Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - San Marino (Ratification: 1985)

Articles 1–5 of the Convention. National policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the Government’s reference to Act No. 71 of 29 May 1991, which establishes an employment quota, providing that private enterprises and the public administration shall hire one person with a disability for every 20 employees. The Act was subsequently amended by article 66 of Act No. 189 of 2015 to provide that, in order to participate as registered suppliers in calls for tender for the supply of goods and services to the San Marino administration, private companies with 15 or more employees must hire at least one employee with a disability on an open-ended contract. The Government also refers to Act No. 115/2017, which provides enhanced incentives for employers who hire unemployed persons with a certified disability of at least 40 per cent. The Government points out that the economic crisis has been exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing the difficulty of integrating or reintegrating persons with disabilities into the world of work. In this context, the Government refers to Delegated Decree No. 14/2018 on the prevention of disability, the health and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities, and support for persons with disabilities and the family unit. On the basis of the Delegated Decree, the Government expresses its wish to pay maximum attention to the principles of the Convention and to the inclusion of persons with disabilities in employment, taking into account the recommendations of the Committee of Experts and the workers’ organizations, with a view to developing a joint reform proposal to ensure that families feel fully supported and to prevent the social isolation of persons with disabilities. Noting the information communicated by the Government, the Committee nevertheless recalls that the Convention requires the formulation, implementation and periodical review of a national policy on the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities that is based on the principle of equal opportunity and treatment. The Committee considers that, while the establishment of employment quotas and incentives for hiring persons with disabilities is an effective measure for improving the access of persons with disabilities to employment, this alone does not constitute a comprehensive policy based on the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment that is designed to promote the employment of persons with disabilities on the open market, as called for under Articles 2 and 4 of the Convention. Noting the Government’s intent to develop a joint reform proposal taking into account the principles of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to formulate and effectively implement a comprehensive policy to promote the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, in consultation with organizations of employers and workers as well as with the representative organizations of persons with disabilities. It requests the Government to keep it informed of the developments in this respect.

Article 7. Placement and employment services. Reasonable accommodation. The Committee notes the data provided by the Government concerning the number of women and men registered on the work placement list for workers with disabilities between 2017 and 2019, as well as the number of workers with disabilities who were reintegrated with incentives between 2016 and June 2020. The Government reports that the workers’ organizations are of the view that the current legislation fails to provide an adequate response to the vocational rehabilitation needs of workers with disabilities and that the legislation should be modified to include personal rehabilitation plans, in order to identify jobs suited to workers’ residual abilities. The workers’ organizations also indicate that tools should be developed to permanently monitor the results of efforts to reintegrate workers with disabilities into the working environment. They stress the need for a synergistic approach to addressing these issues with the commitment of the tripartite partners. With regard to meeting the vocational rehabilitation needs of workers with disabilities, the Committee recalls that Article 7 of the Convention provides that existing services for workers generally shall, wherever possible and appropriate, be used with necessary adaptations for persons with disabilities. These adaptations, also referred to as reasonable adjustments or reasonable accommodations include any modification or adjustment to a job or a workplace that does not place an undue burden on the employment and enables a person with disability to secure, retain and advance in employment. The Committee invites the Government and the social partners to consider including the principle of reasonable accommodation at work for persons with disabilities in the policy reforms envisaged and to provide a copy of the policy reforms once they are available.