Even if the law provides that if an entity has 20 employees, the employer is obliged to hire at least one person with disabilities (5%), the given quota is not respected by the central public authorities. A study conducted by the Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities shows only two entities of the 24 institutions of the central public authorities – the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection and the National House of Social Insurance – employ persons with disabilities who represent 5% of the personnel.
In a news conference at IPN, the Center’s executive director Vitalie Meșter said the law on the social inclusion of persons with disabilities clearly says that the employers, regardless of the legal organizational form, with 20 and more employees create or reserve jobs and employ persons with disabilities who represent at least 5% of all the employees. The provision has been in force since 2012. The study was carried out in a move to see to what extent the central public authorities implement this provision and what example they give to other business entities at a time when the state has the highest number of employees.
Ion Cibotărică, public policy and advocacy programs director at the Center, said there are about 180,000 persons with disabilities in the Republic of Moldova and statistics show the employment rate among them is two-three times lower than among the general population. The persons with disabilities have small chances of finding a job and the public authorities were warned not only once to take measures to ensure this right.
The study that was conducted in November covered 24 institutions of the central public authorities, including ministries, agencies and institutions that are directly managed by the Government, such as the National House of Social Insurance, the National Health Insurance Company and the National Bureau of Statistics. The employment quota among persons with disabilities at these institutions is of 2.48%, with a total of 7,846 jobs being examined overall. Of these, 12.48% were vacancies. There are public institutions that employ no person with disabilities. Only the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection and the National House of Social Insurance respect the mandatory quota, hiring persons with disabilities who represent 6.25% and, respectively, 5.8% of the employees. The Public Property Agency, the Ministry of Finance, the National Bureau of Statistics and the National Health Insurance Company are close to ensuring the mandatory quota.
Ion Cibotărică said 77% of the employed persons with disabilities have a general disability. “16% have a locomotor disability, while 7% have visual impairments. There are no persons with hearing or psychosocial disabilities among the staff. By the severity of the disability, the persons with accentuated and average disabilities prevail. The persons with severe disabilities represent only 5% of the personnel,” noted Ion Cibotărică.
The Center for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will carry out a similar study at institutions of the local public administration.
