Disability discrimination in the workplace: Namibians call for better inclusivity

“Because of our disability, they think we can’t do the same work as everyone else.”

Shekupe Niilenge, a jobseeker, uses a wheelchair.

She says most companies overlook people with disabilities for employment.

Niilenge has applied for internships at two companies of which neither has called her back.

At one of the companies, she says her able-bodied friend got an internship after she first applied.

“I feel they’re disregarding us as Namibians, like they don’t consider us as humans,” she says.

Niilenge says the idea that people with disabilities are illiterate is a misconception.

“I would just like them to create inclusivity, like to make access for people with disabilities, because the majority of people with disabilities are more educated nowadays than back then.”

The government will stop doing business with companies that do not comply with the Affirmative Action Act, employment equity commissioner Otniel Podewitz says.

The act stipulates that employers must give preference to women and people with disabilities.

His statement came last month after deputy minister of disabilities affairs Alexia Manombe-Ncube called employers out on their misconceptions about people with disabilities and a lack of inclusive infrastructure.

Manombe-Ncube insisted on the full implementation of the Affirmative Action Act to address the high unemployment rate among people with disabilities.

The latest labour force report, based on the 2023 Population and Housing Census, shows that people with disabilities make up only 2.3% of Namibia’s 46.2% labour force.

This means out of 546 805 employed Namibians, only 12 508 are people with disabilities.

Podewitz said the act empowers his office to seek recourse on companies that do not adhere to the act.

“Non-compliant employers are also restricted from generally doing business with the state and certain contracts, guarantees, loans, licences, permits, grants, or concessions,” he said.

This is contained in the Affirmative Action Act, Section 42.

“No contract shall be entered into by or on behalf of the state and any relevant employers; or guarantees, loan, licence, permit, grant, or concession, including the right to the reconnaissance or prospecting for, or to mine, any mineral, shall be given, made, issued, granted or awarded to any relevant employers by or on behalf of the state, unless the relevant employers concerned has a valid affirmative action compliance certificate,” the act reads.

Orben Muluti, the secretary general of the National Federation for People with Disabilities in Namibia says most people with disabilities struggle to obtain jobs due to inaccessible employment processes.

He says inaccessible interviews and interview panels that are not necessarily trained on disability inclusion and inaccessible online portals for recruitment websites are an inconvenience for young, unemployed people with disabilities.

Muluti says this attitude reflects a strong sense of “stigma from potential employers who are unconvinced that they [people with disabilities] can do the job, regardless of what qualifications they hold.”

He says inaccessibility in the general workspace could potentially affect the growth of employees with disabilities if this is not addressed.

“Employees with disabilities and the positions they hold can become redundant, therefore, preventing the employee from making a real contribution and to reach their full potential in their profession,” he says.

Muluti says some employers hire people with disabilities to merely appear compliant with affirmative action laws.

“Employers often make affirmative action hires to oblige to regulations set forth by regulatory bodies and not because they believe people with disabilities can contribute to the business or institution,” he says.

Previous conversations with National Disability Council of Namibia (NDCN) chief executive Angelique Philander revealed that the council is actively working to address unemployment among people with disabilities.

“The NDCN, through the legislative review project, has included the review of the national policy on disability and amendments to the National Disability Council Act 26 of 2004,” she said.

The council also conducts workshops and regularly engages employers and employees to promote workplace inclusivity.

However, Philander says one of the biggest challenges is connecting employers with qualified candidates with disabilities, partly due to limited access to job information.

“Because of a high poverty rate among people with disabilities, many struggle to access job listings in newspapers or online,” she says.

To address this, the council has in the past set up support stations to help people with disabilities apply for mass recruitment opportunities, such as census jobs with the Namibia Statistics Agency and temporary election positions.

Philander says plans are underway to improve access to job information through a disability information management system, developed in partnership with the Office of the Prime Minister.

“This system will make information about potential employers more accessible to people with disabilities.”