Employment-related complaints to the National Commission Persons with Disability outnumbered the number related to the education sector, bucking the trend of previous years.
Chairman Joseph Camilleri said this was indicative of the developments which have unfolded over the past five years – a period which has seen more stability in inclusive education but, also, more pressure being exerted on the job market to provide work for disabled people.
Presenting the commission’s Equal Opportunities Act report over the period 2012-13, Mr Camilleri noted that the salient question revolved around what was the best way of changing people’s mentality in relation to disabled people.
“Do we educate or do we legislate? I’m afraid education alone is not enough. You need enforcement.
“Thanks to inclusive education, people have become more aware and more assertive. Their self-esteem has also taken a boost. In the past, one of their main concerns was tied to education. But now, by and large, people are satisfied.
“However, there are not enough job opportunities. It’s not easy to break down the walls of prejudice. There still lurks a certain element of fear in employing disabled people.”
Mr Camilleri explained that the commission strove to dissolve the attitude whereby employers considered employing disabled people as “an act of charity” or part of their corporate social responsibility.
“We need to think outside the box and match abilities with the skills required. The hurdles are in reality much smaller than what we make them out to be.”
KNPD executive director Anne Marie Callus mentioned as examples the complaint filed by a disabled person who needed flexible hours, such as those allocated as part of family-friendly measures, to attend hospital appointments. The commission ensured this was granted.
Dr Callus explained that the majority of disabled people only developed their impairment after reaching the age of 50.
“So you’d have a person who is used to going to work, then becomes disabled and starts meeting discriminatory attitudes. For instance, one person asked to be transferred to a different line within the same company after developing a disability. The person could not cope with the physical exertion.”
According to the report, new complaints filed between October 2012 and September 2013 increased by 34 per cent when compared to the same period last year. Closed complaints increased by six per cent. Within this period, the KNPD worked on a total of 341 complaints.
Mr Camilleri also flagged a number of important complaints, many of which centred on the lack of accessibility in places such as the Gżira Health Centre, Gozitan parish churches and police stations.
One particular complaint was filed by a parent of a disabled student with challenging behaviour who attended the Resource Centre.
The school authorities proposed that whenever her behaviour could not be controlled, the student should be sent home and even, in certain cases, be escorted by the police.
“It is unacceptable that this situation occurs,” Dr Callus said. You can’t have a student, already excluded from mainstream schools, to be excluded a second time. The solution is increasing the professional capacity of individuals working with challenging behaviour to better handle such instances.”