Provide decent work for persons with disabilities, says ILO by Juan Somavia 2:15am 3rd Dec, 2007   Dec 3, 2007    Following is the message from Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International Labour Office.    On this Day, we honour persons with disabilities and their contribution to the world of work.    Women and men everywhere want a fair chance at a decent job. They wish to work in dignity.    Today we put the spotlight on the right of persons with disabilities to those universal aspirations for decent work, based on respect for workers’ rights and very specially, freedom from discrimination; social protection for all; expanded employment opportunities; and social dialogue.    Some 470 million persons with disability are of working age. Many are successfully employed, integrated into society and demonstrating their productivity on the job.    Yet too many still do not have the opportunity to realise their potential. As a group, persons with disabilities often face disproportionate poverty, unemployment and under employment. Even when in work, they often find lower levels of security, earn much less and have little scope for progress regardless of ability.    Physical, attitudinal and other barriers are deeply discouraging and distressing and cause many to lose hope of a decent life through integration into the labour market.    The ILO estimates that some 80% of all persons with disabilities in the world live in rural areas of developing countries. They are among the most vulnerable and marginalised, comprising an estimated 15% to 20% of the poor in these countries.    And a World Bank study estimates that exclusion of persons with disabilities results in a loss of between US$1.37 trillion to $1.94 trillion to global GDP.    Countries striving to attain the MDGs and to go further down the road to sustainable development, cannot expect to do so on the basis of social exclusion. Persons with disabilities are asking for a society that respects them and for a role in production and economic growth. They wish to participate in a dialogue on issues affecting their life and well being in the workplace and beyond.    The ILO’s decent work mandate has become a global goal endorsed by leaders at the UN World Summit in 2005.    The UN System has undertaken to mainstream employment and decent work into its activities. And a broad-based global movement for decent work for all is emerging.    Persons with disabilities are a crucial part of this movement. To make the most of their potential they must have employment opportunities based on the principles of equal opportunity, equal treatment, and community involvement.    The ILO’s Convention No. 159 on the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled Persons adopted in 1983, the ILO Human Resources Development Recommendation (No. 195) of 2004 and the 2001 ILO Code of Practice on Managing Disability in the Workplace provide for the inclusion of disabled persons in general skills development programmes in the open labour market.    The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, adopted in December 2006 is another landmark in advancing equality of opportunity and treatment of persons with disabilities, including in the world of work.    Together these instruments and a range of initiatives and experiences provide a platform for future work. Building on them we can do much to promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, empowering them, enriching societies and strengthening economies.    Working together with persons with disabilities, let us recommit to sustaining and reinforcing our efforts to open up the way to their full participation and equality of opportunity in the world of work.    On this Day let us celebrate all those who have been path breakers and exemplars in this effort.    And above all we must persist. Our interest and commitment must go beyond today. We must never give up on this fight for social justice.
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