Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/224217
24 Opinion maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 DECEMBER 2013 Stefano Mallia Breaking the disability barrier P ersons with disability have been on the agenda of many meetings, conferences and gatherings. Last Tuesday the KNPD organised a national conference aimed at highlighting the plight of the disabled in our society. The statistics that emerged from a recently carried out study that was presented during the conference paint a bleak picture – a staggering 24.5% of people with a disability were reported as rarely ever leaving their home while only a pitiful 7.8% were in full-time employment. I am troubled, saddened, and most certainly disappointed (even with myself) regarding the manner and extent to which the working world – the employment world – has failed to adequately address and accommodate the needs of persons with disability. I consciously use the word "adequately" because I do acknowledge and appreciate that milestone advances have been made over the last decades. Legislation has been drafted, developed and enacted. Regulations and regulators have been established. Measures of monitoring and support have been set up. These are all impressive achievements which our nation takes pride in. However, my closer encounters with persons with disabilities over the last few months as an MEP candidate have highlighted the fact that there are still significant gaps which need to be addressed. As an employer myself and as a person proud to be hailing from the private sector, I am today acutely aware that maybe the private sector is not doing enough for the less fortunate. I have to ask, are private sector employers actively seeking to contribute towards society by actively engaging people with a disability? Are employers making every effort possible to ensure that the workplace facilities are beyond what is required by law and thus enhancing in the best possible way access to employment and access to the place of work? While one must not generalise, I think it is safe to say that with more collective effort we could most certainly improve the shameful statistic of full time employment. Of course, nothing is easy especially when it comes to such a delicate matter. Some form of assistance for the private sector to engage people with a disability has been provided however it is clear that this is not enough. However before going down the obvious path of clamoring for more money to be thrown at the problem I think it's vitally important that we generate a full understanding of the various dynamics of the situation. We need to, for example, get a clear picture as to what are the real attitudes of employers when it comes to engaging people with disability. We need to understand what types of jobs are being offered and which sectors of the economy are providing the most jobs to this group. This should in turn lead us to identify those sectors whose potential for employment is not as yet being tapped. On the other hand, we also need to understand the whole set of other dynamics concerning the actual people with disability and the reasons why they may not be seeking employment actively enough. Now all this information may indeed be available (I did not find it) but I as an employer have never come across it and nobody has ever volunteered it. I've been heavily involved with Malta's leading private sector organisation, the Chamber of Commerce, for a good ten years and yet I don't ever recall engaging with disability related NGOs on the matter. Today with hindsight, I struggle to think why this has been so, why we have not sought to bridge the gap, together. An equally important measure of consideration must also go to the carers of persons with disability – the informal carers. The laws of our country, the services which government provides, the contribution which NGOs wish to give, need to be enhanced in an attempt to help carers do that which they so wish to do most: care for their loved ones. Our obligation is to support precisely this. This is the compassionate side of our society we should be acknowledging, latching onto and moreover – supporting to our utmost. The world is indeed suddenly waking up to the reality that informal carers are the unsung heroes of many a household, many As an employer myself and as a person proud to be hailing from the private sector, I am today acutely aware that maybe the private sector is not doing enough for the less fortunate a society, a community – the stronghold of a population. The exact number of informal carers in Malta is not known. Some data is available via the number of persons in receipt of a Carer's Pension or via the number of people that are in receipt of Social Assistance Carer, however it is largely assumed that the actual number is much higher than what actually shows up on the official registers. Indeed this is a worldwide phenomenon which is only recently the subject of serious research. Even looking at it from an economic, crude if you wish, point of view if a monetary value were to be given to the work carried out by the informal carers the positive impact on GDP would be considerable. Whatever way you look at it, whether from a social or economic point of view, the role of the informal carer is too important to ignore! I stand clear in my mind that I want to listen to informal carers. I want to listen and I want to contribute. If I manage, in some small or big way, to contribute towards the development of structures, systems, laws, policies, strategies which enable and empower them in their role as informal carers, I would be humbled just as I am humbled as I start to fathom the huge dedication with which these people care for their loved ones. There must be ways in which our informal carers can be better supported as they nobly and admirably go about their lives. I am determined to contribute towards delivering these avenues. I will, over the coming weeks, be meeting the main NGOs that are active in this field with the aim of learning and understanding more and more the dynamics of their particular situation. I will be doing this not to suggest rapid-fire solutions but rather to be in a position to understand and represent the person with a disability and the informal carer in the best possible manner, in whatever capacity the future holds for me. I look forward to this journey and I trust upon your support. Stefano Mallia is a Nationalist candidate in the forthcoming European Parliamentary elections