A coalition of unemployed graduates with disabilities has threatened to resume picketing after September 15 if the government fails to present a clear and workable plan to employ qualified persons with disabilities.
The Coalition of Unemployed Graduates with Disabilities says an earlier deadline given to government has expired without any concrete roadmap to address the growing unemployment situation among tertiary-educated persons with disabilities.
In a petition submitted to Parliament’s Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the coalition stressed that its members are seeking employment opportunities rather than assistance.
“We are not asking for charity, we are demanding our fundamental right to work,” the group said.
The coalition is demanding the immediate recruitment of about 400 qualified unemployed graduates with disabilities into the public sector.
It is also calling for the enforcement of employment quotas for persons with disabilities and incentives for private-sector employers who hire qualified persons with disabilities.
Additionally, the group wants government to introduce a policy reserving a specified percentage of recruitment opportunities in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), as well as state-owned enterprises, for qualified persons with disabilities.
The coalition said it had previously engaged the Ministries of Gender, Children and Social Protection and Employment and Labour Relations, but claimed the discussions had failed to produce a lasting solution.
It also pointed to the recent recruitment of 7,000 teachers by the Ghana Education Service (GES) as an example of what it described as the continued exclusion of qualified persons with disabilities.
According to the coalition, it submitted a list of 200 qualified potential teachers in collaboration with the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations, but none of the nominees was recruited.
The group said it had resorted to demonstrations and picketing to draw government’s attention to their concerns.
It cited a recent protest at Jubilee House, where government representatives allegedly assured the protesters that some members would be absorbed into the public sector.
The coalition subsequently suspended its action after receiving assurances that its leadership would be given an opportunity to meet President John Dramani Mahama to discuss the matter.
However, the group claims that efforts to follow up with the presidential staffer who received its petition have not yielded a response.
The coalition has therefore warned that it could embark on another round of picketing if government fails to act.
“If this approach does not yield any positive result, there will be another crazy picketing after the 15th of this month which will never be suspended until our demands are met,” it stated.
The graduates are grounding their demands in Article 29 of the 1992 Constitution, the Persons with Disability Act, 2006 (Act 715), and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The coalition maintained that persons with disabilities have the skills and capacity to contribute meaningfully to Ghana’s development.
“Our disability is not an inability; it is a unique perspective that can enrich our national workforce,” the group said.
READ ALSO:
New Winneba violence under control as IGP deploys reinforcement team
John Dumelo donates school desks to Roman Ridge M/A Basic School
