Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 11
By Maksim Tsurkov, Anvar Mammadov – Trend:
The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Azerbaijan has prepared a new draft "Law on Protection of Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” Salim Muslumov, the minister of labor and social protection of population, said Dec. 11 in Baku at presentation of a joint project with BP aimed to support the employment of persons with disabilities.
He said the draft law has already been submitted to Azerbaijan’s Presidential Administration by the Cabinet of Ministers.
“Today, we need to ensure economic sovereignty of persons with disabilities in Azerbaijan,” he said. “To this end, we must improve the legislation in order to bring the labor market in line with the needs of disabled people. At present, Azerbaijan’s legislation implies certain preferences for disabled people, but they are only limited to payment of social benefits. It is necessary to show that people with disabilities are members of society, just like all of us.”
Earlier, the minister noted that some employers are not ready to create necessary conditions for disabled people in Azerbaijan.
“Some employers don’t want to spend money on people with disabilities,” he said. “We must address this issue jointly. In accordance with the Azerbaijani legislation, half of job quotas are provided for people with disabilities. However, these quotas are not respected today. Absence of serious financial sanctions is one of the reasons for that.”
Muslumov added that this problem should be solved by changing public opinion.
“We need to understand that people with disabilities are citizens just like us and we need to provide conditions for them to lead professional activity and normal life,” he said.