Helping individuals overcome disability and actively working to assure an inclusive society is not an act of charity but a deed of justice.

Consequently, the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry agrees with the principles of the law, which has been in place since 1969, obliging companies employing more than 20 persons to engage individuals with a disability, amounting to at least two per cent of their workforce.

The Malta Chamber agrees with the principles of this legislation because it will no doubt support persons with a disability to contribute productively to the economy while becoming more independent and ascertaining themselves as accomplished members of our society.

The chamber took the Minister for Finance’s announcement during this year’s Budget speech extremely seriously and has carried out an intensive study to understand the effects of the implementation of this law.

Immediately one needs to ask why was this law never enforced since its inception in 1969. Was it possibly the case that the relevant authorities were finding difficulty to implement it? And why would such a difficulty have materialised? Is it perhaps because the law in its present simplistic form is practically impossible to implement?

With dialogue and everyone’s involvement, we can find the right recipe for a just and inclusive society

By simply adding a schedule of contributions for companies to pay as an act to implement enforcement is too simplistic a solution. In the chamber’s view, using the ‘stick’ is not conducive towards finding the sweet balance in the interest of ensuring inclusivity in the labour market.

The chamber and members are greatly interested in this subject as we believe in the responsibility we shoulder as reputable employers. However, a number of questions arise when delving deeper into the matter.

The law as it stands does not give a clear definition of the words ‘person with disability’.

Definitions across Europe and the world differ greatly and there is no generally accepted definition. This may give rise to a situation of injustice, with both employer and employee. A further clarification of the terminology is certainly merited.

For the purpose of this law, in order for an employee to be eligible for inclusion s/he is required to be listed in a register administered by the Employment & Training Corporation. The ETC is not obliged to inform employers of the contents of the register. Though the ethical issues linked to this delicate situation are understandable, it leaves the employers in an unwarranted conundrum.

Employers will be obliged at law to engage persons with a disability but, at the same time, will not be allowed to know if any of their employees, who may have a disability, are indeed included in the register.

I reiterate that this is a highly-sensitive issue and should be handled with utmost respect towards the individuals involved. A great number of employers have already contributed in an exemplary manner out of their own initiative in this respect. Yet, the situation needs to be addressed.

Apart from issues of definition and sensitivity, the law as it is will have a disproportionate impact on smaller-sized enterprises. Additionally, the blanket approach of the law does not take into consideration the obvious difficulties certain sectors encounter at implementation stage.

Industries, especially construction, quarrying, warehousing, shipyards and logistics companies, to mention a few, are, by nature, scarcely suited to welcome persons with certain disabilities in their workforces.

Several of these companies have very small administrative set-ups because the vast majority of their employees are hands-on manual labourers who often operate in potentially dangerous work environments. The nature of these jobs may lead to health and safety hazards for the employees themselves, their colleagues as well as issues of liabilities all round.

In cases where job shadowing is required, employers will definitely need assistance in shouldering responsibility and expect the ETC to take on this role.

The Malta Chamber is positive that, given the right tools and legislative framework, the private sector can rise to the occasion in implementing such a system.

The authorities must appreciate and understand that legislation written on paper but never enforced over five decades cannot be implemented in one year.

The chamber is making concrete proposals, based on a wide consultation process with our members, to implement this law responsibly and sustainably because we truly believe in the social responsibility employers have in favour of every member of society.

As a chamber we truly believe in making this work and look forward to discussing our proposals with all relevant stakeholders.

We believe that, with dialogue and everyone’s involvement, we can find the right recipe for a just and inclusive society because the advancement of a society is also measured in these terms.

Anton Borg is president of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry.

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