AMMAN — In Jordan, around 84 percent of
persons with disabilities of working age are unemployed, reported a position
paper issued by the Workers’ House, carried by Al-Mamlaka TV.
اضافة اعلان
The paper was issued on the occasion of the
International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which Jordan celebrated
alongside other countries on Saturday.
Jordanians with disabilities account for 11.2
percent of the total population older than five years old. According to the
paper, only 24 percent of working age (15 and over) are economically active,
meaning they are employed or looking for work.
The paper noted the challenges persons with
disability face, namely the lack of responsiveness of public and private
institutions to employment requirements of persons with disabilities, the lack
of accessible and accommodating infrastructure, and the exclusion of persons
with disabilities from work or training because of their disabilities.
For persons with disabilities in Jordan, employment
and integration into the workforce, in both the private and public sectors, is
considered a primary challenge, and attempts to realize such integration remain
inadequate, the paper said.
While the Kingdom has placed legislative provisions
guaranteeing and regulating the right to work for persons with disabilities,
notably Article 6 of the Constitution, and it also ratified various key
international conventions related to this right, including the UN Convention on
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the
International Labor Organization’s Convention No. 159 concerning Vocational Rehabilitation and
Employment for Persons with Disabilities, more efforts are required, the paper
said.
It called for the enforcement of the provisions of
the Jordanian Labor Law and the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
highlighting the obligation of public and private sector entities to employ
persons with disabilities as required by law.
Article 25 of the Law on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities requires governmental and non-governmental bodies employing no
fewer than 25 and no more than 50 workers to hire at least one person with a
disability among its staff, the paper specified. If the number of employees
exceeds 50, the entity must allocate up to 4 percent of its vacancies to
persons with disabilities, as determined by the Ministry of Labor.
The Workers’ House is a non-profit non-governmental
organization in Jordan that seeks to improve working conditions in direct
cooperation with workers, employers, the government, civil society
organizations, and international organizations.
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