Minister of Labour, Senator Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo, stressed that all disabled persons must be treated fairly. (C.Pitt/BGIS)

Government is in the process of finalising the Anti-discrimination in the Workplace Act to ensure that all persons are treated fairly in the workplace irrespective of their colour, gender or disability.

Minister of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development, Senator Dr. Esther Byer Suckoo made this disclosure recently while addressing the graduation and awards ceremony for the Albert Cecil Graham Development Centre in the Donald Henry Auditorium, Bethel Methodist Church.

The Minister said under this Act, the disabled must be treated fairly, and pointed out that it was no longer acceptable to say that ‘you are not hiring’ because of a person’s disability.

“We know the sense of gratification we have when we can earn our own money and we do not want to deprive any person, especially the disabled, of that,” she stated.

Senator Byer Suckoo further disclosed that the National Insurance Department was working with employers to ensure that they re-configured their workplaces to accommodate the disabled.

“…These are the things that are gradually happening behind the scenes. The NEB which is being renamed the Barbados Career and Counselling Services, is revamping to provide job placement services for all our people whether or not they are fully-abled or differently-abled…so that we can find ways for them to contribute,” she said.

The Labour Minister also advanced the idea of the disabled community’s contribution to the flexible workplace arrangement.

“When we speak of the fourth industrial revolution, more tasks are being done by the computer. I am sure that if some of these students are given the opportunity to put their hands to information technology skills, they would excel,” she suggested.

julie.carrington@barbados.gov.bb

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