EOA 2000
Introduction
Joseph M. Camilleri, Chairman
The measuring of an anti-discrimination law such as the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act bases itself upon its ability to bring about a positive change in the quality of life of the minority it is aimed at...in this case us persons with disability. The success is measured in terms of quantity, quality and the time required for change to take place. I believe that everyone agrees that after ten years of work, the EOA is having positive effects in the lives of many persons with disability. At the same time I think that we can all agree that there is always room for improvement on both and individual and national level. The complaints received by KNPD can indicate how this change is being brought about.
For example, throughout 2010/2011 KNPD worked on a total of 259 complaints. The 96 complaints for this year meant a minimal decrease in comparison with the previous year, during which 98 complaints were registered. This could mean that persons with disability are facing fewer episodes of discrimination, or that fewer such incidents are being reported.
Within the employment sector there was an increase of 5 complaints over the previous year, an encouraging sign that more persons with disability are in valid employment, and that more people are aware of their rights. On the other hand, within the education sector the number of complaints decreased by 3. Undoubtedly this sector is constantly improving. In fact KNPD receives more requests for advice than complaints from within this sector.
An interesting contrast is the accessibility sector where, contrary to what has always happened in previous years, it did not receive the highest number of complaints this time round. This is evident in the fact that in this past year 25 new complaints were received, which amounts to 10 fewer complaints in comparison to the previous year. This implies progress because persons with disability and our society in general no longer perceive disability as being dominated by problems solely related to physical accessibility.
Throughout the year 2010 the provision of goods and services sector ranked first with regard to complaints registered: there were 31 new complaints, an increase of 9 complaints over the previous year. This means that persons with disability are becoming aware of the importance of having access to means of information, information technology, communication, purchasing and use of different types of equipment. It also appears that not only persons with physical disability are making use of the EOA in order to improve their quality of life.
So far it seems that there is a very small number of persons with disability who are living an independent adult life. Perhaps proof of this would be the low number of complaints received from the insurance and housing sectors. The figures that emerge for the EOA in action for 2010 clearly show that there is much more to be achieved in order that persons with disability in Malta and Gozo find their rightful place as independent adults in the midst of the community where they choose to live.
It is a great satisfaction to me to note that in the year 2010 KNPD concluded 42% of complaints – an increase of 9% since 2009. The same occurred in the work carried out by the Test of Reasonableness Board, where 77 cases appeared (a decrease by 5 cases since 2010). Among these, 16% were accepted as reasonable (subject to certain conditions), 9% were not accepted, while further information was requested for 39% of the cases before a final decision could be made. As KNPD has always maintained, our main goal is that of reaching an amicable agreement within a reasonable period of time and in a manner that respects the rights of the person with disability.
Finally, this is the final year during which the EOA continues to function in its original form as structured in 2000. Currently there are discussions in Parliament regarding Draft Law 85, an act which aims to amend various laws related to matters of disability. One of the aims of this act is that the EOA, along with other laws operating within this country, will be brought nearer to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability, which, along with the Optional Protocol, should – we hope – be ratified in the imminent future. In this way the EOA and the rights of persons with disability on our islands will continue to grow in strength, always with the main aim of improving the quality of life of all persons with disability.
Joe Camilleri
November 2011
Executive Summary
• Throughout 2010/2011 KNPD worked on a total of 259 complaints, of which163 were pending from previous years and 96 were new. This means an increase of 15 complaints above the total of 244 complaints which KNPD worked on during the previous year.
• The number of new complaints this year (96) implied a decrease of 7 complaints since the previous year. This is due to the fact that KNPD worked on 103 new complaints in the previous year.
• The number of new complaints for this year totalled 2 less than the average of complaints received by KNPD every year (98).
• In the employment sector, the number of new complaints increased from 14 to 19, an increase of 5 complaints over the total reached in the previous year.
• In the employment sector, the number of complaints decreased from 22 to 19, a decrease of 3 complaints.
• In contrast with what occurred in the previous years, KNPD did not receive the highest number of complaints with regard to the accessibility sector. In fact this year 25 new complaints were received, marking a decrease of 10 complaints since the previous year.
• The provision of goods and services sector confirmed itself as the sector about which KNPD received the highest number of complaints. In fact this year there were 31 new complaints, an increase of 9 complaints since the previous year.
• In adherence to previous years, the number of new complaints received within the insurance and housing sector remained very low when compared to the other sectors. In fact no new complaint was registered within the insurance sector while only 2 complaints were recorded for the housing sector.
• Throughout this year KNPD closed 109 complaints out of a total of 259 which it had been working on, while 146 complaints require further investigation. This means that 42% of complaints were closed while investigation is still ongoing for 58% of complaints. This means that there was an increase of 9% in complaints that were closed this year when compared to the previous year.
• The majority of complaints closed during this period (32 complaints or 29% of complaints) are related to the provision of goods and services. In fact KNPD closed 32 out of the 46 such complaints it had been working on.
• KNPD closed 20 out of 24 complaints it had been working on in relation to the employment sector, while it closed 23 out of 57 complaints it had been working on within the education sector. With regard to accessibility, KNPD closed 29 out of 124 complaints it had been working on. KNPD also closed 2 out of 4 housing-related complaints.
• The majority of complaints (62%) currently still being discussed are related to accessibility. The second highest number of pending complaints relates to education (23%). The employment sector has 3%, the provision of goods and services sector has 10%, and the insurance and housing sectors have 1% pending complaints.
• Throughout this period there were more complaints made against public entities (69%) than against the private sector (30%). With regard to public entities there was an increase of 11% (from 58% to 69%) while an 11% decrease was observed within the private sector (from 41% to 30%).
• The highest number of closed complaints were against Government (57% of cases), while the second largest number of closed complaints had been lodged against the private sector (24% of cases). The third largest number of closed complaints that were placed against Local Councils (13%) while the complaints against the Church that were closed totalled 8% and those against parastatal entities reached 5%.
• At the end of the year 2010/2011, KNPD had one case that is still being heard in court, that against the Health Division with regard to accessibility to the Gzira Health Centre. KNPD also had three other cases where a judicial protest had been presented. These are all related to physical accessibility and were lodged against the owners of St Anne Hall, Huggins Pub, and Sky Club.
• The number of cases considered by the Test of Reasonableness Board totalled 77, which implies a decrease of 5 cases since the previous year, when 30 such cases (16%) were accepted as reasonable subject to certain circumstances. On the other hand, 21 cases (9%) were not accepted while 26 cases (39%) required further information from the applicants before a decision could be made.
An Overview of the Main Complaints
One of the main functions of KNPD is to ensure that the Equal Opportunities (Persons with Disability) Act is being observed, thus safeguarding the interests of both persons with disability as well as society at large. As it does every year, KNPD is presenting a report of the work carried out over the previous twelve months, in this case during the period October 2011 – November 2011. It is worth noticing that the work reports regarding this Act cover a period starting in October, due to the fact that the Act was set in motion in October 2000. This is the eleventh year of its functioning, and as can be observed in this booklet, there have been interesting developments regarding those sections of the EOA that most directly affect persons with disability in Malta.
This work is carried out by the EOA Section, which is a small entity within the KNPD Secretariat. Its main aim is to investigate complaints received by persons who feel discriminated against due to their disability. The member of this Section are as follows:
• Mr Joseph M. Camilleri, KNPD Chairman
• Dr Anne-Marie Callus, Executive Director at KNPD
• Ms Marianne Debono, Section Manager
• Mr Elvin Sciberras, Assistant Manager
• Ms Victoria Grech, Assistant Services Officer
• Dr Peter Fenech, lawyer
The EOA Section provides details regarding those sectors within which discrimination on the basis of disability cannot take place. These are classified under 5 headings:
• Employment
• Education
• Physical Accessibility
• Provision of Goods, Facilities and Services
• Accommodation (Housing)
In addition to this, Heading 6 within the same Act provides details regarding exemptions and protects persons with disability against discrimination relating to insurance.
This part of the report compiles a brief account of all the main complaints that KNPD worked on across all the sectors over the past year. Each sector is divided into three sections:
• Closed complaints
• Pending complaints
• Complaints presented in court or at the Arbitration centre.
The complaint number, according to the Tables on pages 27-42, appear after the term attributed to each complaint.
1. Employment
Closed Complaints
Request for accommodation of employment within Malta Enterprise (complaint 10)
A Malta Enterprise employee who is sight impaired contacted KNPD because of changes in their employment which rendered them unable to proceed with the work as previously carried out. Following KNPD’s intervention, Malta Enterprise understood the requirements of the person with disability and took immediate action by opening discussion with the Foundation for Information Technology Accessibility (FITA) in order to identify special equipment that would help this person in their job. To its great satisfaction KNPD observed how within a relatively short period of time, a solution to the difficulties faced by this person with disability had been reached, and as a result the complaint was closed.
Requests for reasonable accommodation in the workplace (complaint 13)
This year KNPD investigated and closed a complaint received by a teacher who has a physical disability and who works in a Church school. She alleged that the school had altered her employment conditions without prior consultation. In addition to this she had requested that she would not be assigned work that would involve long periods of standing, that she would not have to accompany students on outings involving long periods of walking or participate in sport events, and that she would be assigned an accessible classroom rather than have to move from one classroom to another. After KNPD established contact with the school in order to tackle this complaint, the school accepted the teacher’s requests as being reasonable and the complaint was therefore closed.
Flexible work at Heritage Malta (complaint 17)
KNPD received a complaint issued by a person with disability who works for Heritage Malta with regard to a number of working hours that she is being asked to work over the week. This is because this entity required this person to work forty hours a week, which the latter felt should be reduced due to their condition. After KNPD considered this person’s request as being reasonable, it contacted Heritage Malta and following discussions, it was agreed that the person’s request would be accepted and the case was therefore closed.
Request to return to work at BOV (complaint 18)
Following a considerable period of absence from work for health reasons, a person with disability found it difficult to return to her previous job at BOV. After having established contact with KNPD, discussions began and involved the Union, the Bank and the said person with disability. Eventually a reasonable solution was reached for all parties involved with the person with disability returning to work, and the case was therefore closed.