Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Jordan (Ratification: 2003)

The Committee notes the Government’s detailed replies to its 2006 direct request received in August 2010.

Article 2 of the Convention. National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that it has promulgated Law No. 31 of 2007 on the rights of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that this law is characterized by a shift from a welfare-based to a rights-based approach to disability and a shifted focus from targeted care measures to the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities by removing discriminatory as well as environmental and social barriers. Section 4(c) of Law No. 31 underlines the right of persons with disabilities to equal employment opportunities and the obligation for employers to accommodate their needs. The Committee further notes that the law stipulates that all public and private establishments employing between 25 and 50 workers should employ at least one person with disability and that, in all public and private establishments employing more than 50 workers, no fewer than 4 per cent of all employees should be persons with disabilities. The Committee also notes with interest that the National Disability Strategy 2007–15 sets forth a number of measures to be taken in order to increase the participation of persons with disabilities: (a) enhancing accessibility at workplaces; (b) providing accessible public means of transportation on routes to qualified industrial zones; (c) providing monetary incentives to institutions that show commitment in hiring and training persons with disabilities; (d) ensuring rights of persons with disabilities to equal opportunities in the workplace and equal pay in appropriate working conditions; (e) supporting and building the capacities of vocational training institutions and increasing the enrolment of persons with disabilities; (f) following up on the application of the disability employment quota by establishing a specialized department in the Ministry of Labour. The Committee notes the Government’s data provided on training sessions intended for persons with disabilities and carried out at the Vocational Training Foundation’s institutes for a total of 906 persons trained and with special services for the hearing, mobility, visually and physically impaired. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide, in its next report, information on the implementation of the national policy for vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities and also reports on the number of persons with disabilities appointed by the civil service department. It also invites the Government to include statistics (disaggregated as much as possible by age, sex and the nature of the disability), studies or surveys on the matters covered by the Convention (Part V of the report form).

Article 3. Access to the open labour market. The Government indicates that it has succeeded in employing 79 persons with disabilities while the project of national employment and training succeeded in employing 23 persons with disabilities from 2007 to 2009. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of measures taken to ensure employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the public sector (Civil Service Department) and also in the private sector.

Article 5. Consultations with the social partners. The Government indicates that several meetings were held for the purpose of raising awareness on the right of persons with disabilities to employment and their integration in the labour market. It indicates that meetings were held with the Chamber of Industry and the Chamber of Commerce regarding the role to be played by the private sector to ensure economic empowerment for persons with disabilities. The Committee requests the Government to describe the manner in which representatives of workers’ organizations and representative organizations of, and for, disabled persons are also consulted on the matters covered by the Convention.

Article 7. Arrangements to adapt various services to enable employment for persons with disabilities. The Government indicates that the Vocational Training Foundation has adopted a project for the vocational rehabilitation and training of persons with disabilities in all regions. Seven vocational institutes were established with the necessary infrastructure to meet the basic needs of persons with disabilities in all three regions and additional similarly adapted institutes are intended for the future. The Committee requests the Government to provide in its next report updated information on the impact of the arrangements made to adapt various services to enable people with disabilities to secure, retain and advance in employment.