Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159) - Tunisia (Ratification: 1989)

Articles 2, 3, 5 and 7 of the Convention. National policy. Consultations. Access of persons with disabilities to the labour market. Access to vocational guidance and training services. In its previous comment, in view of the changes that had occurred in the country, the Committee asked the Government to provide information on the manner in which the national policy on the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities is implemented and periodically reviewed. The Committee also asked the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to promote the employment of persons with disabilities, as well as an evaluation of the vocational guidance and training services for persons with disabilities. The Government indicates in its 2022 report that, under Framework Act No. 2005-83 of 15 August 2005 on the promotion and protection of persons with disabilities: (i) 3 per cent of training positions in public vocational training centres are reserved for the training of persons with disabilities; (ii) private enterprises employing 100 or more workers allocate 2 per cent of their jobs to persons with disabilities; and (iii) 2 per cent of civil service recruitments are prioritized for candidates with disabilities. In this regard, the Government reports that since 2011 the Ministry of Social Affairs has opened competitions to candidates with disabilities on three occasions (in 2012, 2014 and 2016), enabling 590 persons with disabilities to enter the civil service. The Government adds that Decree No. 2019-542 of 28 May 2019, establishing the programmes of the national employment fund, has been adopted, containing incentives for the employment of persons with disabilities, such as exemption from employer and worker charges and granting of funds to the employers concerned. However, the Government has not provided a copy of the Decree. It also states that 5 per cent of the funds of the “Programme for the economic empowerment of persons in vulnerable categories” have been allocated to persons with disabilities. While duly noting the above information, the Committee notes that the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in its concluding observations of 17 April 2023, expressed concern in particular about: (i) the lack of compliance with the laws on the employment of persons with disabilities, in particular Framework Act No. 2005-83, which provides for a quota system; (ii) the fact that the majority of persons with disabilities who are employed are in the informal sector, where they are subjected to precarious working conditions, low wages and no social protection; and (iii) allegations that unemployment among persons with disabilities is associated with inequalities in access to training. The CRPD also noted with concern that small business start-up grants for persons with disabilities have not been effective enough, given the difficulties of inclusion in the world of work and the increased costs often linked to disabilities (CRPD/C/TUN/CO/2-3, paragraphs 47–49). In view of the foregoing, the Committee urges the Government to provide detailed information on the steps taken to ensure that the measures relating to vocational training and employment for persons with disabilities are implemented and observed, particularly with regard to quotas. In the absence of information on this matter, the Committee also reiterates its requests to the Government to provide information on the manner in which the national policy on the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities is periodically reviewed, in consultation with the social partners and the representative organizations of persons with disabilities, including with regard to measures to subsidize small enterprises for persons with disabilities. The Committee also reiterates its request to the Government to provide information on the evaluation of vocational guidance and training services for persons with disabilities. It requests the Government to provide detailed, up-to-date information on the measures taken or envisaged to ensure that persons with disabilities actually have access to these services, including in rural areas, and are the recipients of vocational guidance and training aligned to employment prospects. The Committee further requests the Government to provide detailed, up-to-date statistics, including statistics disaggregated by sex, age and area (urban, rural), on vocational training, unemployment and decent sustainable employment, including in the private sector, of persons with disabilities. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to send a copy of Decree No. 2019-542 of 28 May 2019 establishing the programmes of the national employment fund.