Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Bosnia and Herzegovina (Ratification: 1993)

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment. The Committee notes the Government’s report for the period ending in June 2010, including detailed replies to the 2007 direct request. It notes with interest from the report that the Policy in the Area of Disability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which governs areas of professional rehabilitation, training and employment of persons with disabilities, was adopted by the Council of Ministers in May 2008. It also notes the Law on Professional Rehabilitation, Training and Employment of Persons with Disabilities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), adopted in 2010, and the Law on Professional Rehabilitation, Training and Employment of Persons with Disabilities of the Republika Srpska (RS), adopted in 2009. The Government states in its report that the country is facing a major problem of unemployment, which has resulted, among other things, from the transition towards a market economy, the restructuring of businesses and the increased number of persons with disabilities due to war. It also indicates that significant efforts have been made to increase the employment rate of persons with disabilities and progress has been achieved in the RS through activities conducted by the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities. The report also indicates that the authorities and the employment services in the Brcko District have ensured the enforcement of the regulations framed to implement this Convention. The Committee welcomes continuing to receive information on the manner in which the national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities is implemented and periodically reviewed in [the government entities constituting] Bosnia and Herzegovina. Please also provide practical information, such as statistics disaggregated by sex, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries, concerning the matters covered by the Convention and information on the practical impact of the measures adopted to implement in the FBiH and the RS a policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities (Part V of the report form).

Articles 3, 6, 7 and 8. Vocational rehabilitation measures for all categories of persons with disabilities and employment in the open labour market. The Committee notes that the legislation of the FBiH grants tax exemptions, cash compensation and other benefits to employers hiring persons with disabilities. In 2009, following the implementation of the Programme for Employment of Persons with Disabilities, a total of 154 workers with disabilities were employed in the FBiH, 72 out of which were women and 82 were men. The Law on Occupational Rehabilitation in the RS provides a quota-based obligation to employ persons with disabilities in government bodies and public institutions. In the open labour market, cash entitlements and tax credits are amongst the measures used to promote self-employment and employment of persons with disabilities in the RS. The Committee also notes that the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities has paid special attention to persons with disabilities in rural areas with targeted measures aimed at creating employment and self-employment. Since 2007, the Fund has created jobs for 649 persons with disabilities, out of which 38 were women. The Committee invites the Government to provide in its next report an evaluation of the programmes undertaken in the FBiH and in the RS to promote employment opportunities for persons with disabilities in the open labour market. Please also continue providing details on the various services available to enable persons with different types of disabilities to secure, retain and advance in employment, as well as practical information on the activities to extend such services to rural areas and remote communities.

Article 4. Equality of opportunities and treatment. The Committee notes that, in the RS, the legislation provides special positive measures which include one-time cash grants, resources adapting to workplace and working conditions, loans at favourable terms to purchase machinery, equipment and tools necessary for the employment of persons with disabilities, and the funding of wages of persons with disabilities. The Committee invites the Government to include information on the special positive measures implemented that are aimed at creating effective equality of opportunity and treatment between workers with disabilities and other workers, as well as the steps taken or envisaged to ensure that such measures have an impact, together with any statistical data on the employment of persons with disabilities, disaggregated by sex and type of disability.

Article 5. Consultation with representative organizations of employers and workers. The Government’s report indicates that, in the FBiH, the development process of the Programme for Employment of Persons with Disabilities involved representative organizations of and for persons with disabilities. Consultations are also held at sessions of the Economic and Social Council of the FBiH where organizations of employers and workers and organizations representing target groups are included in working groups to draft regulations and policy documents. In the RS, consultations with social partners are conducted during the drafting stages of laws and regulations. The Committee also notes that the Administrative Board managing the Fund for Professional Rehabilitation and Employment of Persons with Disabilities includes representatives of employers’ and workers’ organizations and organizations of persons with disabilities. The Committee welcomes continuing to receive information on the consultations held in the implementation process of the policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities in the entities constituting Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Article 9. Training and availability of rehabilitation counsellors and other suitably qualified staff. The Committee notes from the report that rehabilitation counsellors are the specialists of the employment services in the FBiH dealing with persons with disabilities. It further notes that the Law on Adult Education, adopted in 2009, provided for the establishment of the Institute for Adult Education which will enhance and prepare plans for education, training and retraining of persons with disabilities. At the time of the report, the Institute had not yet begun its work in full capacity. The Committee would appreciate receiving in the next report information on how the availability of suitably qualified vocational rehabilitation staff is being ensured throughout the country.