Jobs for the disabled

Although nobody could dispute the fact that the condition of the disabled in Malta has changed drastically for the best over the last 30 years or so, there remain, here and there, pockets of resistance to good service that are not always entirely due to public neglect.

It appears, for example, that despite all that we have done together as a society, only 20 per cent of our disabled have a steady job. Although this may not be as bad as it seems, simply because some of them would prefer receiving benefits to work and also because not all disabled are able to work, yet it is still a situation that we could and should improve.

According to a survey by the Employment and Training Corporation, 46 per cent of the disabled who work are in the services industry and only 31 per cent are in the public service. Seventy-three per cent of unemployed disabled persons are registering for employment and although half do not have qualifications, three quarters are able to read and write.

According to the survey, 36 per cent of the unemployed said they never sought a job because they lacked the required knowledge. The brute fact is that, at present, only one of five people with a disability has permanent employment. And this should be worrying even in view of the general feeling that the law requiring that two per cent of an employer's labour force should consist of persons with a disability is more respected in its breach.

Now it is not easy to define disability because most of us suffer from one disability or other, whether it be due to overload of years or to overloud discos and festa fireworks shattering our eardrums. According to Education Minister Louis Galea, EU statistics show 37 million people are suffering some form of disability or other.

Each person has to be treated individually. The government is aiming to provide more personalised services which safeguard the interests of individuals, although it is a well-known fact, even in the EU, that because of a frequent low level of education, the disabled find themselves in low-paying jobs.

Fortunately, there is a remedy for this, which entails inclusiveness from a very young age. General accessibility is very important to enable this. An ETC scheme for supported employment of persons with disability will be introduced next January, Social Policy Minister Lawrence Gonzi said. The scheme will be tailor-made so that employers will receive funds when employing persons with disability.

For this scheme to work, it will be necessary for employers to look at "abilities in a person, rather than disabilities", and jobs offered under the new scheme would be on a permanent basis and not temporary. The scheme will be funded by the European Social Fund administered by the European Union.

The General Workers' Union is right to express concern that although almost a third of workers with disability work in the public sector, many of them are not being given the full opportunity to advance in their career, especially those between scale 20 and 17 of the public service.

The National Commission Persons with Disability has urged persons with disability to register with it in order to ensure its database was updated. The commission's consultant, Joe M. Pace, said some felt stigmatised by registration but the numbers are rising.

Work lends dignity apart from doing justice but it also ensures a greater overall productivity and less public expense.