Zambian young man with disability

LUSAKA – When Kelvin Chooma, a wheelchair user employed as an accounts clerk at a Lusaka based business, addressed a recent gathering of Zambian employers, companies, trade unions and disabled persons organizations meeting here, his message was …

“I encourage all employers to see the environment as a barrier and not the disability”. Mr. Chooma is one of eight persons with disabilities employed at Jorama Ltd.

He also urged employers not to employ persons with disabilities because they feel sorry for them, and that persons with disabilities should fight against self-pity and concluded by asking for assistance in providing other disabled persons with the support needed for the tasks given, if required.

The one-day meeting in July was jointly organized by the ILO, through the government of Ireland supported *PROPEL project, and the Zambia Federation of Employers. It provided the setting for more than 50 representatives from leading companies and employers’ organizations, government, trade unions, and civil society, including disabled person’s organizations, to consider the ‘business case’ for employing people with disabilities and concrete actions that contribute to their training and hiring.

The “business case” highlights the fact that hiring a qualified person with a disability brings greater benefits beyond just filling an open job. People with disabilities can contribute to a company’s overall competitiveness through benefits such as increased productivity, greater market share and lower job turnover rates.

Women and men with disabilities make up some 15 per cent of the Zambian population, according to the WHO/World Bank 2011 World Report on Disability. The report also indicates that some 54 per cent of disabled persons are not employed. The 2010 Census of Population and Housing found that a vast majority of Zambians with disabilities live in poverty and that many of them work on a family business or agriculture without pay or profit.

The gathering in Zambia reflects the increased attention being given worldwide to the issue of the rights of persons with disabilities. One of the key drivers of this global trend is the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was ratified by Zambia in 2010. The Convention has been ratified by over 150 countries and has raised the visibility of persons with disabilities worldwide.

International labour standards such as the ILO Convention 159 Concerning the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment of Disabled and ILO Convention 111 Concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, both ratified by Zambia, in addition to national policies and initiatives are also key in ensuring that persons with disabilities enjoy human rights on an equal basis with others.

Persons with disabilities are part of the skills and talent pool.

Persons with disabilities are part of the skills and talent pool. A key to tapping into this talent pool is matching a job with the skills, interests and abilities of the disabled person. A challenge many companies face is that they do not know where to find persons with disabilities with the skills required in a particular field. Companies often benefit from supporting each other. As a contribution to this area, in 2010 the ILO established the Global Business and Disability Network, which brings together multinationals, employers’ organizations and disability networks to share experiences and exchange information on how to tackle the issue of employment of persons with disabilities.

Example of Employers’ Business and Disability Network

One employer-led initiative showcased at the meeting as an example of an organization working to promote the hiring of persons with disabilities was the South African Employers for Disabilities (SAE4D). Through its membership, which draws from like-minded employers from across the different sectors of the economy, SAE4D enables employers to be disability confident by sharing experiences, highlighting good practices, and forming a common understanding of the challenges and solutions required to fully develop the potential of people with disabilities to contribute meaningfully to society and business.

Representing SAE4D was Dr. Jerry Gule, General Manager for Human Resources and Transformation, Total South Africa and Chair of SAE4D, who encouraged participants to play a role in putting in place measures that make working environments more accessible.

“First, test drive your work environment to find out how disability-friendly it is by bringing people with disabilities to visit it; second, rally behind this effort in the next 30 days by putting a task team together and establishing a clear plan”, he said.

In addition to the business case for including persons with disability in the workplace, Dr. Gule emphasized other reasons for doing so, such as enhanced corporate reputation, increased customer base and satisfaction and empowerment of communities.

Good practices: Employing people with disabilities

Several Zambian companies are already successfully employing disabled persons. Employers shared their good practice examples and experiences on employing persons with disabilities such as the case of Pick n Pay Zambia, a retail store, which began hiring persons with disabilities due to the General Manager’s ability to see beyond the physical impairment or intellectual disability and focus on the skills and talents they offer. Today, Pick n Pay employs 25 persons with disabilities in eight stores throughout the country.

At Standard Chartered Bank Zambia, a few important measures are being carried out to facilitate a disability-friendly working environment. First, its infrastructure is being inspected to ensure it is accessible. And second, the bank commits to a strong diversity and inclusion policy. All bank staff are hired on the basis of merit. It also provides for workplace accommodations for its workers with disabilities. For example, the bank installed computer screen magnifiers and printers with the capacity to produce extra-large printouts for workers with visual impairments. For its two employees with bipolar disorders, counselling services are provided in addition to time off, when needed.

The Taj Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka currently employs three workers with disabilities, including one of the hotel’s chef, who is deaf. He joined the hotel as a trainee a couple of years ago. When the vacancy announcement for a chef became available, he was immediately considered because he had the right experience and qualifications.

Roundtable discussions: Challenges and solutions

A discussion facilitated by ILO Senior Disability Specialist Mr. Stefan Tromel, asked participants to split up into mixed stakeholder groups to consider from an employers’ perspective key barriers to hiring people with disabilities and possible solutions.

The idea of forming mixed groups was designed to capture the perspectives, experiences and insights of as many relevant groups, individuals, and communities as possible. By soliciting the opinions, interests, concerns and priorities of stakeholders, the results or solutions are more likely to address stakeholder’s specific information needs which can be useful for a range of purposes, among them, to improve the effectiveness of existing programmes and services, give effect to existing laws and policies, and sensitization campaigns on the rights and abilities of persons with disabilities. Engaging a wide range of stakeholders in the process also provides opportunities to develop consensus around possible solutions to barriers preventing disabled people from entering the world of work.

Among the issues that emerged were: employers’ low awareness of tax incentives for hiring disabled persons; inaccessible workplaces, particularly in older buildings; workplaces that do not accommodate the disabled worker; negative attitudes and perceptions about people with disabilities; disabled persons lacking the skills and qualifications needed by employers; and, the lack of a database on disabled job seekers.

In concluding, Mr. Tromel asked participants to consider as a first and practical step in tackling the issue of barriers to employing disabled persons conducting a disability access audit at one’s place of work. Disability audits help to ensure that workplaces are user-friendly for people with disabilities.

Roundtable discussions - A way forward: Zambia Business and Disability Network
An important outcome was the validation of the need to establish a network of Zambian employers and key stakeholders to help facilitate the employment of disabled women and men.

Speaking on behalf of the Zambia Federation of Employers, Mr. Hilary Chilala stated, “Today’s meeting gives useful guidance into the setting up of the Network in the country”. He further added that the new platform would work towards meeting the needs expressed by employers to share knowledge and good practices on the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace and to create a resource database of individuals.

Mr. Chilala also called for continued commitment from all employers present and stated that this meeting should be the beginning of continued interaction among stakeholders.

“Disabled persons organizations should put the employment of persons with disabilities as their focal mandate in order to enhance it”, said Ms. Constance Hambwalula, Executive Director of the Zambia National Association of People with Physical Disabilities. She added that the need to emulate South Africa and establish a business and disability network as soon as possible.

“The ILO stands ready to support the efforts but employers need to take the lead in this important initiative. We look forward to concrete steps to move this agenda forward”, said Ms. Pia Korpinen, ILO/PROPEL Regional Technical Advser. “We hope that over the coming months all the relevant actors will work together to ensure that more women and men with disabilities benefit from being included in the world of work which will translate into their economic empowerment and improvement of living standards as well as those of their families”.

*About the PROPEL (Promoting Rights and Opportunities for People with Disabilities in Employment through Legislation) Project

The PROPEL (Promoting Rights and Opportunities for People with Disabilities in Employment through Legislation) project works to promote disability rights and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in training and employment. In Zambia, PROPEL aims at: improving access of young women and men with disabilities to mainstream skills development programmes; increasing the capacity of social partners in promoting the employment rights of persons with disabilities by supporting the establishment of a national Disability and Business network for employers, and building the capacity of Trade Unions in promoting the rights of workers with disabilities through establishment of a disability champions network; improving the capacity of government on disability mainstreaming in training and employment; strengthening the capacity of national partners to collect statistics on the labour market situation of people with disabilities; and, supporting the capacity of media in disability reporting.