Accessibility tops list of disability complaints

In the 12-month period to September 2007, the National Commission Persons with Disability investigated the highest number of complaints related to the Equal Opportunities Act since the anti-discrimination law came into force seven years ago.

The commission's annual report on the law shows that the number of complaints grew by 15 per cent over last year. The largest number of cases investigated was related to accessibility - 54 per cent of the complaints that the commission worked on during the year.

In view of the accessibility issue, a plan of action was being implemented for every office of the Department of Social Security, with work starting on the Qormi office immediately, Family and Social Solidarity Minister Dolores Cristina said.

Speaking at the launch of the report on Wednesday, she said that where structural alterations were not possible due to the nature of the building, alternative premises were being sought. Housing the department's Msida office in the locality's new local council was being discussed, for example.

Ms Cristina said it was a shame that certain local councils, which were supposed to be the focal point of the locality, were not even accessible to the elderly.

Amendments to the Equal Opportunities Act were almost complete, but the end-of-year deadline had to be delayed due to fine-tuning, the minister said.

Meanwhile, the draft Guardianship Act, offering legal protection to the families of persons with disability, was also complete and it was now a matter of determining whether it should stand alone, or strengthen existing legislation.

More was required in terms of respite care and support for families, Ms Cristina said.

In terms of employment issues for persons with disability, she suggested considering a name-and-shame method for those who did not conform with the law.

The Labour Party spokesman for solidarity, Marie Louise Coleiro-Preca, said her party's policy was that the commission would be further strengthened by resources and funding.

The MLP was also proposing a plan to tackle the lack of accessibility in public places to be carried out over a definite period of time.

She said the increase in the work-related complaints was considered to be positive in that it showed awareness has been raised and that interest in seeking employment had grown.

For the Equal Opportunities Act to really make a difference in everyday life, more work and commitment was needed on the part of persons with disability themselves, their families and associations, commission chairman Joe Camilleri said.

In fact, the commission's annual report on the law focuses on the role of persons with disability for its effective use.

NGOs were encouraged to carry out educational campaigns about the law for their own members. Related associations should be used to stimulate debate on how the legal framework could help to continue on the road towards an improved quality of life, Mr Camilleri said.

Findings of the report

The commission has continued to work on 181 complaints, 76 of which were pending from the previous year, the coordinator of the commission's Equal Opportunities Act section, Marianne Debono, said.

Since the law came into force in 2000, the commission has investigated 605 complaints - an average of 86 a year.

The commission has concluded 98 complaints, while the rest are still pending and only four are in court. The idea is to reach out-of-court settlements.

An increase in complaints was also registered in the areas of employment and services, while, in contrast, the number of new complaints regarding education dropped substantially.

The complaints were divided almost equally between public entities, including the government and local councils, and the private sector and the Church. But cases concerning private companies have increased over the previous year, Ms Debono said.

A substantial increase in complaints against local councils has also been registered, the report showed.