Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Egypt (Ratification: 1988)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Implementation of a national policy for the vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information regarding the results achieved by the national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities, as well as information on the practical application of the Convention. The Government reports that it pays continued attention to the interests of persons with disabilities through their integration in the open labour market, their rehabilitation and on-the-job training. The Government reiterates information provided in previous reports concerning constitutional protection of the rights of persons with disabilities as well as information regarding provisions of national legislation relating to the employment of persons with disabilities, such as the establishment of a 5 per cent quota in the private and public sectors for the employment of persons with disabilities. The Government also provides information regarding the adoption of Civil Service Law No. 81 of 2016 (“the CSL”), which provides for the placement of persons with disabilities in the different units of the State administrative bodies, hours of work and paid leave. In reply to its previous comments, the Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government indicating that a total of 1,721 persons with disabilities were hired in the different public units of the State in 2016, compared to 845 in 2015, bringing the total number of persons with disabilities employed in the government sector to 29,767 in 2016. In contrast, the Committee notes that the number of persons with disabilities recruited in the private sector decreased by more than half, from 1,578 in 2015 to 776 in 2016. The Committee reiterates its request that the Government provide information on the results achieved by the national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of persons with disabilities in terms of their integration into the open labour market. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to provide information on the practical application of the Convention including statistics and relevant data, disaggregated as much as possible by age, sex and the nature of the disability, extracts from reports, studies and inquiries concerning the matters covered by the Convention, including information on compliance with the quota system for employing persons with disabilities in both the private and public sectors. In addition, noting the decrease in the number of persons with a disability recruited in the private sector, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures taken or envisaged to promote the employment of persons with disabilities in private sector employment, across all economic sectors and occupations.