Jordan – A study issued by the Ministry of Labour recorded a wide reluctance of disabled in registry with the Higher Council for Disabled People Affairs, and a rise in the number of disabled who are not registered with the social security which reflect the high unemployment rate among this group of citizens. While another independent study revealed, many Employers are not fully committed to the legal texts that obligate the public and private sectors to employ persons with disabilities.
The 2015 population showed that the percentage of people with disabilities is approximately (11%) around 900 thousand people, the Ministry of Labour study confirmed that the number of registered members of disabled people with the Higher Council for Disabled People Affairs are only (43407), which It accounted for 4.8% of total disabled people.
The study said that (16338) people with disabilities who are of working age, are not enrolled in Social Security, and they make up to (66.3%) of the total people with disabilities who work , suggesting that the reason for the high unemployment number is the lack Friendly Work Environment.
The study showed that the proportion of disabled males reached (62.7%), while females reached (37.3%), while the percentage of those who are of working age(18-60 years) and registered with the Higher Council reached 58%.
The percentage of participants in the social Security is (35%), (19%) of them are still working until the end of last month, and (16%) stopped working.
According to the study, the public sector employ around (35.2%) of disabled people, while the private sector only (33.6%), and in the municipalities (12.9%).
Another study recommended re-drafting of Article 13 of the Labour law, to ensuring the right of people with disabilities.
Article 13 of the Jordanian Labour Law, which echoes the Law of Rights for Disabled People, states that “public and private sector institutions and companies employing not less than 25 workers and not more than 50 are obliged to employ one person with disability. If the number of workers in any of these establishments exceeds 50, disabled workers should account for no less than four per cent of the workforce.”
The study, prepared by the legal researcher Abdel Gawad Natsheh that the words in terms of the nature of the work, which allow to employ disabled people according to Article IV of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, is an unclear term, as it did not Did not specifically the competent authority precisely, is it the employer, or the worker, or the labour inspector?, stressing the need to specify in the legislative text who can determine whether the nature of the work permit or not.
the study also finds that employers do not commit fully to the law because of the absence of strict control, and because workers with disabilities find themselves force to refuse job opportunities or even give up jobs they occupy for many reasons, most importantly, the difficulty of mobility that the disabled face while heading to work, as a result of lack of public roads that fits their needs, the lack of adequate public transport services and the necessary equipment for the disabled in the workplace, and incompatibility with the nature of their disabilities and work environment
Study confirmed that there is discrimination in wages and career advancement and privileges, as well as in recruitment, against people with disabilities in the workplace, that’s why they prefer to work with public sector where they find job stability and non-discrimination, but the opportunities available in the public sector are not enough to accommodate them.
The study calls for a clear mechanism to ensure that the private sector commit to the law by directing a written letter from the employment departments to the institution to ask them to employ the disabled and they either employ or refuse, and should send the letter back to the labour inspector, within the area of jurisdiction, to make sure whether the provisions of Article 13 of the labour Code is applied to such institution or not, to take the necessary legal action.
The study recommended to include explicit text in labour law, to consider a worker who gets an injury resulting in permanent or partial disability during work and was given another job under the percentage specified in Article 13 of the Labour law, in order to encourage employers to employ people with disabilities.
the study also called to clarify the penalty for violating the provisions of Article (13) to add a clear penalty consequences of violating the labour law, or explicitly referral to the penalty of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act.
The study demanded the inclusion of text in labour law that gives priority to people with disabilities to occupy certain jobs and professions in line with the Arab Convention No. 17 of the year 1993.
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