December 3 is the International Day of Disabled Persons. Since its proclamation in 1992, the Day has aimed to “promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities.”
The United Nations adds that it’s also an opportunity to “increase awareness of gains to be derived from the integration of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.”
In recent years, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Union of National Employees have worked to de-stigmatize issues around mental health and equip our activists with tools to assist members with mental health issues. In fact, mental health was at the forefront of the PSAC’s 2013 National Health and Safety Conference, which bore the tagline “mental health in the workplace”.
While the union is trying to address this issue, I see no effort on the part of Treasury Board to equip managers and human resources specialists with similar tools. Too often, when faced with an employee coping with mental health issues, the employer predictably reacts by assessing their fitness to work – hoping, of course, that the employee will be found unfit to work. The employer is quite simply saying: if the employee is no longer in the workplace, then the problem is no longer their concern.
This attitude must change.
Persons with disabilities should have the right to work in an environment that accepts and recognizes them as equal. According to the United Nations:
“The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recognizes in Article 27 the rights of persons with disabilities to work and employment on an equal basis with others. It stresses the right of persons with disabilities to earn a living from freely chosen work, and to work in an environment that is both accessible and accepting.”
Isn’t it time for Treasury Board to provide the right tools to managers and human resources specialists? It’s what’s needed to build work environments that are both accessible and accepting.
This article was written by Geoff Ryan, the Union of National Employees’ national equity representative for disabled persons, as part of our union’s member journalism program. If you’d like to find out more, click here – to pitch a story or for any questions, please send an email to communications@une-sen.org.