Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Fiji (Ratification: 2004)

1. Implementation of a national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment for persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the first report on the application of the Convention received in May 2007 and the Government’s statement that Fiji has taken steps to ensure more people with disabilities are able to have access to decent work. It notes the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons Act (No. 21 of 1994), under which regular consultations with employers, training institutions and civil society organizations, as well as the Fijian administration, are organized in order to identify employment needs for people with disabilities. Employers with 50 or more workers may employ persons with disabilities on a ratio of at least 2 per cent of the total number of workers employed. The Government’s report also elaborates the corresponding plans and programmes implemented by government authorities to realize a National Policy on Disability 2006–16. The Committee would appreciate receiving in the Government’s next report information on the implementation of the National Policy on Disability 2006–16 and its resulting impact in integration of persons with disabilities within the open labour market (Articles 3 and 4 of the Convention). Please also provide information on the results of the national survey on disability once it has been completed and other statistical data on the vocational integration of persons with disabilities in so far as possible, classified on the basis of gender, occupation and income (Part V of the report form). Please also supply a copy of the judgment mentioned in the Government’s report concerning persons with disabilities who have filed a lawsuit on the grounds of being unfairly dismissed (Part IV of the report form).

2. Article 5. Consultation of the representative organizations of employers and workers. The Committee notes that the Fiji National Council for Disabled Persons includes six advisory committees, one of which deals with vocational training and employment. Additionally, district committees have also been established and are responsible for the implementation of vocational rehabilitation programmes. The Committee notes that the advisory committee and the district committees, composed of organizations of and for persons with disabilities as well as representatives from employers’ organizations, do not seem to include representatives from workers’ organizations. The Committee requests the Government to indicate in its next report how workers’ organizations are consulted on the matters covered by the Convention.

3. Articles 7, 8 and 9. Providing and evaluating vocational training and related services. The Committee notes the training provided by the Fiji Vocational Technical Training Centre for Persons with Disabilities where experts are employed to conduct an evaluation of the services offered. The Committee would welcome continuing to receive details on the evaluation of vocational rehabilitation programmes as well as information available on other services to enable disabled persons to secure, retain and advance in employment. It also requests information on the steps taken to ensure the availability of suitable qualified vocational rehabilitation staff and the progress made in the establishment and development of employment services through district committees in rural and remote areas.