Joseph Lugemwa
On December 3, Uganda joins the rest of the world in observing the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs). The United Nation’s theme this year is “amplifying the leadership of PwDs for an inclusive and sustainable future”.
Uganda ratified the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN- CRPD) in 2008. The UNCRPD advocates for inclusive participation in open labour markets, which are heavily dominated by non-disabled persons.
To this extent, it shuns the segregat- ed form of employment for disabled persons which continues to thrive in Uganda. The Government of Uganda enacted the Persons with Disabilities Act 2020 (PWDA 2020) to domesticate the provisions of the UNCRPD in a bid to create an inclusive society in all spheres of life.
The PWDA 2020 is in tandem with the UNCRPD in its definition of disability by recognising it as a two-faceted phenomenon comprising a medical and social aspect. Indeed, while it is widely accepted that the nature of an impairment can impede a person with a disability’s participation in work, societal barriers are highly significant in exacerbating the exclusion of disabled persons.
The societal barriers are broad, including, but not limited to, the challenges with the built environment, negative perceptions and stereotypes about the competence of disabled persons. Section 9 of the PWDA 2020 broadly outlines acts of discrimination prohibited in employment, providing a comprehensive framework to safeguard fairness and equality in the workplace.
It also establishes the duty to provide reasonable accommodation in the workplace and introduces government incentives for employers who hire persons with disabilities. Breaching this section constitutes an offence, with a punishment of a fine not exceeding 100 currency points and/or imprisonment not exceeding one year. Despite this progressive legislation, the number of PwDs in open labour markets, particularly in formal employment, remains dismal.
The government, in March 2023, submitted its progress reports to the Committee on the Rights of PwDs and conceded that a paltry 1.3 per cent of PwDs are engaged in formal employment. It attributes this to ‘inaccessible workplace conditions, low expectations of the work capacity of PwDs and the weak enforcement of existing employment laws, policies and regulations’.
When PwDs are employed, companies view this as fulfilling their corporate social responsibility, which is a flawed analogy since qualified PwDs should be viewed as deserving of employment opportunities just like other persons. Furthermore, studies reveal challenging work environments due to the lack of reasonable accommodation to enable them to perform op- timally.
Disability discrimination in employment emanates from discrimination in other spheres of life. For example, exclusion in education by confining disabled persons to segregated schools arouses the notion that disabled students are less deserving of an inclusive education, which viewpoint transcends to the world of work.
Similarly, the failure to provide disability-friendly services, for example, in the transport industry hinders the participation of such persons in employment due to hardships in commuting to and from work.
To increase participation in open labour markets, employers need to create disa- bility-friendly work environments. Furthermore, there is a need for a concerted effort from the government to subsidise the cost of items such as lip speakers and other aids to enable employers to avail them at work. Sustained sensitisation is required to transform society’s negative perception that PwDs’ competencies are inferior to those of non-disabled persons.
Finally, there is a need for greater awareness of the rights of PwDs in employment and how to seek redress in the event of violation of such rights.
Mr Lugemwa is a lawyer specialising in employment law.
Email: [email protected]
