Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Tajikistan (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 2 and 7 of the Convention. Implementation of a national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government indicates in its report that, under Decree No. 601 of 2 December 2008, a State Medical and Social Assessment Service was set up to establish a procedure for determining capacity for work, temporary and long-term incapacity, categories of and reasons for disability, duration of disability and the timing of repeat examinations. The State Medical and Social Assessment Service sets out individual rehabilitation programmes taking into account the degree of work incapacity. There are 28 departments and committees involved in the Medical and Social Assessment Service. The Government further indicates that its policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities is governed by national legislation. It adds that, in order to implement its policy, two laws were adopted in 2008 and 2010: the Law on the Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Law on the Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities.

The Committee notes that the Law on the Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities refers to disability as a health impairment involving a persistent disorder of the functions of the organism caused by illness, trauma or defects, leading to a restriction of activities and a requirement for social protection. Section 11 of the Law states that the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities is carried out under an individual programme, as determined on the basis of an examination report by a medical and social authority. Moreover, under section 26 of the Law, quotas for the employment of persons with disabilities are established for organizations irrespective of their legal status or form of ownership, with a minimum number of dedicated posts for persons with disabilities. The Committee notes in this regard that in organizations employing at least 20 workers, the quota system stipulates that persons with disabilities must represent no less than 5 per cent of the workforce. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the sanctions that apply if employers do not meet the mandatory quota.

The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the implementation of the Law on the Social Protection of Citizens Affected by the Disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Law on the Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities, as well as on the results achieved with regard to the integration of persons with disabilities in the open labour market. It also requests the Government to provide information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, in particular, statistics disaggregated as much as possible by age, sex and the nature of the disability, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries on the matters covered by the Convention.

Article 5. Consultation of the social partners. In reply to the previous comments, the Government indicates that issues concerning the development of a social partnership for the rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities were included in the Getting Into Decent Work programme 2014–17. The Committee notes with interest that, as part of the cooperation between the Government and the social partners, an agreement was reached that representatives of persons with disabilities organizations and medical bodies would regularly be invited to meetings of the National Committee on the Implementation of the Action Plan. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the consultations held with employers’ and workers’ organizations and organizations of and for persons with disabilities on the implementation of a national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities.

Article 8. Services in rural areas and remote communities. The Government indicates that, in 2009, a service procurement mechanism was introduced among NGOs to provide social services at day centres for children with disabilities as an alternative to residential institutions. There are 15 such centres operating, offering a variety of social services for over 1,000 children with disabilities. The Government adds that activities offered at these centres are funded through social services contracts. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the impact of the measures taken for the development of vocational rehabilitation and employment services for persons with disabilities in rural areas and remote communities.

Article 9. Training of suitably qualified staff. The Government indicates that, with the aim of setting up a leading social work methodology and training centre, and with the assistance from a European Union project in 2012, the Practical Education Centre for Social Work and Innovation was established. The principal tasks of the centre are to retrain and enhance the qualifications of employees in social institutions, to teach modern methods of providing social services and to promote the development and introduction of social work standards. Every year, an average of about 150 social workers undergo training or retraining at the centre. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the training and availability of suitably qualified staff for the vocational rehabilitation of persons with disabilities.