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Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Ethiopia (RATIFICATION: 1991)

Other comments on C159

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the Government’s brief replies received in February 2011, to the points raised in the 2005 direct request. The Committee notes with interest the adoption in 2008 of the Right to Employment of Persons with Disability Proclamation, No. 568/2008. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, for example, statistics disaggregated by sex, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries on the matters covered by the Convention (Part V of the report form).

Article 2 of the Convention. National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that legislation, policies and programmes effectively address vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. In this regard, the Committee notes the preamble of the Right to Employment of Persons with Disability Proclamation, which provides that it became necessary to enact a new law that complies with the country’s policy of equal employment opportunity, provides reasonable accommodation in employment for persons with disabilities and lays down simple procedural rules that enable them to prove before any judicial body discrimination encountered in employment. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the manner in which its policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities is implemented in practice.

Article 3. Access to the open labour market for persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that the promotion of employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the open labour market is done through sensitization workshops and electronic and print media. The Committee invites the Government to provide specific information on the impact of measures taken for promoting employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the open labour market.

Article 4. Equality of opportunity and treatment. The Committee notes section 13 of Federal Civil Servants Proclamation No. 515/2007, which provides that, among other vulnerable categories of workers, preference should be given to persons with disabilities when meeting the required qualifications and obtaining equal or close scores to that of other candidates. However, the Committee also notes section 4(1) of the Right to Employment of Persons with Disability Proclamation which provides that a person with disabilities, having the necessary qualifications and scoring more than other candidates, shall have the right without any discrimination to employment or to participate in a training programme. It invites the Government to provide information on the application in practice of section 13 of the Federal Civil Servants Proclamation and section 4(1) of the Right to Employment of Persons with Disability Proclamation, as well as detailed statistical data on jobseekers with disabilities employed following the adoption of these two abovementioned provisions.

Article 5. Consultation of the representative organizations of employers and workers. The Government indicates that the Labour Advisory Board oversees the issue of vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. It further reports that the organizations of persons with disabilities also participate in the process and are consulted. The Committee asks the Government to provide in its next report detailed examples in which representative employers’ and workers’ organizations, and representative organizations of and for persons with disabilities are consulted on the implementation of the national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities.

Article 7. Services available for persons with disabilities. The Committee once again asks the Government to provide information on the success of the services available for persons with disabilities in ensuring that these persons have as much access as possible to the labour market.

Article 8. Measures taken in rural areas. The Government indicates that persons with disabilities in rural areas and remote communities benefit from vocational rehabilitation and employment services through the technical and vocational training centres established in their vicinity. The Committee asks the Government to provide further information on the number of activities of the technical and vocational training centres in rural areas and remote communities.

Article 9. Suitably qualified staff to provide services for persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that orthopaedic technicians and physiotherapists are trained at different levels and deployed to provide assistance and services for persons with disabilities. The Government further indicates that there are ongoing efforts to train more technicians. The Committee asks the Government to provide in its next report detailed information on the availability of qualified vocational rehabilitation staff in all areas of the country.