International Labour Conference

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86th Session Geneva, June 1998

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Report III (Part 1B)

VOCATIONAL REHABILIATION
AND EMPLOYMENT
OF DISABLED PERSONS

Appendices

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Appendix I

Texts of Convention No. 159 and Recommendation No. 168
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons)
Convention, 1983 (No. 159)

The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Sixty-ninth Session on 1 June 1983, and

Noting the existing international standards contained in the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955, and the Human Resources Development Recommendation, 1975, and

Noting that since the adoption of the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955, significant developments have occurred in the understanding of rehabilitation needs, the scope and organisation of rehabilitation services, and the law and practice of many Members on the questions covered by that Recommendation, and

Considering that the year 1981 was declared by the United Nations General Assembly the International Year of Disabled Persons, with the theme "full participation and equality" and that a comprehensive World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons is to provide effective measures at the international and national levels for the realisation of the goals of "full participation" of disabled persons in social life and development, and of "equality", and

Considering that these developments have made it appropriate to adopt new international standards on the subject which take account, in particular, of the need to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment to all categories of disabled persons, in both rural and urban areas, for employment and integration into the community, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to vocational rehabilitation which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention,

adopts this twentieth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three the following Convention, which may be cited as the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983:

Part I. Definition and scope

Article 1

1.  For the purposes of this Convention, the term "disabled person" means an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognised physical or mental impairment.

2.  For the purposes of this Convention, each Member shall consider the purpose of vocational rehabilitation as being to enable a disabled person to secure, retain and advance in suitable employment and thereby to further such person's integration or reintegration into society.

3.  The provisions of this Convention shall be applied by each Member through measures which are appropriate to national conditions and consistent with national practice.

4.  The provisions of this Convention shall apply to all categories of disabled persons.

Part II. Principles of vocational rehabilitation and
employment policies for disabled persons

Article 2

Each Member shall, in accordance with national conditions, practice and possibilities, formulate, implement and periodically review a national policy on vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons.

Article 3

The said policy shall aim at ensuring that appropriate vocational rehabilitation measures are made available to all categories of disabled persons, and at promoting employment opportunities for disabled persons in the open labour market.

Article 4

The said policy shall be based on the principle of equal opportunity between disabled workers and workers generally. Equality of opportunity and treatment for disabled men and women workers shall be respected. Special positive measures aimed at effective equality of opportunity and treatment between disabled workers and other workers shall not be regarded as discriminating against other workers.

Article 5

The representative organisations of employers and workers shall be consulted on the implementation of the said policy, including the measures to be taken to promote co-operation and co-ordination between the public and private bodies engaged in vocational rehabilitation activities. The representative organisations of and for disabled persons shall also be consulted.

Part III. Action at the national level for the
development of vocational rehabilitation
and employment services for
disabled persons

Article 6

Each Member shall, by laws or regulations or by any other method consistent with national conditions and practice, take such steps as may be necessary to give effect to Articles 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Convention.

Article 7

The competent authorities shall take measures with a view to providing and evaluating vocational guidance, vocational training, placement, employment and other related services to enable disabled persons to secure, retain and advance in employment; existing services for workers generally shall, wherever possible and appropriate, be used with necessary adaptations.

Article 8

Measures shall be taken to promote the establishment and development of vocational rehabilitation and employment services for disabled persons in rural areas and remote communities.

Article 9

Each Member shall aim at ensuring the training and availability of rehabilitation counsellors and other suitably qualified staff responsible for the vocational guidance, vocational training, placement and employment of disabled persons.

Part IV. Final provisions

Article 10

The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.

Article 11

1.  This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organisation whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General.

2.  It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General.

3.  Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member twelve months after the date on which its ratification has been registered.

Article 12

1.  A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.

2.  Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.

Article 13

1.  The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organisation of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated to him by the Members of the Organisation.

2.  When notifying the Members of the Organisation of the registration of the second ratification communicated to him, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the Members of the Organisation to the date upon which the Convention will come into force.

Article 14

The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by him in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles.

Article 15

At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.

Article 16

1.  Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides --

(a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 12 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force;

(b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.

2.  This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.

Article 17

The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.

Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons)
Recommendation, 1983 (No. 168)

The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office and having met in its Sixty-ninth Session on 1 June 1983, and

Noting the existing international standards contained in the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955, and

Noting that since the adoption of the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955, significant developments have occurred in the understanding of rehabilitation needs, the scope and organisation of rehabilitation services, and the law and practice of many Members on the questions covered by that Recommendation, and

Considering that the year 1981 was declared by the United Nations General Assembly the International Year of Disabled Persons, with the theme "full participation and equality" and that a comprehensive World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons is to provide effective measures at the international and national levels for the realisation of the goals of "full participation" of disabled persons in social life and development, and of "equality", and

Considering that these developments have made it appropriate to adopt new international standards on the subject which take account, in particular, of the need to ensure equality of opportunity and treatment to all categories of disabled persons, in both rural and urban areas, for employment and integration into the community, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to vocational rehabilitation which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a Recommendation supplementing the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983, and the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955,

adopts this twentieth day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and eighty-three the following Recommendation, which may be cited as the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation, 1983:

I. Definitions and scope

1.  In applying this Recommendation, as well as the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955, Members should consider the term "disabled person" as meaning an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognised physical or mental impairment.

2.  In applying this Recommendation, as well as the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955, Members should consider the purpose of vocational rehabilitation, as defined in the latter Recommendation, as being to enable a disabled person to secure, retain and advance in suitable employment and thereby to further such person's integration or reintegration into society.

3.  The provisions of this Recommendation should be applied by Members through measures which are appropriate to national conditions and consistent with national practice.

4.  Vocational rehabilitation measures should be made available to all categories of disabled persons.

5.  In planning and providing services for the vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons, existing vocational guidance, vocational training, placement, employment and related services for workers generally should, wherever possible, be used with any necessary adaptations.

6.  Vocational rehabilitation should be started as early as possible. For this purpose, health-care systems and other bodies responsible for medical and social rehabilitation should co-operate regularly with those responsible for vocational rehabilitation.

II. Vocational rehabilitation and
employment opportunities

7.  Disabled persons should enjoy equality of opportunity and treatment in respect of access to, retention of and advancement in employment which, wherever possible, corresponds to their own choice and takes account of their individual suitability for such employment.

8.  In providing vocational rehabilitation and employment assistance to disabled persons, the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women workers should be respected.

9.  Special positive measures aimed at effective equality of opportunity and treatment between disabled workers and other workers should not be regarded as discriminating against other workers.

10.  Measures should be taken to promote employment opportunities for disabled persons which conform to the employment and salary standards applicable to workers generally.

11.  Such measures, in addition to those enumerated in Part VII of the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955, should include:

(a) appropriate measures to create job opportunities on the open labour market, including financial incentives to employers to encourage them to provide training and subsequent employment for disabled persons, as well as to make reasonable adaptations to workplaces, job design, tools, machinery and work organisation to facilitate such training and employment;

(b) appropriate government support for the establishment of various types of sheltered employment for disabled persons for whom access to open employment is not practicable;

(c) encouragement of co-operation between sheltered and production workshops on organisation and management questions so as to improve the employment situation of their disabled workers and, wherever possible, to help prepare them for employment under normal conditions;

(d) appropriate government support to vocational training, vocational guidance, sheltered employment and placement services for disabled persons run by non-governmental organisations;

(e) encouragement of the establishment and development of co-operatives by and for disabled persons and, if appropriate, open to workers generally;

(f) appropriate government support for the establishment and development of small-scale industry, co-operative and other types of production workshops by and for disabled persons (and, if appropriate, open to workers generally), provided such workshops meet defined minimum standards;

(g) elimination, by stages if necessary, of physical, communication and architectural barriers and obstacles affecting transport and access to and free movement in premises for the training and employment of disabled persons; appropriate standards should be taken into account for new public buildings and facilities;

(h) wherever possible and appropriate, facilitation of adequate means of transport to and from the places of rehabilitation and work according to the needs of disabled persons;

(i) encouragement of the dissemination of information on examples of actual and successful instances of the integration of disabled persons in employment;

(j) exemption from the levy of internal taxes or other internal charges of any kind, imposed at the time of importation or subsequently on specified articles, training materials and equipment required for rehabilitation centres, workshops, employers and disabled persons, and on specified aids and devices required to assist disabled persons in securing and retaining employment;

(k) provision of part-time employment and other job arrangements, in accordance with the capabilities of the individual disabled person for whom full-time employment is not immediately, and may not ever be, practicable;

(l) research and the possible application of its results to various types of disability in order to further the participation of disabled persons in ordinary working life;

(m) appropriate government support to eliminate the potential for exploitation within the framework of vocational training and sheltered employment and to facilitate transition to the open labour market.

12.  In devising programmes for the integration or reintegration of disabled persons into working life and society, all forms of training should be taken into consideration; these should include, where necessary and appropriate, vocational preparation and training, modular training, training in activities of daily living, in literacy and in other areas relevant to vocational rehabilitation.

13.  To ensure the integration or reintegration of disabled persons into ordinary working life, and thereby into society, the need for special support measures should also be taken into consideration, including the provision of aids, devices and ongoing personal services to enable disabled persons to secure, retain and advance in suitable employment.

14.  Vocational rehabilitation measures for disabled persons should be followed up in order to assess the results of these measures.

III. Community participation

15.  Vocational rehabilitation services in both urban and rural areas and in remote communities should be organised and operated with the fullest possible community participation, in particular with that of the representatives of employers', workers' and disabled persons' organisations.

16.  Community participation in the organisation of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled persons should be facilitated by carefully planned public information measures with the aims of:

(a) informing disabled persons, and if necessary their families, about their rights and opportunities in the employment field; and

(b) overcoming prejudice, misinformation and attitudes unfavourable to the employment of disabled persons and their integration or reintegration into society.

17.  Community leaders and groups, including disabled persons themselves and their organisations, should co-operate with health, social welfare, education, labour and other relevant government authorities in identifying the needs of disabled persons in the community and in ensuring that, wherever possible, disabled persons are included in activities and services available generally.

18.  Vocational rehabilitation and employment services for disabled persons should be integrated into the mainstream of community development and where appropriate receive financial, material and technical support.

19.  Official recognition should be given to voluntary organisations which have a particularly good record of providing vocational rehabilitation services and enabling disabled persons to be integrated or reintegrated into the worklife of the community.

IV. Vocational rehabilitation in rural areas

20.  Particular efforts should be made to ensure that vocational rehabilitation services are provided for disabled persons in rural areas and in remote communities at the same level and on the same terms as those provided for urban areas. The development of such services should be an integral part of general rural development policies.

21.  To this end, measures should be taken, where appropriate, to:

(a) designate existing rural vocational rehabilitation services or, if these do not exist, vocational rehabilitation services in urban areas as focal points to train rehabilitation staff for rural areas;

(b) establish mobile vocational rehabilitation units to serve disabled persons in rural areas and to act as centres for the dissemination of information on rural training and employment opportunities for disabled persons;

(c) train rural development and community development workers in vocational rehabilitation techniques;

(d) provide loans, grants or tools and materials to help disabled persons in rural communities to establish and manage co-operatives or to work on their own account in cottage industry or in agricultural, craft or other activities;

(e) incorporate assistance to disabled persons into existing or planned general rural development activities;

(f) facilitate disabled persons' access to housing within reasonable reach of the workplace.

V. Training of staff

22.  In addition to professionally trained rehabilitation counsellors and specialists, all other persons who are involved in the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons and the development of employment opportunities should be given training or orientation in rehabilitation issues.

23.  Persons engaged in vocational guidance, vocational training and placement of workers generally should have an adequate knowledge of disabilities and their limiting effects, as well as a knowledge of the support services available to facilitate a disabled person's integration into active economic and social life. Opportunities should be provided for such persons to update their knowledge and extend their experience in these fields.

24.  The training, qualifications and remuneration of staff engaged in the vocational rehabilitation and training of disabled persons should be comparable to those of persons engaged in general vocational training who have similar duties and responsibilities; career opportunities should be comparable for both groups of specialists and transfers of staff between vocational rehabilitation and general vocational training should be encouraged.

25.  Staff of vocational rehabilitation, sheltered and production workshops should receive, as part of their general training and as appropriate, training in workshop management as well as in production and marketing techniques.

26.  Wherever sufficient numbers of fully trained rehabilitation staff are not available, measures should be considered for recruiting and training vocational rehabilitation aides and auxiliaries. The use of such aides and auxiliaries should not be resorted to as a permanent substitute for fully trained staff. Wherever possible, provision should be made for further training of such personnel in order to integrate them fully into the trained staff.

27.  Where appropriate, the establishment of regional and subregional vocational rehabilitation staff training centres should be encouraged.

28.  Staff engaged in vocational guidance, vocational training, placement and employment support of disabled persons should have appropriate training and experience to recognise the motivational problems and difficulties that disabled persons may experience and, within their competence, deal with the resulting needs.

29.  Where appropriate, measures should be taken to encourage disabled persons to undergo training as vocational rehabilitation personnel and to facilitate their entry into employment in the rehabilitation field.

30.  Disabled persons and their organisations should be consulted in the development, provision and evaluation of training programmes for vocational rehabilitation staff.

VI. The contribution of employers' and workers'
organisations to the development of
vocational rehabilitation services

31.  Employers' and workers' organisations should adopt a policy for the promotion of training and suitable employment of disabled persons on an equal footing with other workers.

32.  Employers' and workers' organisations, together with disabled persons and their organisations, should be able to contribute to the formulation of policies concerning the organisation and development of vocational rehabilitation services, as well as to carry out research and propose legislation in this field.

33.  Wherever possible and appropriate, representatives of employers', workers' and disabled persons' organisations should be included in the membership of the boards and committees of vocational rehabilitation and training centres used by disabled persons, which make decisions on policy and technical matters, with a view to ensuring that the vocational rehabilitation programmes correspond to the requirements of the various economic sectors.

34.  Wherever possible and appropriate, employers and workers' representatives in the undertaking should co-operate with appropriate specialists in considering the possibilities for vocational rehabilitation and job reallocation of disabled persons employed by that undertaking and for giving employment to other disabled persons.

35.  Wherever possible and appropriate, undertakings should be encouraged to establish or maintain their own vocational rehabilitation services, including various types of sheltered employment, in close co-operation with community-based and other rehabilitation services.

36.  Wherever possible and appropriate, employers' organisations should take steps to:

(a) advise their members on vocational rehabilitation services which could be made available to disabled workers;

(b) co-operate with bodies and institutions which promote the reintegration of disabled persons into active working life by providing, for instance, information on working conditions and job requirements which disabled persons have to meet;

(c) advise their members on adjustments which could be made for disabled workers to the essential duties or requirements of suitable jobs;

(d) advise their members to consider the impact that reorganising production methods might have, so that disabled persons are not inadvertently displaced.

37.  Wherever possible and appropriate, workers' organisations should take steps to:

(a) promote the participation of disabled workers in discussions at the shop-floor level and in works councils or any other body representing the workers;

(b) propose guidelines for the vocational rehabilitation and protection of workers who become disabled through sickness or accident, whether work-related or not, and have such guidelines included in collective agreements, regulations, arbitration awards or other appropriate instruments;

(c) offer advice on shop-floor arrangements affecting disabled workers, including job adaption, special work organisation, trial training and employment and the fixing of work norms;

(d) raise the problems of vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons at trade union meetings and inform their members, through publications and seminars, of the problems of and possibilities for the vocational rehabilitation and employment of disabled persons.

VII. The contribution of disabled persons and their
organisations to the development of
vocational rehabilitation services

38.  In addition to the participation of disabled persons, their representatives and organisations in rehabilitation activities referred to in Paragraphs 15, 17, 30, 32 and 33 of this Recommendation, measures to involve disabled persons and their organisations in the development of vocational rehabilitation services should include:

(a) encouragement of disabled persons and their organisations to participate in the development of community activities aimed at vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons so as to further their employment and their integration or reintegration into society;

(b) appropriate government support to promote the development of organisations of and for disabled persons and their involvement in vocational rehabilitation and employment services, including support for the provision of training programmes in self-advocacy for disabled persons;

(c) appropriate government support to these organisations to undertake public education programmes which project a positive image of the abilities of disabled persons.

VIII. Vocational rehabilitation under
social security schemes

39.  In applying the provisions of this Recommendation, Members should also be guided by the provisions of Article 35 of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952, of Article 26 of the Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964, and of Article 13 of the Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention, 1967, in so far as they are not bound by obligations arising out of ratification of these instruments.

40.  Wherever possible and appropriate, social security schemes should provide, or contribute to the organisation, development and financing of training, placement and employment (including sheltered employment) programmes and vocational rehabilitation services for disabled persons, including rehabilitation counselling.

41.  These schemes should also provide incentives to disabled persons to seek employment and measures to facilitate a gradual transition into the open labour market.

IX. Co-ordination

42.  Measures should be taken to ensure, as far as practicable, that policies and programmes concerning vocational rehabilitation are co-ordinated with policies and programmes of social and economic development (including scientific research and advanced technology) affecting labour administration, general employment policy and promotion, vocational training, social integration, social security, cooperatives, rural development, small-scale industry and crafts, safety and health at work, adaptation of methods and organisation of work to the needs of the individual and the improvement of working conditions.

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Appendix II

Text of Recommendation No. 99

Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation,
1955 (No. 99)

The General Conference of the International Labour Organisation,

Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its Thirty-eighth Session on 1 June 1955, and

Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the vocational rehabilitation of the disabled, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of a Recommendation,

adopts this twenty-second day of June of the year one thousand nine hundred and fifty-five the following Recommendation, which may be cited as the Vocational Rehabilitation (Disabled) Recommendation, 1955:

Whereas there are many and varied problems concerning those who suffer disability, and

Whereas rehabilitation of such persons is essential in order that they be restored to the fullest possible physical, mental, social, vocational and economic usefulness of which they are capable, and

Whereas to meet the employment needs of the individual disabled person and to use manpower resources to the best advantage it is necessary to develop and restore the working ability of disabled persons by combining into one continuous and co-ordinated process medical, psychological, social, educational, vocational guidance, vocational training and placement services, including follow-up,

The Conference recommends as follows:

I. Definitions

1.  For the purpose of this Recommendation --

(a) the term "vocational rehabilitation" means that part of the continuous and co-ordinated process of rehabilitation which involves the provision of those vocational services, e.g. vocational guidance, vocational training and selective placement, designed to enable a disabled person to secure and retain suitable employment; and

(b) the term "disabled person" means an individual whose prospects of securing and retaining suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of physical or mental impairment.

II. Scope of vocational rehabilitation

2.  Vocational rehabilitation services should be made available to all disabled persons, whatever the origin and nature of their disability and whatever their age, provided they can be prepared for, and have reasonable prospects of securing and retaining, suitable employment.

III. Principles and methods of vocational guidance,
vocational training and placement of
disabled persons

3.  All necessary and practicable measures should be taken to establish or develop specialised vocational guidance services for disabled persons requiring aid in choosing or changing their occupations.

4.  The process of vocational guidance should include, as far as practicable in the national circumstances and as appropriate in individual cases --

(a) interview with a vocational guidance officer;

(b) examination of record of work experience;

(c) examination of scholastic or other records relating to education or training received;

(d) medical examination for vocational guidance purposes;

(e) appropriate tests of capacity and aptitude, and, where desirable, other psychological tests;

(f) ascertainment of personal and family circumstances;

(g) ascertainment of aptitudes and the development of abilities by appropriate work experiences and trial, and by other similar means;

(h) technical trade tests, either verbal or otherwise, in all cases where such seem necessary;

(i) analysis of physical capacity in relation to occupational requirements and the possibility of improving that capacity;

(j) provision of information concerning employment and training opportunities relating to the qualifications, physical capacities, aptitudes, preferences and experience of the person concerned and to the needs of the employment market.

5.  The principles, measures and methods of vocational training generally applied in the training of non-disabled persons should apply to disabled persons in so far as medical and educational conditions permit.

6.  (1)  The training of disabled persons should, wherever possible, enable them to carry on an economic activity in which they can use their vocational qualifications or aptitudes in the light of employment prospects.

(2)  For this purpose, such training should be --

(a) co-ordinated with selective placement, after medical advice, in occupations in which the performance of the work involved is affected by, or affects, the disability to the least possible degree;

(b) provided, wherever possible and appropriate, in the occupation in which the disabled person was previously employed or in a related occupation; and

(c) continued until the disabled person has acquired the skill necessary for working normally on an equal basis with non-disabled workers if he is capable of doing so.

7.  Wherever possible, disabled persons should receive training with and under the same conditions as non-disabled persons.

8.  (1)  Special services should be set up or developed for training disabled persons who, particularly by reason of the nature or the severity of their disability, cannot be trained in company with non-disabled persons.

(2)  Wherever possible and appropriate, these services should include, inter alia:

(a) schools and training centres, residential or otherwise;

(b) special short-term and long-term training courses for specific occupations;

(c) courses to increase the skills of disabled persons.

9.  Measures should be taken to encourage employers to provide training for disabled persons; such measures should include, as appropriate, financial, technical, medical or vocational assistance.

10.  (1)  Measures should be taken to develop special arrangements for the placement of disabled persons.

(2)  These arrangements should ensure effective placement by means of --

(a) registration of applicants for employment;

(b) recording their occupational qualifications, experience and desires;

(c) interviewing them for employment;

(d) evaluating, if necessary, their physical and vocational capacity;

(e) encouraging employers to notify job vacancies to the competent authority;

(f) contacting employers, when necessary, to demonstrate the employment capacities of disabled persons, and to secure employment for them;

(g) assisting them to obtain such vocational guidance, vocational training, medical and social services as may be necessary.

11.  Follow-up measures should be taken --

(a) to ascertain whether placement in a job or recourse to vocational training or retraining services has proved to be satisfactory and to evaluate employment counselling policy and methods;

(b) to remove as far as possible obstacles which would prevent a disabled person from being satisfactorily settled in work.

IV. Administrative organisation

12.  Vocational rehabilitation services should be organised and developed as a continuous and co-ordinated programme by the competent authority or authorities and, in so far as practicable, use should be made of existing vocational guidance, vocational training and placement services.

13.  The competent authority or authorities should ensure that an adequate and suitably qualified staff is available to deal with the vocational rehabilitation, including follow-up, of disabled persons.

14.  The development of vocational rehabilitation services should at least keep pace with the development of the general services for vocational guidance, vocational training and placement.

15.  Vocational rehabilitation services should be organised and developed so as to include opportunities for disabled persons to prepare for, secure and retain suitable employment on their own account in all fields of work.

16.  Administrative responsibility for the general organisation and development of vocational rehabilitation services should be entrusted --

(a) to one authority, or

(b) jointly to the authorities responsible for the different activities in the programme with one of these authorities entrusted with primary responsibility for co-ordination.

17.  (1)  The competent authority or authorities should take all necessary and desirable measures to achieve co-operation and co-ordination between the public and private bodies engaged in vocational rehabilitation activities.

(2)  Such measures should include as appropriate --

(a) determination of the responsibilities and obligations of public and private bodies;

(b) financial assistance to private bodies effectively participating in vocational rehabilitation activities; and

(c) technical advice to private bodies.

18.  (1)  Vocational rehabilitation services should be established and developed with the assistance of representative advisory committees, set up at the national level and, where appropriate, at regional and local levels.

(2)  These committees should, as appropriate, include members drawn from among --

(a) the authorities and bodies directly concerned with vocational rehabilitation;

(b) employers' and workers' organisations;

(c) persons specially qualified to serve by reason of their knowledge of, and concern with, the vocational rehabilitation of the disabled; and

(d) organisations of disabled persons.

(3)  These committees should be responsible for advising --

(a) at the national level, on the development of policy and programmes for vocational rehabilitation;

(b) at regional and local levels, on the application of measures taken nationally, their adaptation to regional and local conditions and the co-ordination of regional and local activities.

19.  (1)  Research should be fostered and encouraged, particularly by the competent authority, to evaluate and improve vocational rehabilitation services for the disabled.

(2)  Such research should include continuous or special studies on the placement of the disabled.

(3)  Research should also include scientific work on the different techniques and methods which play a part in vocational rehabilitation.

V. Methods of enabling disabled persons to make use of
vocational rehabilitation services

20.  Measures should be taken to enable disabled persons to make full use of all available vocational rehabilitation services and to ensure that some authority is made responsible for assisting personally each disabled person to achieve maximum vocational rehabilitation.

21.  Such measures should include --

(a) information and publicity on the availability of vocational rehabilitation services and on the prospects which they offer to the disabled;

(b) the provision of appropriate and adequate financial assistance to disabled persons.

22.  (1)  Such financial assistance should be provided at any stage in the vocational rehabilitation process and should be designed to facilitate the preparation for, and the effective retention of, suitable employment including work on own account.

(2)  It should include the provision of free vocational rehabilitation services, maintenance allowances, any necessary transportation expenses incurred during any periods of vocational preparation for employment, and loans or grants of money or the supply of the necessary tools and equipment, and of prosthetic and any other necessary appliances.

23.  Disabled persons should be enabled to make use of all vocational rehabilitation services without losing any social security benefits which are unrelated to their participation in these services.

24.  Disabled persons living in areas having limited prospects of future employment or limited facilities for preparation for employment should be provided with opportunities for vocational preparation, including provision of board and lodging, and with opportunities for transfer, should they so desire, to areas with greater employment prospects.

25.  Disabled persons (including those in receipt of disability pensions) should not as a result of their disability be discriminated against in respect of wages and other conditions of employment if their work is equal to that of non-disabled persons.

VI. Co-operation between the bodies responsible for
medical treatment and those responsible for
vocational rehabilitation

26.  (1)  There should be the closest co-operation between, and the maximum co-ordination of, the activities of the bodies responsible for medical treatment and those responsible for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons.

(2)  This co-operation and co-ordination of activities should exist --

(a) to ensure that medical treatment and, where necessary, the provision of appropriate prosthetic apparatus, are directed to facilitating and developing the subsequent employability of the disabled persons concerned;

(b) to promote the identification of disabled persons in need of, and suitable for, vocational rehabilitation;

(c) to enable vocational rehabilitation to be commenced at the earliest and most suitable stage;

(d) to provide medical advice, where necessary, at all stages of vocational rehabilitation;

(e) to provide assessment of working capacity.

27.  Wherever possible, and subject to medical advice, vocational rehabilitation should start during medical treatment.

VII. Methods of widening employment opportunities
for disabled persons

28.  Measures should be taken, in close co-operation with employers' and workers' organisations, to promote maximum opportunities for disabled persons to secure and retain suitable employment.

29.  Such measures should be based on the following principles:

(a) disabled persons should be afforded an equal opportunity with the non-disabled to perform work for which they are qualified;

(b) disabled persons should have full opportunity to accept suitable work with employers of their own choice;

(c) emphasis should be placed on the abilities and work capacities of disabled persons and not on their disabilities.

30.  Such measures should include --

(a) research designed to analyse and demonstrate the working capacity of disabled persons;

(b) widespread and sustained publicity of a factual kind with special reference to --

(i) the work performance, output, accident rate, absenteeism and stability in employment of disabled persons in comparison with non-disabled persons employed in the same work;

(ii) personnel selection methods based on specific requirements;

(iii) methods of improving work conditions, including adjustment and modification of machinery and equipment, to facilitate the employment of disabled workers;

(c) the means whereby increased liability of individual employers in respect of workmen's compensation premiums may be eliminated;

(d) the encouraging of employers to transfer workers whose working capacity has undergone a change as a result of a physical impairment to suitable jobs within their undertakings.

31.  Wherever appropriate in the national circumstances, and consistent with national policy, the employment of disabled persons should be promoted by means such as --

(a) the engagement by employers of a percentage of disabled persons under such arrangements as will avoid the displacement of non-disabled workers;

(b) reserving certain designated occupations for disabled persons;

(c) arranging that seriously disabled persons are given opportunities for employment or preference in certain occupations considered suitable for them;

(d) encouraging the creation and facilitating the operation of co-operatives or other similar enterprises managed by, or on behalf of, disabled persons.

VIII. Sheltered employment

32.  (1)  Measures should be taken by the competent authority or authorities, in co-operation, as appropriate, with private organisations, to organise and develop arrangements for training and employment under sheltered conditions for those disabled persons who cannot be made fit for ordinary competitive employment.

(2)  Such arrangements should include the establishment of sheltered workshops and special measures for those disabled persons who, for physical, psychological or geographical reasons, cannot travel regularly to and from work.

33.  Sheltered workshops should provide, under effective medical and vocational supervision, not only useful and remunerative work but opportunities for vocational adjustment and advancement with, whenever possible, transfer to open employment.

34.  Special programmes for the homebound should be so organised and developed as to provide, under effective medical and vocational supervision, useful and remunerative work in their own homes.

35.  Where and to the extent to which statutory regulation of wages and conditions of employment applying to workers generally is in operation it should apply to disabled persons employed under sheltered conditions.

IX. Special provisions for disabled children and
young persons

36.  Vocational rehabilitation services for disabled children and young persons of school age should be organised and developed in close co-operation between the authorities responsible for education and the authority or authorities responsible for vocational rehabilitation.

37.  Educational programmes should take into account the special problems of disabled children and young persons and their need of opportunities, equal to those of non-disabled children and young persons, to receive education and vocational preparation best suited to their age, abilities, aptitudes and interests.

38.  The fundamental purposes of vocational rehabilitation services for disabled children and young persons should be to reduce as much as possible the occupational and psychological handicaps imposed by their disabilities and to offer them full opportunities of preparing for, and entering, the most suitable occupations. The utilisation of these opportunities should involve co-operation between medical, social and educational services and the parents or guardians of the disabled children and young persons.

39.  (1)  The education, vocational guidance, training and placement of disabled children and young persons should be developed within the general framework of such services to non-disabled children and young persons, and should be conducted, wherever possible and desirable, under the same conditions as, and in company with, non-disabled children and young persons.

(2)  Special provision should be made for those disabled children and young persons whose disabilities prevent their participation in such services under the same conditions as, and in company with, non-disabled children and young persons.

(3)  This provision should include, in particular, specialised training of teachers.

40.  Measures should be taken to ensure that children and young persons found by medical examination to have disabilities or limitations or to be generally unfit for employment --

(a) receive, as early as possible, proper medical treatment for removing or alleviating their disabilities or limitations;

(b) are encouraged to attend school or are guided towards suitable occupations likely to be agreeable to them and within their capacity and are provided with opportunities of training for such occupations;

(c) have the advantage of financial aid, if necessary, during the period of medical treatment, education and vocational training.

X. Application of the principles of
vocational rehabilitation

41.  (1)  Vocational rehabilitation services should be adapted to the particular needs and circumstances of each country and should be developed progressively in the light of these needs and circumstances and in accordance with the principles laid down in this Recommendation.

(2)  The main objectives of this progressive development should be --

(a) to demonstrate and develop the working qualities of disabled persons;

(b) to promote, in the fullest measure possible, suitable employment opportunities for them;

(c) to overcome, in respect of training or employment, discrimination against disabled persons on account of their disability.

42.  The progressive development of vocational rehabilitation services should be promoted with the help, where desired, of the International Labour Office --

(a) by the provision, wherever possible, of technical advisory assistance;

(b) by organising a comprehensive international exchange of experience acquired in different countries; and

(c) by other forms of international co-operation directed towards the organisation and development of services adapted to the needs and conditions of individual countries and including the training of the staff required.

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Appendix III

Ratifications of the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
(Disabled Persons) Convention, 1983 (No. 159)

Date of entry into force: 20.06.1985

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Appendix IV

Table of reports due and received on the
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons)
Convention (No. 159) and Recommendation (No. 168), 1983
(article 19 of the Constitution)

Article 19 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organization provides that Members shall "report to the Director-General of the International Labour Office, at appropriate intervals as requested by the Governing Body" on the position of their law and practice in regard to the matters dealt with in unratified Conventions and Recommendations. The obligations of Members as regards Conventions are laid down in paragraph 5(e) of the above-mentioned article. Paragraph 6(d) deals with Recommendations, and paragraph 7(a) and (b) deals with the particular obligations of federal States. Article 23 of the Constitution provides that the Director-General shall lay before the next meeting of the Conference a summary of the reports communicated to him by Members in pursuance of article 19, and that each Member shall communicate copies of these reports to the representative organizations of employers and workers.

At its 218th (November 1981) Session, the Governing Body decided to discontinue the publication of summaries of reports on unratified Conventions and on Recommendations and to publish only a list of reports received, on the understanding that the Director-General would make available for consultation at the Conference the originals of all reports received and that copies of reports would be available to members of delegations on request.

At its 267th (November 1996) Session, the Governing Body approved new measures for rationalization and simplification.

Reports received under article 19 of the Constitution appear in simplified form in a table annexed to Report III (Part 1B) of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations.

Requests for consultation or copies of reports may be addressed to the secretariat of the Committee on the Application of Standards.

The reports which are listed below refer to the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Convention (No. 159) and Recommendation (No. 168), 1983.

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Member States	Convention No. 159			Recommendation No. 168
	Year of ratification	Article 19		Article 19
Afghanistan		X		X
Albania		X		X
Algeria		X		X
Angola		X		X
Antigua and Barbuda		X		X
Argentina	1987			R
Armenia		X		X
Australia	1990			R
Austria		R		R
Azerbaijan	1992			X
Bahamas		R		R
Bahrain		R		R
Bangladesh		R		R
Barbados		X		X
Belarus		X		X
Belgium		R		R
Belize		R		R
Benin		R		R
Bolivia	1996	X		X
Bosnia and Herzegovina	1993			X
Botswana		X		X
Brazil	1990			R
Bulgaria		R		R
Burkina Faso	1989			X
Burundi		X		X
Cambodia		R		R
Cameroon		X		X
Canada		R		R
Cape Verde		X		X
Central African Republic		X		X
Chad		R		R
Chile	1994			R
China	1988			R
Colombia	1989			X
Comoros		X		X
Congo		R		R
Costa Rica	1991			R
Côte d'Ivoire		X		X
Croatia	1991			R
Cuba	1996			R
Cyprus	1987			X
Czech Republic	1985			R
Democratic Republic of the Congo		R		X
Denmark	1985			R
Djibouti		X		X
Dominica		R		R
Dominican Republic	1994			R
Ecuador	1988			X
Egypt	1988			R
El Salvador	1986			X
Equatorial Guinea		X		X
Eritrea		X		X
Estonia		R		R
Ethiopia	1991			R
Fiji		X		X
Finland	1985			R
France	1989			R
Gabon		X		X
Gambia		X		X
Georgia		X		X
Germany	1989			R
Ghana		X		X
Greece	1985			R
Grenada		X		X
Guatemala	1994			X
Guinea	1995			X
Guinea-Bissau		X		X
Guyana		R		R
Haiti		X		X
Honduras		R		R
Hungary	1984			R
Iceland	1990			X
India		X		X
Indonesia		R		R
Iran, Islamic Republic of		R		X
Iraq		X		X
Ireland	1986			X
Israel		X		X
Italy		R		R
Jamaica		R		R
Japan	1992			R
Jordan		X		X
Kazakhstan		X		X
Kenya		R		R
Korea, Republic of		R		R
Kuwait		R		R
Kyrgyzstan	1992			X
Lao People's Democratic Republic		X		X
Latvia		X		X
Lebanon		R		R
Lesotho		X		X
Liberia		X		X
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya		X		X
Lithuania	1994			X
Luxembourg		X		X
Madagascar		R		R
Malawi	1986			X
Malaysia		X		X
Mali	1995			X
Malta	1988			X
Mauritania		R		R
Mauritius		R		R
Mexico		R		R
Moldova, Republic of		X		X
Mongolia		X		X
Morocco		R		R
Mozambique		R		R
Myanmar		X		X
Namibia		X		X
Nepal		X		X
Netherlands	1988			X
New Zealand		R		R
Nicaragua		R		R
Niger		X		X
Nigeria		X		X
Norway	1984			R
Oman		X		X
Pakistan	1994			R
Panama	1994			R
Papua New Guinea		R		R
Paraguay	1991			X
Peru	1986			R
Philippines	1991			R
Poland		R		R
Portugal		R		R
Qatar		R		R
Romania		R		R
Russian Federation	1988			R
Rwanda		X		X
Saint Kitts and Nevis		X		X
Saint Lucia		X		X
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines		X		X
San Marino	1985			R
Sao Tome and Principe	1992			X
Saudi Arabia		R		R
Senegal		X		X
Seychelles		X		X
Sierra Leone		X		X
Singapore		R		R
Slovakia	1993			R
Slovenia	1992			R
Solomon Islands		X		X
Somalia		X		X
South Africa		R		R
Spain	1990			R
Sri Lanka		R		R
Sudan		R		R
Suriname		R		R
Swaziland		X		X
Sweden	1984			R
Switzerland	1985			R
Syrian Arab Republic		R		R
Tajikistan	1993			R
Tanzania, United Republic of		R		R
Thailand		R		R
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	1991	X		X
Togo		X		X
Trinidad and Tobago		R		R
Tunisia	1989			R
Turkey		R		R
Turkmenistan		X		X
Uganda	1990			R
Ukraine		X		X
United Arab Emirates		R		R
United Kingdom		R		R
United States		R		R
Uruguay	1988			R
Uzbekistan		X		X
Venezuela		R		R
Viet Nam		R		R
Yemen	1991			X
Zambia	1989			R
Zimbabwe		R		R
R = report received; X = report not received. Note: In addition, a total of 20 reports have been received in respect of the following non-metropolitan territories: United Kingdom (Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Montserrat, St. Helena).

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