Right to work: ‘Register private sector employers for disabled quota’

Petitioner says failure to register private sector means fewer opportunities.

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court on Tuesday sought comments from the government on a writ petition seeking enforcement of disability rights and the implementation of Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance 1981.

Justice Shujaat Ali Khan issued the order on a petition filed by Sheikh Inam Elahi Pervaiz through his counsel, Advocate Muqtedir Akhtar Shabbir.

The counsel submitted that the law, promulgated in 1981, was aimed at employment and rehabilitation of the disabled. He said under the law five per cent job quota was fixed for handicapped persons but the government and officials concerned had not included the private sector in this regard. This, he said, was affecting the employment and rehabilitation rights of the disabled in the province.



The petitioner said the failure to register the private sector had reduced the employment opportunities for the disabled in the province.

He submitted that after the introduction of the 18th amendment in the Constitution, it had become the provincial government’s responsibility.

Shabbir said that he could furnish a list of private and government departments concerned. He said thousands of private jobs could have been available to disabled persons if the private sector had been registered.

He said the list names companies registered with the SECP. A list prepared by the Ministry of Industries and Chambers of Commerce had been provided to the officials concerned but they did not register the private sector.

Government officials’ conduct was discriminatory and violated the rights of the disabled, he said.

After hearing the initial arguments, the court issued notices to the government, the chief secretary, the Provincial Council for Rehabilitation of the Disabled, the social welfare secretary and the labour department secretary and sought parawise comments in four weeks.

Dr Khalid Jamil told The Express Tribune that all private employers must disclose the number of employees they hired so that two per cent of that could be reserved for the disabled.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2013.