CMNT_TITLE

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - El Salvador (RATIFICATION: 1986)

Other comments on C159

Observation

2006

Direct Request

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Articles 2, 3 and 5 of the Convention. Promotion of employment for persons with disabilities. Consultations with the social partners. The Committee welcomes the information provided by the Government in response to its previous comments. In particular, it notes with interest the adoption of the Special Law on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, Legislative Decree No. 672, published in the Official Gazette on 3 September 2020. The Special Law, which came into force on 1 January 2021, recognises the right to work for persons with disabilities, under equal conditions, without discrimination and in an inclusive work environment. Section 2 of the Special Law prohibits all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities, including prohibiting the denial of reasonable accommodation. In addition, section 7 recognises the right to work and to social security of persons with disabilities, as well as their right to lifelong, inclusive quality education at all levels of the education system. The Committee further notes that section 8 of the Special Law provides for the State to undertake awareness-raising measures aimed at eliminating stereotypes, prejudices, attitudinal barriers and harmful practices in respect of persons with disabilities, including promoting awareness of the capacities, merits and skills of persons with disabilities and their contribution to the workplace. The Special Law also provides for the provision of labour incentives to promote employment. These include disability employment quotas that are now set at one person with disabilities per 20 employees (section 63 of the Special Law), compared to one person with disabilities per 25 employees under section 24 of the 2000 Law on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. The Special Law also establishes the National Council for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (CONAIPD). The Committee recalls that CONAIPID is the body responsible for monitoring implementation of the National Policy on Comprehensive Care for Persons with Disabilities adopted by Executive Order No. 138 of 3 April 2014. It notes the information provided by the Government in relation to the implementation of the National Policy on Comprehensive Care by public and private entities, which sets out strategies and measures to be taken to ensure the full exercise of the rights of persons with disabilities. In addition, the Committee notes the statistical information provided by the Government concerning the results of the first National Survey on Persons with Disabilities (ENPD) carried out in 2015. According to the 2015 ENDP, some 7,9 per cent of the population aged 18 and above live with some form of disability, with rates higher among women (8.1 per cent) than to men (7.7 per cent). The Government adds that the percentage of persons with disabilities is much higher among persons aged 60 years and older (24.4 per cent). The Government also refers to statistical data available from the National Statistics and Censuses Office (Dirección General de Estadísticas y Censos (DIGESTYC)), indicating that persons with disabilities make up 6.4 per cent of the total population of El Salvador. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on education and training, including entrepreneurship training, provided to persons with disabilities from 2015 to 2019. The Committee notes that the public employment service placed 2,148 persons with disabilities in employment from 2014 to 2020 (1,485 men compared to 663 women). It notes that, during this period, more than three times as many men as women with disabilities were registered with the public employment service. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide detailed updated information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex and age concerning the nature, scope and impact of measures taken to ensure the access of persons with disabilities to lasting employment and decent work, including measures taken to implement the Special Law for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, as well as disaggregated statistical data on the impact of the Special Law on the employment of persons with disabilities on the open labour market. Noting that only 30 per cent of persons with disabilities placed in employment by the public employment service between 2014 and 2020 were women, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to encourage women with disabilities to register with the public employment service as well as measures taken to increase employment of women with disabilities. The Government is further requested to provide updated information on the nature, frequency and outcome of consultations held with the representative organizations of employers and workers as well as with organizations of and for persons with disabilities, as required by the Convention.