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Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Türkiye (RATIFICATION: 2000)

Other comments on C159

Direct Request

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The Committee notes the observations of the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Associations (TISK) and the Confederation of Turkish Trade Unions (TÜRK-IS), received with the Government’s report on 20 September 2017. The Government is requested to provide its comments in this regard.

Article 2 of the Convention. Implementation of a national policy for the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Government reports on measures taken during the reporting period to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in the civil service, including the creation of a central exam practice established pursuant to the Regulation on Central Exam Appointment of Disabled Ones as Civil Servants (published on 7 February 2014 in the Official Gazette). The Government further reports that a new provision was introduced in Revenue Tax Law No. 193 of 31 December 1960, that establishes tax reductions for persons with mental or psychological disabilities employed in protected workplaces, with the aim of protecting such persons from social exclusion. In addition, Regulation No. 29699, which was published in the Official Gazette on 30 April 2016, provides for payments to be made to employers who incur expenses for workers with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide updated information on measures taken to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in both the public and private sectors as well as detailed information, including statistical data disaggregated by sex, on the impact of such measures.

Article 3. Promoting employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. In response to the Committee’s previous comments concerning the employment of persons with disabilities, the Government refers to the 3 per cent quota set by Article 53 of the Civil Servants Law, No. 657. The Committee notes that as of April 2017, there were 48,947 persons with disabilities (37,418 men and 11,529 women) employed in the public service, representing 78 per cent of the target. In respect of private sector employment, the Government indicates that as of December 2016, employers with 50 or more employees (who are subject to the quota) did not meet the applicable quota in terms of hiring persons with disabilities. In this regard, the Committee notes that, according to the information provided by a number of Turkish organizations and institutions in the Submission to the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Pre-Session, 25–28 May 2010, in practice, employers in the private sector who are obliged to fill the 3 per cent quota for persons with disabilities avoid employing them. The organizations maintained that no sanctions were being imposed on public bodies and institutions that did not respect the quota requirement in the public sector. The Committee also notes the additional measures taken by the Government to increase the employment of persons with disabilities. In this respect, the Government refers to the National Employment Strategy (2017-2019) which focus on filling the quotas for the employment of persons with disabilities. In particular, it seeks to increase the employment of persons with disabilities in the finance sector by 10 per cent by 2019. The Committee also notes measures introduced to promote the employment of persons with mental or emotional disabilities in protected workplaces. In addition, the Government indicates that the salaries of some persons with disabilities employed in protected workplaces and the unemployment insurance premiums charged to their employers were paid from funds provided by the Treasury. The Government also refers to Labour Law No. 4857, which imposes administrative penalties to employers who do not employ persons with disabilities. It adds that the funds raised through these penalties are collected by ISKUR and had risen to TL105 million at the end of March 2017. The Government adds that a Commission composed of public and private stakeholders, such as TISK, TÜRK-IS and the Turkey Disability Confederation (TSK), decides on how the funds will be used. The Committee notes that, since 2014, the Commission has funded 520 projects offering vocational training and rehabilitation, 674 projects granting support for persons with disabilities to enable them to set up their own businesses, 24 projects to provide persons with disabilities with workplace adaptations and six support projects for protected workplaces. In its observations, TISK indicates that Act No. 6518 introduced important amendments in several laws pertaining to vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, which in its sections 3 and 14 provide for accessibility and reasonable accommodation. It considers that the Turkish legislation is in conformity with the Convention. In its observations, TURK-IS refers to the adoption of Law No. 5738 on persons with disabilities, together with implementing legislation. TURK-IS expresses the view that there is no problem with the legislative provisions, but that challenges remain in relation to the employment of persons with disabilities. It indicates that the employment rate of persons with disabilities, which was at 0.44 per cent in 2012, is still very low. It adds that disadvantages, regarding the access to formal vocational training and a lack of sufficient financial resources, constitute obstacles preventing persons with disabilities from entering the labour market, noting that in 2011, the rate of participation in the workforce was 47.5 per cent for the general population, but only 22.1 per cent for persons with disabilities. TURK-IS indicates that, according to ISKUR, in 2016, 99,000 people (80,000 men and 19,000 women) were registered as unemployed. It adds that despite the fact that 15,000 persons with disabilities were placed, there were still 21,000 vacant positions to fill, in order to meet the quota. TURK-IS observes that measures and incentives have been provided to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, and that efforts are being made to ensure that persons with disabilities enter the labour market without discrimination or through the use of special measures. Consequently, in 2010, an amendment was made to article 10 of the Constitution to ensure that measures taken for people with disabilities are considered to be in accordance with the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment. In its 1998 General Survey on vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons, paragraph 196, the Committee observes that among appropriate measures to create employment opportunities on the open labour market, Paragraph 11(a) of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation, 1983 (No. 168), refers to the provision of financial incentives to employers to encourage them to make reasonable adaptations to workplaces, job design, tools, machinery and work organization to facilitate disabled persons’ training and employment. Financial assistance for the adaptation of workplaces may also include an award of credit or tax reductions to employers. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken in order to guarantee accessibility of workplaces and reasonable accommodation to persons with disabilities pursuant to the provisions of sections 3 and 14 of Law No. 6518. It further requests the Government to provide a copy of the National Employment Strategy 2017-2019 and updated statistics disaggregated by age, sex and nature of the disability, as well as extracts of reports, studies and inquiries concerning the matters covered by the Convention (for example, with respect to the employment and unemployment rates of persons with disabilities in particular sectors or branches of activity or of specific categories of workers with disabilities) (Part V of the report form). The Committee also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken since 2010 to ensure that persons with disabilities are effectively hired in the public and private sector, at least at the level of the established quotas.

Article 4. Equality of opportunities and treatment. The Committee notes with concern that women are significantly under represented in the public service, with more than three times more men with disabilities hired in comparison to women (37,148 men versus 11,529 women). It observes that section 4 of Law No. 5738 forbids discrimination against persons with disabilities and more precisely “disabled women and their daughters”. In its 1998 General Survey on vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons, paragraph 116, the Committee observed that 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. Therefore, noting the significant disparity in the employment of women and men with disabilities in the public service, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated information on the measures envisaged or taken regarding the vocational rehabilitation and training of women in order to help them compete in the labour market. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged in order to implement section 4 of Law No. 5738.

Article 5. Consultation with the social partners. The Government indicates that the National Employment Strategy (2017-2019), was prepared by public institutions, social partners and academics with the aim of addressing structural problems in the labour market and finding a permanent solution to unemployment. The Committee requests the Government to indicate how the views and concerns of the social partners and representatives of organizations of and for persons with disabilities were taken into account in the development of the National Employment Strategy, as well as in the implementation of the policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities.