86 persons with disabilities are employed in Montenegro, and according to research, employers are resistant to hiring members of that population, said the executive director of the Association of Disabled Persons (UMHCG), Marina Vujačić.
"In December last year, there were 69 employers who employed 86 people with disabilities, of which 60 were employed indefinitely. Therefore, these are data on the total number of employees in 2014, not during it. "Three disabled university students are on the records of the Employment Agency of Montenegro," Vujacic told the MINA agency.
She believes that the situation is better than before, due to the fact that employers who employ people with disabilities have subsidies on their wages.
"This has particularly contributed to the employment of that population, from organizations of persons with disabilities, which do not have permanent and systemic funding and which have thus managed to maintain continuity in their work, or as UMHCG, employing young people with disabilities, provides them with the opportunity to acquire the first work experience", said Vujacic.
However, she added, on the other hand, there is also a problem in that, to the greatest extent, people with disabilities are still employed in organizations that deal with that topic, and in this way they are segregated. "Research shows that employers are reluctant to hire a person with a disability".
"But I think that an equally big and serious problem is that the Law on Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities was not promoted in practice, i.e. the results of those employees were not presented, thus encouraging employers from other sectors, not only NGOs, to employ persons with disabilities Vujičić said.
Progress can be seen in the increase in the number of students
According to her, it is difficult to really talk about progress for a period of one year, but as the most positive step forward, she singled out the adoption of the Law on Higher Education, which defined the rights of students with disabilities, in almost identical form as proposed by the UMHCG during the drafting of the Law.
"Also, as progress, I see the increased number of students with disabilities who entered the university this year, as well as the total number of those who turned to us for support. However, in other areas progress is slower, I would especially highlight the problem of non-compliance with the law and non-fulfillment of obligations in many areas, from accessibility, social protection, employment, to the general area of human rights and protection against discrimination", she stated.
The representatives of UMHCG recently expressed dissatisfaction with the situation when it comes to respecting the rights of people with disabilities, primarily when it comes to physical barriers and the inability to access many facilities in Montenegro, and Vujačić assessed that the prescribed sanctions should be applied in practice.
"It is not known to the public that any investor, designer, contractor or auditor has been sanctioned for not complying with the Law on Spatial Planning and Building Construction in the part that concerns accessibility standards for persons with disabilities," she added.
Therefore, as she said, general irresponsibility and failure to fulfill obligations and legal norms has become a common everyday occurrence.
The problem of inaccessible facilities would have been solved if the state had accepted our measures
Vujačić stated that the problem of inaccessible buildings built in the period from 2008 to today would be solved if the state accepted the measures they proposed, to be defined by the Action Plan for Chapter 23, which entailed the revision of all projects, construction and use permits issued by period of adoption of the Law.
"And in which the standards of accessibility have not been respected, and the readjustment of those facilities from the funds responsible for violating the Law, as well as the improvement of the system of supervision over the construction of facilities and strict compliance with the provisions of the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Facilities, in order to improve the application of accessibility standards for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility," she added.
In addition, as she said, others would also treat people with disabilities more responsibly in the coming period.
"For example, the adoption of the Action Plan for the adaptation of facilities in public use is an indicator of non-compliance with the Law and, again, the irresponsibility of those in charge. It will be a special problem if all allocated funds are not spent by the end of the year, because the process of adjusting the facilities has not yet started. And again, no one will be held accountable for that," said Vujacic.
The problem is that institutions often work separately
As she said, the Ministry for Human and Minority Rights is working to the greatest extent on the promotion of the law on the prohibition of discrimination and on the prohibition of discrimination of persons with disabilities, and it also carried out activities aimed at achieving the voting rights of persons with disabilities.
"I think there is room for this Ministry to get involved in the implementation of activities in some other areas and in cooperation with other departments, such as education, sustainable development and tourism, labor and social welfare. In general, the problem is that institutions often do activities separately and do not coordinate with each other," Vujačić believes.
However, she added, in order for this to happen, it is necessary for the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights to have more employees and capacities for the field of human rights and protection against discrimination.
"It is positive that, based on the initiative of the UMHCG and the Association of the Blind, this Ministry took over the coordination of the adoption of the New Law on Prohibition of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities. Therefore, in addition to the promotion it has been doing so far, this Ministry will also supervise the implementation of the Law," said Vujacic.
She reminded that the process of drafting the still valid Law was coordinated by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
Young people with disabilities opt for various educational programs
Vujačić announced that the constant communication between UMHCG and the university, as well as individual faculties, contributed to opening up the topics concerning students with disabilities, i.e. to discuss first of all the existence, and then the problems of people with disabilities.
"Because of the support we provided, an increasing number of young people decided to pursue higher education, which is why we now have 80 young people with disabilities studying in Montenegro at various faculties in the service user base. It is no longer the practice for young people with disabilities to enroll mostly in law and social policy and social work, but opt for more diverse educational programs," she said.
According to her, a large number of faculties are still architecturally inaccessible, whether at state, private universities or independent faculties. "Although there is progress, there is still a lack of systemic support for students with disabilities".
"I have already pointed out that the Law on Higher Education was adopted in October of this year and, in addition to the exemption from tuition fees, it defines the principle of affirmative action when enrolling in basic and specialist studies, taking exams in a way and in a form that best suits a student with a disability," she stated. Vujacic.
As she said, these activities have been carried out until now at the request of UMHCG, stating that now the legal basis is the guarantee that there must not be isolated cases and that all faculties will have to apply the same principles when it comes to enrollment, the method of taking the colloquium and exams to other types of support.
"However, in addition to progress, there is still a lack of support services in higher education, especially considering the way teaching is not adapted to a certain number of students with disabilities," added Vujačić.
The Student Advisory Office itself, as she said, did not receive support for its functioning from the university, but only from the Ministry of Education.
"And we at UMHCG do a large part of our activities as part of the regular plan and as volunteers. Here, in addition to the faculty, the entire state must be involved and the budget dedicated to education must be increased," said Vujacic.
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