Today's Labour News

The Citizen writes that there was little to celebrate on International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Saturday as 90% of disabled people in SA are unemployed and the disabled struggle with basics such as transport, healthcare and education.

More had to be done to include disabled people in mainstream society and socioeconomic activities, the Lubner Family Foundation asserted. The foundation’s chair, Marc Lubner, started the Smile Foundation in 2006 and said by helping the youth seize their future, people ensured the country had a future. Lubner said the exclusion of disabled people happened in two ways: those excluded because of poverty and those excluded because services specific to their needs did not exist or were inadequate. “It was found children living with disabilities in South Africa often face poverty, isolation and discrimination in their communities. They also struggle to access basic services such as education, especially in remote or poverty-stricken areas where state systems don’t appear to prioritise them,” he pointed out. Disability Connect‘s Chris Buchanan said the biggest challenges facing differently abled people were acceptance, accessibility and opportunities in the workplace. “About 90% of people with disabilities eligible for work are unemployed. Corporates are beginning to embrace the Employment Equity Act as it refers to disabilities and introduces more differently abled people into the work environment,” he stated. But many office buildings were inaccessible – and co-workers are often discriminatory toward people with disabilities, Buchanan said.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Marizka Coetzer at The Citizen (subscriber access only)

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page