Employment Right of Persons with Disabilities in Malaysia
The issues of people with disabilities (PWD) remain unresolved, with the majority staying marginalized, facing social exclusion and living in poverty. The employment rate of PWD in Malaysia is very unsatisfactory compared to those who are without disabili
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Abstract The issues of people with disabilities (PWD) remain unresolved, with the majority staying marginalized, facing social exclusion and living in poverty. The employment rate of PWD in Malaysia is very unsatisfactory compared to those who are without disabilities. This chapter points out the governing legal framework in Malaysia that safeguards PWD rights, interests, and well-being by focusing on the issue of employment. Discussion is therefore given to the right of employment for PWD and problems encountered, specifically job discrimination and accessibility. This right to access to employment is analyzed from the provisions offered in the significant legislation, the Persons With Disabilities Act 2008. The said law provides for the well-being, protection, and development of PWD in Malaysia. The authors conclude that the current legal framework is insufficient because it only acknowledges the employment rights of PWD without having provisions of enforcement. Being commented upon as not doing much in improving the lives of PWD, legislation is still imperative when properly implemented, particularly with understanding, support, and collaboration from society, including employers in both public and private sectors. Keywords People with disabilities • Employment • Right • Law • Discrimination
1 Introduction Accurate data on the employment of people with disabilities (PWD) are hard to acquire but apparently they are all facing the same predicament. World statistics show that the unemployment rate of PWD is very high. Apart from their low employment rate, the earnings of PWD are also significantly lower than those of persons without disabilities (ILO 2007). The United Nations (UN Enable 2007) estimated PWD as 10% of the world population, with 80% living in developing countries, while WHO (2014) and World
H. Abdul Wahab (*) • Z.A. Ayub School of Law, College of Law, Government and International Studies, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 F.L. Gaol, F.D. Hutagalung (eds.), Social Interactions and Networking in Cyber Society, DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4190-7_18
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Bank (2014) estimated 15% of the world population has some form of disabilities. In the world of work, it is predicted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) that 80% of the 386 million of the world’s working-age people has some kind of disability and is unemployed (Disabled World 2013), and the situation is worse in developing countries where the percentage of unemployment among PWD reaches 80–90% (UN Enable 2007). The position is better in Europe where it is reported that 60% of PWD are unemployed; that is, 40% of PWD are employed (ILO 2007). Malaysia has reported more than 95% of PWD are unemployed (Ministry of Human Resources 2010). As constantly revealed, PWD always become the victims of discrimination when it comes to gaining employment. In the case of getting a job, their earnings are often lower than of others without disa
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