Our Aims and Objects

Our team aims too, after thorough analysis of legislation and activities of disabled employees in South Africa and in other countries, deduce the actual problems that disabled students, whom essentially become workers, face in South Africa. This will be done by illustrating a series of interviews that were carried out to identify problems amongst this group of workers. This will help bring issues that need attention to light especially with regard to disabled employees, whom are sidelined in the world of work. This knowledge will bring us closer to our aim of

“organizing workers so as to help protect disabled employees from negative issues which affect them – we aim to create change”

Solutions: A way forward

Since our objective is to create change here are some suggestive solutions we put forward

· Creating awareness of employment and disabled people via media such as radio, television, booklets etc. Furthermore, the highlighting of disabled individuals whom prove to be successful in the workplace. This could help alleviate the stigma attached to disabled workers.

· Sanctions against employees who don’t conform to disables peoples needs

· Creation of “trade unions” such as “Global disability” in that we aim to control, monitor and protect disabled jobseekers and employees.

· The “Employer Network on Disability” was created to give disabled people opportunities and is propagated by the “Employers Federation of Ceylon” (EFC).The EFC facilitates disabled individuals into the workplace by way of placement. The above occurred in Sri Lanka and is thus a mechanism that needs to be implemented in the S.A workplace so as to facilitate disabled people in our workplace.

· Design is also another factor that needs to be rectified in the workplace. This policy needs to be enshrined into workplace objectives .So as to make provisions to accommodate disabled individuals in the workplace. The ILO (International Labour Organisations) disabled design policy can be used as an excellent basis

http://www.escwa.org.lb/cities/tech/disabled/main.html : “ILO DESIGN ` STANDARDS FOR DISABLED INDIVIDUALS IN THE WORKPLACE”

Interview: Airports Company South Africa -Durban (ACSA ): Senior Airlines Relations Officer

Could you please explain your disability and the name of the company that you work for?

I am an employee at Airports Company South Africa -Durban (ACSA ) and I am a Senior Airlines Relations Officer. I do not have one leg although I walk with the aid of a prosthetic leg.

Do you find it difficult to move around the airport with a prosthetic leg?

No, it is a lot easier to walk with than being without it or on a wheelchair. But at times it is sore and I am allowed to remove it while I am at my desk. The company does not mind.

When you became disabled did you find it difficult to find employment?

Yes at first. Many companies at the time did not accommodate for disabled persons in the work place.

How did ACSA respond when you told them your disability?

They were very accommodating and understood were I was coming from.

Did ACSA accommodate you in the workplace towards your disability? If they did, how did they?

Yes they did accommodate me. They put me in a department were it suited my disability and I was able to work comfortably.

Did they treat you differently compared to other able-bodied employees?

Yes, they did treat me differently but not in a discriminatory way. It was in a very caring and compassionate manner. As they showed concern towards my disability. They did not disrespect me.

Did they explain to you that you are protected by the Labour Relations Act and the Employment Equity Act in terms of your disability? Did you know that you were rights protected?

Yes, they explained all of this to me and thus far they have never undermined me because of my disability. They choose to encourage disabled employees in the work place as they feel disabled people should have employment opportunities and a better quality of life. They are a workplace that has lifts, ramps, toilets and various other facilities for disabled people. It is very accessible for me. Thankfully for the EEA many disabled people at ACSA are fully represented in the workplace. Nobody is seen as "disabled".

Would you like to have a union specifically for Disabled Employees?

Yes, It would be nice to have a Union that understands and represents the needs of disabled employees. They will also be more sensitive towards us and they will be able to cater towards the facilities for us, especially in workplaces that does not have ramps for wheelchairs, railings, and lifts etc. Unions that exist at the moment in SA do not really represent disabled people. They also do not follow up on companies to ensure that they accommodate disabled people. Disabled people find it very difficult to have their voices heard as most people see them as a group that is not useful in society and that needs to be "pitied" on. There are many qualified disabled people but most employers prefer to employ a able-bodied person than a disabled person. Unions need to start playing a pivotal role in changing perceptions in society and giving disabled people more awareness. It's acceptable to have Acts and laws for disabled people but most companies choose not to follow-up on it as government does not institutionalize provisions so that it's implemented diligently.

Do you feel that disabled employees need to be represented more in the workforce especially at ACSA?

Yes, there is not many disabled employees at ACSA. But they do not have a problem with employing them. I guess it also depends on the type of disability one has which depends on the type of job you going to do. Because I work at a desk so it is fine for me to work at ACSA. My job description made it easier for them to accommodate me according to my disability.

If there was something that you would like ACSA or the State to change or find difficult to obtain from either one of the institutions? What would it be and why?

There isn't really anything I feel that needs to change at ACSA. But as far as the state is concerned I strongly feel that provisions need to be made for Public transport in SA in support of disabled people. Not everyone can afford to have special cars to be built in support of their disability. These vehicles to have them modified cost a lot of money and it would be nice if the state since they were unable to provide proper public transport, to at least pay a percentage for vehicles to be modified for our disability. As employees we deserve to be treated with dignity and not have to be a limbo about our manner of movement to get to places. This is really disappointing on the states part.
Another aspect is that the state should provide prosthetic legs and hands for disabled people, as this is also very expensive to get.

Employees Comment: Well done Lab Glob on your topic of research. This really gives us hope that as a nation there are those that care. Goodluck with your Blog

"ACSA Employee"

Interview: Assistant co-ordinator of UKZN Disability Unit Office

What type of schooling background do the disabled students come from?

When disabled students enter school they would normally go a special school. These schools don’t offer subjects that would allow them to be employed. They are not able to apply for jobs such as engineering because they don’t study subjects such as physical science and biology, etc. The disabled students are restricted to the type of job that they can apply for in Universities. How ever they can apply for jobs in the Humanities Department.

What is the major percentage of disabled students?

Majority of disabled students are the visually impaired students. There are University does not accept Deaf students because the University does not have facilities to help them. They do however accept other disabilities.

Are the any organizations that you know of that represent disabled people?

She has no knowledge of organizations that represent disabled people.

Are these students sponsored?

The Department of Labour is the main source of bursaries for the disabled students. The have asked the university for a list of names of the Post-Graduate students so that they will be able to fund them. The Department of Labour also fund the technological advancements needed by the disabled students at home such as computers.

From this year the university has established a problem with the Department of Labour. They don’t want to fund the students of the Humanities Department any more as they find that the disabled students are usually not employable when they finish university. They say that it is a scarce employment. The University tried to explain to the Department but they are not giving in.

ESKOM and companies also ask for a list of disabled people to fund but the bursaries are mainly for engineering students. Since there are little or no disabled students in the Engineering Department due to limitation on the subjects they do in school, ESKOM is not given the chance to fund them.


Is it difficult for disabled students to find a steady job?

There is a policy that all companies have to employ a certain percentage of disabled people into their company. Today’s companies only employ disabled people because of the policy. The disabled people are not supported in the companies and they also discriminated against. The companies find that it is too costly to employ disabled people as they have to restructure for them.

Do you know of any students that are employed?

She says that she does not know of any student from university that is employed.

What provisions does the university have for disabled students?
The university takes in these students because of the quota system as they have to have a certain percentage of disabled students, however they don’t have many facilities to help them because it is too costly for them.

Academically are they successful?

Since they have very disadvantaged background and schools, they don’t have much knowledge of the subjects that the University requires. They make very few points. They only know brail and because they are disadvantaged they don not meet the requirements of the university. Therefore there is an access programme that is offered and if they pass they will be accepted into the university.

Source: Yanja Futshani
Disability Officer- Coordinator assistant
University of KwaZulu-Natal

Interview: Former UKZN Student

The following questionnaire was directed towards an ex UKZN student whom graduated with her Bachelor of Social Science in Sociology and Social Development who is physical disabled and chooses to remain anonymous:

What are your difficulties / disabilities?

I am paralyzed from the waist down which results in me not being able to walk therefore I utilize a wheelchair to move around. My current state is due to an accident that occurred 8 years ago.

Do you consider yourself employable?

Yes, I am currently employed as a personal assistant (PA).Although I am positive about my stance I do acknowledge that as a disabled person there are modifications that need to be ensured in my workplace that will enable me to work efficiently.

Generally however, having a disability has never conditioned my mentality towards not being employable. Like me, numerous of my disabled peers at UKZN had career aspirations and thus were evidently pursuing it by educating themselves.



Have you lost a job due to your disability?

Yes, I have. I was employed as a cashier at a supermarket in my first year for a week. Thereafter I was told to leave due to the older staff member whom I replaced, was back from maternity leave. I was also told that since I was a temp worker preference was given to her and I knew at some point I had to leave but I didn’t expect it so soon. On enquirer however from other colleagues at work I leant that no such thing occurred and that my disability frightened my manager as too many modifications had to be made to accommodate me and too many regulations to adhere too.

Have you been discriminated against in your job because of your disability and what type?
Yes, I have endured the following:
From other employees whom don’t include me in any social activities such as lunches, social discussions etc. Furthermore comments and remarks made about my disability directly to me and through the grapevine.

Not assigned certain tasks because of my disability in the light of superiors believing I don’t have the capacity too such as attending seminars , meetings etc.
In one company I had a co – worker that was employed in the same position as me. We were employed at the same and she constantly monitored and dictated to me. When I approached management about this they did nothing to rectify the situation and it continued until I resigned.

Also when employed at this firm, I learnt that the same work colleague received a much higher salary then me. Although we were assigned the same duties .The above occurrences was also felt by numerous disabled colleagues at there workplaces.

Another of my disabled colleague had a problem in using the restroom at her place of work. In that the locks were too high for her to reach to lock and was too small to maneuver her wheelchair in. The company that she worked for was a reputable institution that even instilled its own disability policies. However after numerous attempts of approaching management about the situation it is still to be rectified. She often has to get female colleagues to aid her.

What challenges do you face as a disabled individual in getting a job?

· Not trying to sound pessimistic but we do face many inequalities. It stems from our schooling system in that many disabled schools do not offer the subjects which enable us to enroll for degrees in sciences and engineering. Many of us, like myself enroll for Social Science degrees. Translating this to the working world, there is an evident problem in that jobs are sometime limited in these fields. So to have an advantage over your abled competitor, chances are you have to have an exceptional academic record.

This isn’t possible all the time as having a disability stiffels many disabled students from performing exceptionally at campus and many students come from disadvantaged background were some concept of basic schooling isn’t that sufficient.

· Disabled employees are often employed by “token workers” so as to conform to the regulations of the S.A employment Act. These workers are then subordinated and discriminated against in the workplace.

· Wage inequalities amongst these workers

· Design of the working environment for disabled employees.

· No establishment or development of organizations or specific trade unions to help facilitate disabled workers in the workplace - be it finding a job or in a job already.

What situations would you like to be protected against in your workplace?

Evidently, it would equate to the difficulties associated with getting a job. So issues that we need protection from include:

· wage inequalities
· discrimination
· actual protection from organizations
· schooling curriculum
· design of the workplace
· tokenism

Disabled individuals in the globalizing world of work

According to Jarvis (1999) the world of work organization has rapidly developed. There was an advanced shift from manual, mass production to technologically controlled production. “Since the 1970’s rapid advances have been made in technology, especially in the use of computers in production. Because it can speed up work dramatically or even replace labour” (Jarvis, 1999: 27).

However how does technology impact on skills and does it prove beneficial to disabled individuals? According to Jarvis (1999) technology requires mental and problem-solving skills more than physical skills.

The above can thus be linked to tackling challenges of disabled individuals in the workplace. The ILO reports that investigations have found, disabled people in the workplace prove to be more efficient than non-disabled individuals. As well as differently abled people maybe more skilled in a specific job than non – disabled individuals.

The above can be proven in the cash management department of one of Sri Lankas banks. At the “Sampath Bank” there are seven disabled individuals employed .One such example is a dumb woman whose works position calls for her to count money. She has proven to be one of the best employees. In that the sensitive task of counting money needs minimal interactions and a high degree of integrity, honesty and attention to detail.

The “Employer Network on Disability” was created to give disabled people oppurtunities and is propagated by the “Employers Federation of Ceylon” (EFC).The EFC facilitates disabled individuals into the workplace by way of placement. Disabled workers at the Sampath Bank prove to be beneficial as results have far exceeded expectations. This has occurred as these individuals disabilities are being utilized as abilities. In that hearing and speech impaired workers, because of their attuned vision and superior tactile skills are particular good at detecting counterfeit notes. Furthermore as proved in Australia, hiring disabled worker is beneficial in that it proves cheaper and only 4% of disabled people in the workplace actually require design adjustments.

Reference: Press releases - Media and public information - About the ILO.htm

http://www.ilo.org/public/english/region/eurpro/brussels/news/archives/may2007/news.htm

Globalisation: The Effect on Disabled Workers

Even though attitudes are gradually changing, progress on integrating workers with disabilities and respecting their rights could soon come to a standstill. The problem is the fierce competition between companies in the age of globalization, as well as some governments’ drive to cut social spending and boost labour market participation. Despite a whole battery of national legislation, many employers still avoid recruiting people with disabilities.

According to a British trade union study carried out in connection with a parliamentary commission, employers show various types of apprehension about such hiring: uncertainty about skills and needs, uncertainty about the cost of any adjustments needed to change the workplace, fear of disabled workers’ impact on company performance, the assumption that customers and fellow workers would take a negative view of disabled employees, and the feeling that the costs involved would be too high and would harm the enterprise. Such prejudices are reinforced these days by the fear of losing or never gaining the holy grail of competitiveness, are often at the root of discrimination against differently-abled job seekers. There globalization and the competition it creates has presented many obstacles for differently-abled workers wanting to enter the workplace

Luc Demaret
Editor-in-Chief
Labour Education
Disability – the human cost of discrimination

Globalization & Changing Skills Needs

Globalization is breaking down traditional labour markets and employment patterns. Employers in developed nations and in parts of the developing world are experiencing skills gaps as the speed with which the nature of work changes increases.

Governments are struggling to help populations’ re-skill and there is growing concern at an international level, for example at the World Economic Forum, about the growing problem of unemployment.

• Almost half of all businesses with skills shortage vacancies lose out to competitors due to a lack of skilled workers.

• Just over a third of employers said that they would need a higher level of skills over the next three years. Just over a quarter said that they would need a "broader range of capabilities.

• American business identified recruitment and selection of qualified workers as the top concern for the new millennium.

Many disabled people are highly skilled and represent a significant untapped pool of talent:

• 45,000 disabled students in the UK study at university every year

• 23.9% of disabled people in work are in management or professional occupations

• 2% of the workforce becomes disabled every year. Due to poor employment practices and the need for rehabilitation leave many of these people are not retained by their employers

• At least 1.5 million part time disabled workers are working below their potential
  

Employers are increasingly recognizing that they need to be innovative in finding new sources of talent to fill the skills gaps which they are experiencing. Through examining recruitment and employment practices and processes through the experience of disabled people, global employers will develop approaches which work better for diverse employee groups working flexibly, across different time zones and in different cultures.

However it is important to recognize the link between disability and social exclusion, which has led to many disabled people being under skilled.

The International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has established a code of practices to manage disability in the workplace which includes the following:

· it is in the business interests of employers to manage disability issues in the workplace, as this can lead to savings in terms of time lost, insurance and healthcare payments and costs associated with recruiting and retaining staff;

· all comprehensive disability management strategies should include provision for recruitment, promotion and retention;

· the management of disability issues forms part of good human resource development practice;
· employers can benefit from recruiting people with disabilities either directly, after a period of training or after a trial period;

· the relevant authorities can play a part in this in ensuring that the right services, such as placement, vocational rehabilitation, skills training and technical support services, are available to employers. They can also ensure that all relevant ministries take account of the needs of people with disabilities in order to aid their integration into employment;

· employers' organizations can play an important role in promoting this issue and in advising and supporting employers;

· workers' representatives can also play an important role by representing the interests of disabled workers and championing employment opportunities for them;

· organizations representing people with disabilities can play an invaluable advisory role in developing disability management strategies.

Employment of Disabled Workers in the UK

(CNN, 2004) -- Any ethical company will tell you its policy is to employ people with disabilities, but actually incorporating them into the workforce is another matter. Many companies are concerned about the profitability and the productivity and also the health and safety aspects in the company, but it could prove otherwise to employ disabled workers. The UK Employers’ Forum on Disability, Remploy, Britain’s largest contractor of disabled people shares the same opinion as Sears and IMB by saying that they are loyal and rarely absent. In Europe there are legislations that prevent discrimination against the differently impaired people. France and Germany have implemented a quota system that entails the companies to fill 6% of their positions with disabled people or else they would be fined (Nick Easen for CNN, 2004).

The UK advocacy makes extra effort to point out that it is not expensive to accommodate disabled people. The Disability Rights Commission says that it only cost $250 per person. Studies by the federal Job Accommodation Network (JAN) have shown that 15% of accommodation cost nothing, 51% cost between $1 and $500, 12% cost between $501 and $1000 and 22% cost more than $1000 Sacha Cohen (2002). There are also UK government funds that help the companies with the cost of employing the disabled as well for the adjustments to the workplace for the disabled worker. The British companies that employ differently abled people are recognized in the Prime Minister’s Employer of the Year Awards.