Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2003, published 92nd ILC session (2004)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Guinea (Ratification: 1995)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its 2001 direct request, which read as follows:

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. The Committee notes that the community-based National Rehabilitation Programme (PNRBC), initiated by the Minister of Social Affairs, the Advancement of Women and Children, provides for vocational rehabilitation measures including the integration of disabled children in schools, vocational training and promotion of the employment of disabled persons. The employment promotion measures designed for employers provide for credit for disabled persons and the establishment of a savings-loan fund to finance micro projects for disabled persons. It should be noted that 11 disabled persons have been recruited into the public service. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the employment promotion measures and the results obtained, and to indicate the content of the vocational training measures and the number of persons they cover. Noting also that the vocational rehabilitation policy is reviewed twice a year and that an annual report is drawn up, the Committee asks the Government to provide a copy of the report or extracts of it together with any other document containing statistics, studies or surveys concerning matters covered by the Convention (Part V of the report form).

Article 4. The Committee notes that rules are applied to guarantee equal opportunities and that a bill has been prepared on the protection and advancement of disabled persons. Please provide information on the content of the rules on equal opportunities and send a copy of the abovementioned text as soon as it is adopted.

Article 5. Noting that representative organizations of workers and employers and representative organizations of disabled persons are consulted in the context of the PNRBC, the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the consultations held with the above organizations during the period covered by the next report.

Article 7. Noting that there is a department in charge of the occupational integration of disabled persons under the National Directorate of Technical Education and Vocational Training, and that the National Office for Vocational Training and Retraining has set up a special unit to be responsible for the training of young persons with disabilities, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the manner in which these measures contribute to enabling disabled persons to secure, retain and advance in employment.

Article 8. The Committee notes that vocational rehabilitation and employment for persons with disabilities at their place of origin (rural areas and remote communities) is an essential objective of the PNRBC in cooperation with the Guinean Federation of Disabled Persons (FE:GUI:PAH). Furthermore, measures are already under way, such as the establishment of branches of the National Orthopaedic Centre (CNO) in the interior of the country (Mamou and N’Zérékoré) and tax exemptions for enterprises of persons with disabilities. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the application of this Article of the Convention.

Article 9. In response to the direct request sent in 1999, the Government states that since 1973 there has been a National Orthopaedic Centre for rehabilitation and apprenticeships for disabled persons of all ages. The Government attaches the greatest importance to training for personnel to be in charge of persons with disabilities. Public service personnel are also responsible for advising associations of persons with disabilities. The Committee asks the Government to continue to provide information on the application of this Article of the Convention, indicating the number of persons training and available for the persons concerned.

Part III of the report form. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the activities of the inspection services which relate to the Convention.