Glenda Daniels
Two blind workers were dismissed from a private health company this month and have filed charges at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA).
This followed a restructuring exercise in the North West company where everyone was required to reapply for their jobs, but the two blind men were not rehired.
The two men told the Mail & Guardian they believe they were discriminated against because of their blindness, and therefore the dismissal was unfair and unconstitutional and flies in the face of equity legislation in the country.
Their cases will be heard at the CCMA next month, where they will challenge the company for not complying with equity legislation. The Employment Equity Act, passed in May 1999, says that people who were previously disadvantaged should be given preference in the workplace. The previously marginalised groups include blacks, women, gay men and lesbians as well as disabled people. With the latter, employers were meant to ensure that workplaces become friendly and are suited to certain conditions such as blindness.
Almost two years after the Act was put in place, about 80% of the physically handicapped remain unemployed in South Africa. According to the Retinal Preservation Foundation of South Africa (RP Foundation) between 7 000 and 8 000 people with sight problems are struggling to find jobs.
The deputy vice-chair of the South Africa Council for the Blind, Hazel Marshall, says she does not know if legislation has made any difference at all to the plight of the blind.
“I think it is fair to say that companies would not choose a blind person first for any job as they worry about the possible costs involved. In terms of general discrimination against blind people, South Africa has a long way to go.”
The RP Foundation has launched training programmes to help the blind and partially blind develop skills to enter the labour market. These skills range from the use of technology through adaptive devices of basic computer skills, to making leather works, soaps and detergents, laundry and carpet cleaning services, to municipal contracts such as gardening services as well as paper recycling projects.
“Since the new Employment Equity Act came into effect in May 1999 we have seen a gradual improvement in disabled people being included on company payrolls, but it’s still not enough,” says Robert Mushuane, training officer of the RP Foundation, who himself suffers from Retinitis Pigmentosa, also known as tunnel vision.
Although the Employment Equity Act does not prescribe quotas for the disabled, companies that employ more than 50 people are required to make provisions for employing a disabled person.
“The real problem begins with education. For a disabled person, penetrating the labour market is difficult enough, but the absence of an education reduces one’s chances in finding a job even further,” Mushuane says.
The RP Foundation says there are about 480 000 partially sighted people in the country and their unemployment rate is more than twice the national average in the country.
According to the foundation blind people don’t want freebies or hand- outs, they just want a chance to prove themselves. Blind people need to contact organisations that cater for the disabled by offering services for placements.