KNPD registers 161 new complaints between 2013 and 2014

Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b’Dizabilita’ (KNPD) said that the commission had received a total of 161 new complaints between 2013 and 2014, with the majority being registered in accessibility issues (with 71 complaints in all). 

The complaints were received by the Equal Opportunities Compliance Unit (EOCU) of KNPD, which is made up of KNPD chairman Oliver Scicluna, manager Bernard Busuttil, Services Officers Victoria Grech and Jessica Schembri and various legal advisors, is in charge of receiving complaints about the alleged discrimination cases against those with disabilities.

Addressing journalists present at the conference, Busuttil pointed out that in 2014, the commission had addressed a total of 351 complaints, with 190 of them being extended from previous years.

Chairman of KNPD, Oliver Scicluna said that ever since his appointment as chairman of the commission, his aim was to strengthen the equal opportunities law so that it would continue to reflect its time.

“As someone with a disability, I think that there should be a revision of the laws and regulations surrounding these rights to reflect the changes happening in our time. There are different levels of emancipation that need to be addressed and new barriers continue to crop up,” Scicluna said, explaining that following discussions during summer 2014, the commission had decided to start a public consultation process on the 28th October 2014.

Scicluna said that the consultation process had used the internet and it had aimed to reach as many members of society as possible to understand what the people felt needed to be endorsed or changed. Scicluna added that the commission had also met with various stakeholders, unions, and other entitites to collect as much data as possible.

“We then started working on a draft law which reflects the thoughts of all those who participated. We are now still amending the draft until it will ultimately be presented to the parliamentary secretary for the rights of the disabled.”

Parliamentary secretary for the rights of the disabled Justyne Caruana praised the initiative taken by the commission and stressed that she was looking forward to pushing the draft for further processing.

“The consultation process you have started is essential and commendable, because the law will be effective only if it reflects the needs of the public,” Caruana said praising the commission for its wide-ranging consultation process.

Caruana continued to praise KNPD’s efforts calling the commission a “protector of the rights of disabled people.” She added that the government held the rights of disabled people at heart and that the secretariat had plans to strengthen services for people who were hard of hearing among others.

“We will soon be issuing a call for applications with Agenzija Sapport to engage sign language interpreters to cater for various issues,” she explained adding that the government had made a Budgetary promise to encourage more disabled people to seek employment and employers to hire more disabled people.

Caruana added that the government had also made a commitment to start operating ten homes for persons with disability by the end of this legislature.

 The annual report for 2013/2014 revealed that the commission received an annual average of 109 complaints ever year, with a total of 1,521 complaints addressed throughout its 14 years of service. The Equal Opportunities act identifies six criteria where discrimination is often exercised; employment, education, accessibility, objects and services delivered, housing and insurance.

“There were no new complaints in the insurance sector for 2013/2014, and there were 17 new complaints in the employment sector, which is five less than the previous year,” Busuttil said.

He described some of the main complaints, with one person who is hard of hearing saying that they were not given sign language interpreters during an examination, which resulted in them not getting the desired promotion.

“KNPD addressed this issue and found a suitable solution. Another case brought to KNPD was about a child with mobility problems, whose school had a broken lift that was left in its condition for a year,”

Busuttil said that the commission had contacted the Education department and the foundation of schools for tomorrow and a solution was ultimately found.