INTRODUCTION

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is the oldest specialized agency of the United

Nations (UN). The main aim of the ILO is to provide socio-economic justice to people. They

do so by setting up labour standards for workers worldwide. The ILO, among other things, is

receptive of the inequality between the opportunities provided and working standards of

people with and without disabilities. It also understands that this gap is widened in case of

women with disabilities. The ILO addresses these concerns through two methods. The first

one involves setting up of schemes and programs for the differently abled, to help them

overcome the disadvantages they have as compared to non-disabled people. The second

method aims to include differently abled people in mainstream activities, providing social

security, and training them in a skill-specific way for the industry.1

As per the 2011 Census, the number of individuals with disability in India, is 2.68 crore. This

number however, cannot be relied upon. The problem of social stigma is deep rooted in

Indian society. Much as people avoided revealing the presence of a COVID positive person

in their house, people shy away from revealing any disability they have, for the common fear

of being socially ostracized.

On top of being disabled, being unemployed makes a person a ‘double burden’, as the Indian

society would opine. In a report 2 published in the Oxford University Press in 2016, it was

stated that “the disproportionate disadvantage, stigmatization and exclusion suffered by

people with disabilities are caused by social, cultural and physical barriers which obstruct

their effective participation in social and political life”. The reason for prejudices creeping

in, in employment of differently abled people, arises from social stigma, concerns about

1
International Labour Organization, Disability and Work (ILO)
<https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/disability-and-work/WCMS_475650/lang--en/index.htm> last accessed on
18th February 2021
2
Council for Social Development, India: Social Development Report 2016, Oxford University Press (2016)
productivity of the individual, and fear of being exploited by the differently abled individual

on the pretext of their disability.

The scenario worsens for women who are differently abled. They face a dual nature of

prejudice, one arising out of their being differently abled, and another arising out of their

being females. The International Labour Organization did an empirical research which went

on to show that in Asia and Africa, the labour markets face an annual loss of 3-7 per cent of

the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as a result of an exclusion of differently abled people

from the labour market.3 In India, the legislature had enacted the Persons with Disabilities

Act in 1995, which was further amended in 2016, to deal with the employment problems of

people with disabilities.

3
International Labour Office, World Employment Social Outlook: Trends 2019, ILO (2019)
 CHALLENGES IN INDIA

Labour market poses various hindrances for people with disabilities. These hindrances vary.

From lack of requisite educational qualifications and training experience to lacking in

financial capabilities, these hindrances pose substantial limitations in their path of accessing

the labour market. There are other factors involved like the nature of the workplace, demands

of the occupation in question, and very significantly, the attitude of the employer against

disabled people. There are anecdotal evidences and studies that project that given the shield

of efficient societal protection schemes, many disabled people are likely to quit their present

employment and opt for availing ‘disability benefits’ that can be a possibility through such

schemes.

Discrimination against disabled people stems from negative perception of individuals against

disabled people. These perceptions can be outcomes of various factors. It can be on the

lighter side of the spectrum like misunderstanding or ignorance to hardlines perceptions like

stereotyping and backlash. Various companies and agencies have numerous people carrying

varying attitude towards people with disabilities. It is only likely that co-workers tend to form

ideas about individuals they work with. This perception building translates to higher rungs of

administration as well. Supervisors and executives and management level employees take

decisions based on their perceptions that substantially affect the lives of the workers. The

choices made, from regarding hiring disabled people to daily policymaking of the company

can be affected by their perceptions.

Such perceptions take different forms. Many people are under the impression that co-workers

are likely to react negatively if they hire people with disabilities. Some elements of society

carry the mindset that it is in certain sense unfair to hire disabled people because they are

“allegedly” lesser efficient than the abled ones, but are paid equally.4 This leads to disabled
4
R. Jeffery & N. Singal, Measuring Disability in India, Economic & Political Weekly, 43 (12-13) (2006)
people often shying away from applying at various job portals, and letting go of

opportunities, because they fear the social stigmatization that comes as a package with the

source of employment. They fear the possible adverse reaction from their co-workers. This is

even more accentuated when disabled people face differential behaviour after joining an

organisation. In most instances, there is a lack of holistic integration mechanism for disabled

employees joining an organisation. This leads to such employees feeling ‘shunned’ by other

co-workers. Co-workers in most instances have their set of instilled and internalised

prejudices. For such people, it is apparent shortcomings of their differently abled colleagues

that is more evident, and their real potential gets overlooked. Further, there is a very implicit

kind of discrimination that can potentially be compartmentalised as both negative and

positive. It is often termed as the “lost opportunities effect”. Most employers do not add to

the improvement of their disabled employees by neither providing a feedback, nor assigning

complex works to them. As mentioned, it carries both positive and negative connotations as

some employers do it out of sensitivity, and some out of their persistence on increasing

productivity. There is a substantial deprivation in obtaining critical feedback of their work by

the employers. But these constraints are not limited. We can chalk out several others and

detail out upon them that pose major constrains to persons with disabilities in accessing

employment.

Low Literacy levels: As per the statistical data provided by the World Bank, the illiteracy

rate in disabled persons is 52% as compared to the general population where the same is 35%

approximately. The issue is further accentuated when the inter disciplinary component of

gender discrimination is factored in, as evident from the statistics which shows that illiteracy

in female disabled folks is 64% as compared to male disabled people where it is 43%. 5
5
World Bank, People with Disabilities in India : From Commitments to Outcomes, Human Development Unit:
New Delhi, South Asia Region (2019)
Furthermore, when evaluated in cases of rural areas, schools are usually far away from homes

and colleges are at the district headquarters, which makes it extremely difficult for disabled

people to gain access to even basic education. Even such schools are not really equipped with

requisite mechanism to make the schooling experience more inclusive for the disabled

people. The infrastructure, accessibility issues and lack of specialised instructors further adds

to the existing problems. Lastly, many families do not really with orthodox and conservative

outlooks want to invest in the child with disabilities, and prefer investing their limited

resources in the child that is more likely to reap benefits out of those investments.6

Lack of ‘daily living skills’: Many people having disability issues are provided with

adequate means to get trained in basic living skills required for everyday sustenance. These

include maintenance of personal hygiene, use of washrooms functions, personal grooming,

travelling, etc.

Lack of self-esteem: Often due to the societal stigmatization people with disabilities develop

low self-expectations and regard themselves incapable of performing a lot many tasks. This

also leads them to not trying for employment. Moreover, there social circle becomes

extremely secluded because of isolationist tendencies of the people around them, especially

by close circle people who play the most elemental role in helping to find them employment.

In rural belts, usually people with disabilities are mocked, ridiculed and bullied. Due to the

rife stigmatization, even parents refrain from taking their disabled children to social and

familial gatherings. This leads to a reinforcement of their inferiority complex and lowers their

already affected self-esteem.7

Disconnection of rural areas from mainstream markets: There are numerous young

people who due to their disability and several other factors are unaware of the various

6
Ramaya Naharesetti, Factors Associated with Persons with Disability Employment in India: A Cross-sectional
Study, BMC Public Health (2016)
7
Ibid
opportunities that city areas offer. There are job or training opportunities in the major market

hubs available for the youth. But youth from the rural areas, where the issue of disability is

more acute than cities have no means to accessing this relevant information. It is further

worsened by the fact that the isolationist tendencies practiced in the villages leads to their

exclusion from outer world.

Preference for government jobs due to the apparent incentives: In most cases, people

with disabilities prefer government jobs due to obvious reasons. Government jobs assures

them of several advantages and perks that are usually lacking in private sector for disabled

people. Moreover, there is 3% reservation for PwD candidates in the government exams.

However, despite these concessions it is usually a draconian task for people with disabilities

to crack these exams due to various other factors that inhibit their performance. Be it poor

knowledge of English language, or lack of requisite knowledge of technical domain, these

disadvantages add to their existing set of difficulties

 SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

There have been multiple empirical researches to understand various issues related with

employment of differently abled persons. In this section, we will go over some data these

researches have yielded, to understand what proportion of people with disabilities are given

employment opportunities, what proportion of these employed people face discrimination,

and various other similar insights. We will also go over some judgements by Indian courts in

matters related to the employment of people with disabilities.

Researches

For his 2020 paper8 to study the employment scenario of people with disabilities in India, Mr.

Baikunth Roy conducted a survey across gender, regions and social groups. A comparative

data from 2001 census and 2011 census brought out the given numbers. In 2001,

approximately 35 per cent of the total disabled population had some kind of employment.

This percentage increased to approximately 36 per cent when only rural areas were looked at,

and decreased to approximately 29 per cent when only urban areas were considered.

Furthermore, as pointed earlier on, and as the International Labour Organization also opines,

the employment scenario of women is worse off than men. In the aforementioned survey, it

was found that men had a work participation rate of approximately 45 per cent, while for

women it was only 20 per cent.

To understand the gravity of the situation, Mr. Baikunth Roy also looked at census data for

the entire working population. It was found that in 2001, the work participation rate for the

entire population, i.e., including non-disabled people, was greater that of disabled people, be

it entire India, urban or rural. Approximately 40 per cent of the population was employed, as

compared to 35 per cent of disabled people’s employment rate.

8
Baikunth Roy, Nature and Extent of Employment among Persons with Disabilities and Factors Associated
with their Employment in India, The Journal of Institute of Public Enterprise 43(1) (June 2020)
When compared with the records of the 2011 census, the condition is not much better.

Compared to the 35 per cent work participation rate for differently abled people in 2001, the

rate was 36 per cent in 2011; a mere increase of one per cent. As for the rural areas, the

percentage increased from 36 to 37.5. The urban areas saw the maximum increase, with the

work participation rate increasing from 29 per cent in 2001 to 33.5 per cent in 2011.

While this may seem like a big increase, it is very low as compared to the general

population’s work participation rate. The rate of employment has not increased much in the

10 years from 2001. Only a handful of the differently abled’s population sees the light of

employment. The rest are left with no other choice but to beg or die a starving death. And

even then, they are looked down upon by the non-disabled people, because that is what the

societal hierarchy has taught us.

Judgements

There are many, however, who deeply understand these biases and fight for the rights they

have by the force of the Indian Constitution and various acts enacted by the Indian

legislature. The courts in India have time and again upheld the rights of the disabled people.

We will now look at some judgements which ensured that the rights of our differently abled

brothers and sisters, are not taken away from them.

In Kunal Singh v. Union of India and Anr, 9 the Supreme Court discussed the issue of

removal of an employee following any disability contracted while the term of his or her

service. The appellant had been a constable for 17 years in the Special Service Bureau

(SSB). He had to get one of his legs amputated because of an injury sustained on duty, and

was removed from duty following the amputation. The removal came after a report from the

Medical Board, which declared him disabled because of the permanent amputation. The High

Court dismissed his petition, which challenged the said removal from duty. He contended that
9
Kunal Singh v. Union of India and Anr., AIR 2003 SC 1623
there should be some alternative duty which he could carry out, and should be appointed for

the same. The Supreme Court opined that the said removal was against section 47 of the

Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, which prevented discrimination in employment against

disabled persons. The Apex Court held that the appellant was entitled to be assigned to an

alternate post with similar pay grade and service benefits as the post he had help before the

amputation. The Court also held that if the aforementioned was not possible, the appellant is

entitled to be kept on a supernumerary post, till the time a suitable post is not available for

him.

Another case concerning section 47 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, was that of

Union of India (UOI) v. Sanjay Kumar Jain. 10 In this case, the respondent was a Group-C

employee in the Indian Railways. He had applied for promotion to a post in the Group-B. For

the same, he had qualified the written test. The next stage of test, however, was a medical

examination. According to the ‘Indian Railway Establishment Manual’, a person was allowed

to sit for the viva-voce, only if they had passed the written test and the medical examination.

Following the medical examination of the respondent, he was declared unfit for there were

chances of him becoming visually impaired in the near future. Subsequently, he was not

shortlisted for the viva voce. On the grounds of sub-sections 1 and 2 of section 47 of the PwD

Act, 1995, he challenged his disqualification before the Central Administrative Tribunal. The

Tribunal was accommodative of the aforementioned sections and opined that such

discrimination based on disability, in employment, could not subsist. Furthermore, the

Tribunal also held that based on paragraph 189A of the ‘Indian Railway Establishment

Manual’, which disallowed discrimination in promotion, solely on the basis of physical

disability, the disqualification was not just. When the case went to appeal, it was argued that

by the powers of sub-section 2 of section 47, the Government could exempt any

10
Union of India (UOI) v. Sanjay Kumar Jain, 2004 (6) SCC 708
establishment, through a notification, from the provisions of section 47, if it deems fit. The

appeal was however, dismissed.

Another noteworthy case with respect to employment of people with disabilities, is that of

Syed Bashir-ud-Din Qadri v. Nazir Ahmed Shah. 11 The appellant in this case was a

graduate in Bachelor of Science (B. Sc.), and suffered from cerebral palsy. He had submitted

his candidature for the post of a teaching guide, or ‘Rehbar-e-Taleem’, in Jammu and

Kashmir. The appointment was objected to by the state, citing the disability. The High Court,

however, allowed the appellant to be appointed as a teaching guide, citing the Jammu and

Kashmir Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full

Participation) Act, 1998. Following this, the respondent filed a petition against the

appointment, and sought the re-examination of the appellant by the HOD of the Department

of Neurology. The appellant was reported to have cerebral palsy, which hindered his

speaking and writing abilities, abilities conceivably necessary for a teacher. The High Court,

following the report, disqualified the appellant’s application for appointment as a teaching

guide, and opined that an alternative job must be provided to the appellant. The appellant

challenged the High Court order in the Supreme Court. The Apex Court opined that as long

as the students had no difficulty understanding the appellant, there was no need of

disqualifying him from the post. As it turned out, the students had gotten used to his way of

teaching, had shown good results in his subject, and he was appreciated for his demeanour in

the school. The Court also pointed out that the locomotor disabilities of a person suffering

from cerebral palsy are unavoidable, but still the legislature provided for 1 per cent

reservation for people with cerebral palsy and/or locomotor disability. For the said factors,

the Supreme Court held that the appellant was to be provided with an aid to project diagrams,

which would save him the trouble of drawing on the blackboard. Furthermore, the Court said

11
Syed Bashir-ud-Din Qadri v. Nazir Ahmed Shah, (2010) 3 SCC 603
that disqualification of the appellant would be against the substance of the Persons with

Disabilities Act, 1995. Pursuant to these findings and opinions, the High Court order was set

aside.

Issues with the appointment of a visually impaired in the civil services of India was seen in

the case of Government of India v Ravi Prakash Gupta.12 The respondent was a visually

impaired person, who had secured All India Rank 5 in the visually impaired category of the

civil services examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. However, he

was denied appointment. The respondent filed an application in the Central Administrative

Tribunal, which was refused. The respondent then knocked the gates of the High Court. The

government contended that the post which the respondent’s job application mentioned did not

identify with differently abled persons, and therefore, the appointment was not possible. The

High Court held that the government should accommodate the respondent based on the result

in the merit list. The order was challenged in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court did not

agree with the government’s argument of identifying a job post being a pre-condition to the

appointment. The Court cited section 33 of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. The Apex

Court opined that the identification of job posts for reserving, under section 32 of the PwD

Act should not be done in a way which denies the people with disabilities the benefits of

section 33 of the Act. It said that such an interpretation would act as a detriment to the objects

and purpose of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. As a result, the Court held that the

disqualification of the respondent from appointment at the required post was not in line with

the provisions of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995.

As we can see, the courts have tried their best to keep up the spirit of the rights and benefits

promised to people with disabilities in the Constitution of India and the Person with

Disabilities Act, 1995.

12
Government of India v Ravi Prakash Gupta, (2010) 7 SCC 626
 THE BRIGHT SIDE

While the fight for equal rights in employment, to people with disabilities has been hard and

tough, there are enterprises which are open to these challenges and accommodate them in

good spirits. These enterprises have shown immense forwardness in matters of employing

differently abled people, and have broken the societal outlook towards persons with

disabilities.

Government Entities

There was a reservation of 3 per cent prescribed by the Indian Government for persons with

disabilities, before the 2016 amendment to the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. Post-

amendment, this percentage has increased.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd., is a Public Sector Undertaking which

has addressed the issue of employment of persons with disabilities in two ways: one through

its Corporate Social Responsibility Group, and through its NTPC Foundation. The work

space in the offices of NTPC has been made disability friendly. Back in 2011, NTPC had

more than 400 employees with disabilities across India. This number is more than 1000

today.13

The Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has maintained its percentage of 3-4 per cent of

disabled employees across India, and also in individual branches. Similar has been the case

with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It has been more than a decade now since the

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) had started the campus-based recruitment of

persons with disabilities.14

13
Poojan Gianchandani, Query: Initiatives in Disability Rehabilitation, Solution Exchange for the Work and
Employment Community, (NTPC) July 2011
14
Business Line, Companies’ Article (2016)
<www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies.article/2692534.ece> last accessed on 18th February 2021
Private Entities

The oldest employers of persons with disability in India have been the Titan group. Titan,

back in 1999, had 169 employees with disability, out of the total workforce of 3,235. By

2010, the percentage of persons with disabilities employed in Titan across India, was

approximately 4 per cent. The company, in its recruitment process, also provides counselling

to families of the disabled, to walk them through the transition.15

IBM has had a history of fostering an environment suited to work for the disabled. The first

person with disability employed in IBM was more than a century ago. The persons employed

are not given meagre jobs, but important ones, including jobs in sectors like project

management, quality assurance, programming and human resources.16

Besides these big companies, multiple small companies like MphasiS, Gitanjali Gems,

Lemon Tree Hotels and Shakti Masala have been accommodating to employees with

disabilities. These companies have constantly maintained a percentage of their workforce

with persons with disabilities, giving them meaningful jobs and treating them with the

equality they are entitled to.

15
Meera Shenoy, Persons with Disability & the India Labour Market: Challenges and Opportunities,
International Labour Organization (2012)
16
Ibid
 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

An appreciable work platform is the goal of International Labour Organisation (ILO), and

that aim includes people with disabilities as well. Implementing standard work policies

translates to making the work environment inclusive for people with disabilities. Such actions

derive from the principles of providing equal opportunity, treating people equally,

mainstreaming, and involvement of community. The ILO strives to promote labour standards,

dissemination of knowledge and cooperative technical services. These ideals are no different

in cases of people with disabilities. The major points of contact in this regard between people

with disabilities and supportive work environment is the government, NGOs, agencies, courts

and the nexus of communities of disabled people itself. Challenges are not linear and are

spread across of various levels, but through persistent efforts by these bodies and active

cooperation by the general mass can make the work environment for people with disabilities

more inclusive and conducive.

Courts have time and again, as mentioned above have facilitated to provide a holistic work

environment for people with disabilities. Companies are also obligated to facility the same

through corporate social responsibility. There needs to be implementation of various other

measures in other aspects as well. Firstly, there can be a creation and development of an

Employment portal for persons with disabilities. The IT mechanism can be employed to

create such a one stop portal for people with disabilities. Secondly, there can be development

and dissemination of a ‘compendium of best practices’ that can be formulate the requisite

standards of relation between the employer and employee with disabilities. Many

organisations can play an elemental role in this regard. Thirdly, a social marketing campaign

can be implemented and promoted. In this respect, the ILO global business and disability

network can be utilised for better outreach. Apart from these, several other steps like giving
technical aids to training centres designated for people with disabilities, etc. can be taken. All

in all, inclusivity can only be increased by hiring more people with disabilities. The basic

ideals of loyalty, hard work, and perseverance which are most ideal for a work environment

are present in people with disabilities as well, and thus there can be no valid ground for not

hiring them.