In this context, the Committee notes the concluding observations of the CRPD, in which it noted with concern that, while the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act refers to multiple discrimination, it does not address intersectional discrimination against persons with disabilities in its article 3A(1) (document CRPD/C/MLT/CO/1, 17 October 2018, paragraph 7). The Committee notes that, according to the report of the Academic Network of European Disability Experts (ANED), the “European Semester 2018/2019. Malta country fiche on disability”, Malta has one of the highest gender gaps in the EU in relation to employment rates of persons with disabilities. The EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU–SILC) estimates that the employment rate of women with disabilities in Malta is the lowest in the EU. While the employment rate for women without disabilities is around 55 per cent (compared to 80 per cent for men without disabilities), the employment rate for women with disabilities is estimated at less than 20 per cent (compared to 35 per cent for men with disabilities). The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the nature and the impact of measures adopted or envisaged to ensure effective equality of opportunities and treatment in employment and occupation between women and men with disabilities, as well as between workers without disabilities and those with disabilities, including information on the impact of these measures on the employment of persons with disabilities, including statistics disaggregated by economic sector and sex. The Committee also requests the Government to provide copies of court decisions, if any, addressing discrimination against women and men with disabilities, including denial of reasonable accommodation in the public and private sectors.

Article 5. Consultations with the social partners and with organizations of and for persons with disabilities. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government reiterates that the Jobsplus Board includes representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations and of the National Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability. It also indicates that public consultations were held concerning the final text of the National Disability Strategy. In addition, the Government refers to the launching of the Malta Business Disability Forum in 2018, as a joint initiative between the National Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability, the Malta Chamber of SMEs (former GRTU), the Malta Employers’ Association and the Malta Chamber of Commerce to foster increased cooperation. The Committee notes, however, that the Government has not provided information on the content and outcome of the consultations held within the Jobsplus Board or of the results of the consultations held in relation to the National Disability Strategy. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the content and outcome of the consultations held within the Jobsplus Board on the implementation of a vocational rehabilitation and employment policy for persons with disabilities. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the outcome of the consultations held in relation to the National Disability Strategy, in collaboration with employers’ and workers’ organizations, and to provide a copy of the Strategy once adopted.

Article 9. Training of suitably qualified staff. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates that Jobsplus and the Lino Spiteri Foundation provide regular training to their staff and external applicants, in collaboration with the National Commission for the Rights of Persons with Disability and civil society organizations, to qualify or to top-up their qualifications as job mentors and job coaches. The Agenzija Sapport also organizes regular in-house training for staff involved in the implementation of vocational training and guidance projects for persons with disabilities, such as the INK project. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information on the nature and impact of measures taken or envisaged to ensure the availability of suitably qualified staff responsible for the vocational guidance, vocational training, placement and employment of persons with disabilities.

In the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Committee recalls the comprehensive guidance provided by international labour standards. In this context, the Committee draws the Government’s attention to the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience Recommendation, 2017 (No. 205), which provides guidance for the development and implementation of measures to effectively respond to the profound socio-economic effects of the pandemic in areas such as education, vocational training and retraining, and employment. In particular, Paragraph 7(h) of Recommendation No. 205, provides that, in taking measures on employment and decent work in response to crisis situations, Member States should take into account the need to pay special attention to population groups and individuals who have been made particularly vulnerable by the crisis, including, but not limited to, persons with disabilities. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report updated information on the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the application of the Convention.