'Give disabled a chance to work'

The United Kingdom's Disability Rights Commission chairman Bert Massie yesterday stressed the importance of allowing people with a disability to contribute to the country by working.

Speaking to The Times, Mr Massie said that although not all people with a disability were able to work, those who were should be given the opportunity.

"We need to move from the idea of the disabled as passive citizens to them being active citizens, who while taking from the community, also contribute," he said.

He stressed that the more people who work, the less stress there would be on the social security system. Mr Massie, who is currently in Malta to attend the National Commission for Persons with a Disability (KNPD) national conference, said those people with a disability who were not able to work should not be treated as lesser citizens. They needed to be supported to be able to live a reasonable life.

Established a few years ago, the Disability Rights Commission is responsible for advising the British government on issues related to disability. The commission has close links with the KNPD since both follow a similar agenda.

Mr Massie emphasised that people with a disability were not only those who had mobility problems. He brought the example of people who were HIV positive who were also sometimes discriminated against when they tried to find a job because a prospective employer deemed them as disabled. He said European law had outlawed the discrimination of the disabled.