Enhancing job prospects for disabled people in Tanzania

Enhancing job prospects for disabled people in Tanzania

A project supported by TUC Aid has been successful in finding gainful employment for 37 disabled people in Tanzania.

The activities under the Employment Support Programme for Workers with Disabilities in Tanzania Project launched by the Disability Aid Abroad (DAA) in 2010 in partnership with the Tanzania Union of Industrial and Commercial Workers (TUICO), RadarDevelopment (Tanzania), Comprehensive Community-based Rehabilitation in Tanzania (CBRT) Hospital and AFL-CIO in the USA are in progress. According to the baseline survey carried out under the Project among 127 companies with a workforce of some 22,000, 85% of the employers are not aware of the Tanzanian legislation which stipulates that companies with more than 50 workers employ at least two disabled workers. The survey also revealed that only 0.8% of the employees had any disability.

The Project also established a database of unemployed disabled people seeking employment. According to John Coghlan of DAA, 345 persons with disabilities have registered so far and 37 of them have found a job, exceeding the initial target of 20. Vincent Kaduma, a disabled worker from TUICO, in charge of organising activities, has received training in Disability Equality and equipped himself with the knowledge and skills to impart training for TUICO membership and people with disabilities in general. In addition, three TUICO members have received training as lead trainers while 10 others have been trained as Disability Champions. Moreover, 40 TUICO members have received Disability Equality training. Plans are underway for Disability Committees to be set up with an initial meeting scheduled to be held in March 2011.

There are an estimated four million people living with disabilities in Tanzania. They are among the most impoverished and marginalised members of society. Around 20% of all those living on less than one US dollar a day are said to have a disability. There are insurmountable barriers to formal employment, facing people with disabilities, the low level of education being one of the key factors. Opportunities to rise above poverty are limited, in many cases, by the lack of legislation to improve skills and employment options. It is estimated that only 5% of children with disabilities attend secondary school and that less than 1% have had any vocational education. Only around 15% of people with disabilities are said to have any computer skills.

Women with disabilities are particularly vulnerable and face additional barriers to full equality and advancement because of race, age, language, ethnicity, culture, religion or disability etc. Leticia Paul pictured here, recently trained by Disability Aid Abroad and now chairperson of a clothing co-op. She is severely disabled following an attack of polio.

The persistence of certain cultural, legal and institutional barriers makes women and girls with disabilities the victims of double discrimination - both as women and as persons with disabilities. The Project for the promotion of employment rights for disabled people in Tanzania launched by international trade unions in partnership with local community organisations could be a model for further work on disability in other developing countries.