Current best practices

• Author: Ellul, Tonio
• Pages: 84-84

84

10 CURRENT BEST PRACTICES

The CRPD continues to cooperate with the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs

Authority with the aim that the ‘Access for All Guidelines’ relating to accessibility shall begin

to be conside red as national standards. As part of it s enforcement procedures, the Malta

Environment and Planning Authority i s obliged to consult with the CRPD in relation to

applications for the development of buildi ngs that are open to the public and are in major

use. Furthermore, a collaborative operation group comprising the CRPD, the Malta

Environment and Planning Authority (MEPA) and the Parliamentary Secretariat for the

Rights of People with a Disability and Active Ageing was set up to strengthen coordination

with regard to vetting procedures carried out by the CRPD on plans submitt ed to MEPA.

Throughout 2018, a number of meetings were held by officials from the CRPD on various

issues including education, accessibility, employment and road safety for the b enefit of

people with disabilities.217

The ‘Equality Mark Certification’ awarded by the NCPE continues to gain popularity am ong

organisations that strive to strengthen g ender equality in employment. M ore companies

have been recognised for their commitment to secure a safe place of work. As of 2017, 80

organisations have been awarded the certification. In 2018, 10 new companies received

certification while 25 companies were re-certified.218 More organisations are in the process

of being awarded the ‘Equality Mark’.219

As mentioned in the section on positive action, the Government has introduced measures

to enforce the employment quota. Through this scheme, the Government seeks to ensure

the implementation and enforcement of the 1967 law requiring companies that employ 20

people or more to employ people with disabilities. The law now provid es that failure to

abide by the quota renders companies liable to pay a yearly compensation fee.

Similarly, special arrangements exist to assist people with disabilities to access

employment in the public secto r. Registered people with disabilities who do not satisfy all

the eligibility requirements in calls for applications but who are essentially capable of

carrying out the duties attached to a particular post or position are allowed to ask for

special consideration when applying for posts or positions in the Public Service. 220

The Busin ess Promotion Act Regulations 2000, which may be considered an example of

positive action that has been taken, provide fiscal incentives to employers who create jobs

for, employ and train people over 40 years of age. If such people are registered disabl ed,

these incentives are further in creased. There is no obligation on employers to take action

to benefit from such incentives or otherwise.

Further positive action was taken with the introduction of the law to regulate the

compulsory addition of one member with disabilities to various entities which are governed

by Maltese Law. This law seeks to integrate m ore people with disabilities into the various

entities pr esent in t he Maltese legal and governmental system by way of a provision in

which at least one disabled person must be part of the major public entities/authorities (as

specified above under Section 5) governed by Maltese law.

217 CRPD (2018) Annual report, available at: http://crpd.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CRPD-Annual-

Report-EN.pdf.

218 By December 2018, there were 86 certified organisations employing over 20 800 people.

219 Awarded to companies that truly foster equal treatment in their work policies and practices irrespective of

the emġlĠyees’ gender Ġr family resġĠnsibilities.

220 Equality policy for the public service, July 2013.