Saudi employers unwilling to hire disabled people

From the Arab News August 4:

RIYADH -- Qasim Al-Enizy is a devoted administrative assistant at King Fahd Medical City, but what he really wants is a job that matches his education: The job of an accountant. The problem is Al-Enizy is bound to his wheelchair.

“I am an accountancy graduate, but I was told that working as an accountant needs mobility,” he said. “I tried looking for jobs in other places. I pass all qualification tests, but when it comes to recruiting they raise the issue of their inability to make their workplace accessible to the disabled.”

He said he wanted to go to university to gain a more advanced degree, but he can’t afford to hire somebody to help him navigate the streets of Riyadh, which is not the easiest place to get around if you use wheelchairs as a substitute for walking shoes.

There are in fact laws in Saudi Arabia to accommodate people with disabilities, but society is still free to tell job applicants with handicaps that they cannot hire them specifically because of their condition. Physically-challenged people may face discrimination worldwide. But according to the head of the Disabled Services Committee at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Dr. Talaat Al-Waznah, in Saudi Arabia there is a prevailing view that disabled people are charity cases that simply need a roof over their heads.

“It has been proved by studies in Western countries that once a chance is given to people with disabilities, they prove themselves worthy and sometimes exceed expectations,” he said. Al-Waznah said there is also a view that people with disabilities are less productive and require investment in providing accessible workspace.

“To recruit them I would have to make alterations to the work area,” said Muhammad Adel, the owner of a general service agency. “I need to profit out of my business. By employing a person with a disability I would be spending more money and gaining nothing in return.”

In Europe, the United States, Canada and other countries, such provisions aren’t an option; national laws require them. Exceptions are made in some cases for older buildings if alterations would be considered formidable or would damage the structural integrity, but these laws typically stipulate that buildings constructed after a certain date must have incorporated structural details, such as wheelchair ramps and enlarged bathroom stalls, in the architectural plans.

Businesses can be sued in civil court for discriminating against disabled people under national anti-discrimination laws. Such discrimination lawsuits in Saudi Arabia are virtually nonexistent.

Abdullah Salim, the owner of a print production establishment in Riyadh, said he hires disabled Saudi men because they count as four Saudi employees for the purpose of abiding by the quotas of Saudization, the national policy that requires a certain percentage of workers of businesses to be filled by Saudi nationals.

But Salim also said he doesn’t expect much from these workers, and that fulfilling quotas is the only reason he hires them. “Their work can be done by other employees,” he said.

A disabled Saudi, who didn’t want to be named out of concern that he would lose his job, said that he was hired by a company and then told to just stay home and receive a SR1,500 a month in salary. “I am qualified and I think I can handle the job,” he said. “But they don’t want me to get involved. Another person was assigned to do my work.”