In this article:

The present contribution prepared by the ILO and OECD seeks to advance a common understanding of how to approach the employment of persons with disabilities in a way that respects social justice, human rights and decent work as a key element of more inclusive economies and societies. Having the employment of persons with disabilities on the G20 agenda is also a reflection of the increased attention to the rights of persons with disabilities both at a national as well as at an international level.

The contribution focuses on one particular group of people with disabilities, namely those who may have been born with disabilities or may have developed some during their lives, but either way have remaining work capacities and are at working age. As such the analysis of the conditions of people with disabilities without work capacities, important as it is, lies beyond the scope of this document.

International frameworks on social development and on human rights commit to inclusion of persons with disabilities. This is essential to ensure the principle of “leaving no-one behind” of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and also makes important contributions to economic development. As ILO estimates have shown, if the employment of persons with disabilities, as a group, could be raised to the level of persons without disabilities, then economies could benefit from between three to seven per cent increase of GDP.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pays significant attention to persons with disabilities, including in its Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 on inclusive growth and decent work for all. The explicit reference to persons with disabilities in the SDG target 8.5 needs to be reflected in employment policies.

The attention to persons with disabilities in the SDGs is to some extent the result of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) which entered into force in 2008 and which has been ratified so far by 175 States, including the European Union and all G20 countries apart from the United States, which has signed the CRPD.

The CRPD provides detailed guidance to states on how to adjust their laws and policies in order to improve the participation of persons with disabilities in society, including the right to work. The CRPD has led and continues to lead to significant changes in national legislation and policies. Recent examples of this include the Law on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities adopted in India in 2016 and Indonesia Law no. 8/2016 on Persons with Disabilities.

The document has presented the labour market situation of persons with disabilities, a large and heterogeneous population facing challenges of labour market inclusion which, if not addressed, will undermine the commitments made by states in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Based on the experience of many G20 countries, the document shows the need for comprehensive and inclusive policies that address the demand and supply side of the labour market, working both with employers and persons with disabilities.

Promoting the labour market inclusion of persons with disabilities requires mainstream and, where needed, specialized services, as well as promoting an environment that is more conducive to decent work for persons with disabilities. Incentives will need to be generated for persons with disabilities, employers and institutions to promote the entry and retention of persons with disabilities in the labour market. All these initiatives in order to be effective will need to take into account the diversity of situations faced by persons with disabilities, and ensure that women and men with disabilities benefit equally.

The rapid social, demographic and technological changes affecting the labour market worldwide create challenges and opportunities for persons with disabilities and policy responses will need to be prepared for those. Furthermore, the policy solutions that are designed for persons with disabilities offer important models that could be generalized to different population groups in future labour market fluctuations. The future of work must be fully inclusive of persons with disabilities.

You can read the complete article here.