Special persons form a significant portion of our society and
the population (persons who, on account of injury, disease or congenital
deformity, are handicapped for undertaking any gainful profession or employment
in order to earn their livelihood, and include a person who is blind, deaf,
physically handicapped or mentally retarded). For the employment, rehabilitation
and welfare of special (disabled) persons, the governemnt has enacted an
Ordinance called Disabled Persons (Employment and Rehabilitation) Ordinance,
1981. Besides the government responsibility to cater for the employment,
rehabilitation and welfare of such special persons, it is obligatory, moral and
social duty on the society and such establishment who can afford to look after
such disabled persons so that such special persons can also earn and live their
life with some dignity and respect, rather than adopting such means of earnings,
which the society do not consider good and degraded means.
Having realized the importance of the welfare of special
persons, the Government of Pakistan, in pursuance of the proclamation of the 5th
of July, 1977 promulgated the "Disabled Persons (Employment and
Rehabilitation) Ordinance, 1981. The Ordinance provides the establishment, where
100 or more persons are employed, not less than 1% of the total number of
persons employed by such establishments at any time shall be disabled persons.
It further states that the disabled persons employed against any post in
pursuance of this ordinance shall be entitled to the terms and conditions which
are not less favourable than those of the other persons employed by the
establishment against similar posts. (Establishment having some meaning as in
the West Pakistan Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders)
Ordinance, 1968.)
Employers Federation of Pakistan recently conducted a survey
on the Terms and Conditions of Employment of Workers in Pakistan, published in
1999 an inquiry was included in the survey about the employment of Special
persons. The response from the sample organizations is reflected in the table
given below The informations obtained reveals that out of 216 organizations
participated in the survey of private and public sector, 92 sample organizations
have provided employment to 731 special persons in different status, out of whom
707 are males and 24 females.
