Section 15: The Right to Work
The right to work is not only guaranteed in Article 41 of the Constitution of India, but has also been declared by the Supreme Court to be included in the right to life
provided by Article 21. In addition, the Persons with Disabilities Act outlines specific measures to be taken by the Government to better incorporate persons with disabilities in the workforce. These include the development of schemes providing for the training of persons with disabilities, the reservation of posts in Government establishments for members of community of persons with disabilities and the policy that employers must offer individuals who have acquired a disability a different job with equal benefits and pay.
In recent years, tangible steps have been taken by the government -- one example being the establishment of the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation -- to help provide employment opportunities and vocational trainings for those with disabilities. However, doubts have been raised by advocacy groups about the efficacy of some of these efforts, as well as the wage gap that often exists between able-bodied and persons with disabilities. This issue in particular came into focus with the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission on the National Employment Guarantee Bill (2004)49, which encouraged equal pay for those with disabilities despite lower production.
- Note #50
- 2006 (1) CLR 455
- Return
In general, the Indian courts have consistently insisted on enforcement of the provisions included in the Persons with Disabilities Act, thereby upholding a comprehensive right to work.
However, contradictions still exist between the respect for the right to work in the Persons with Disabilities Act and provisions in Indian labour laws. While the Persons with Disabilities Act protects the rights of those who have developed a disability to continue as an employee at the same establishment in a position of equal benefits and pay, thereby protecting their right to work, other labor laws (like the Industrial Disputes Act and Workmen's Compensation Act) at best approach the differently-abled from a charitable perspective by awarding compensation, and at worst provide for complete termination of service without any payment. Since provisions in these laws remain intact even after the passage of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995, the state of the right to work remains uncertain. However, Court judgments like Shree Satish Prabhakar Padhye vs. Union of India and Ors 50 have both maintained certain aspects of the right to employment (like the continuation of service even after the development of a disability) and confirmed their applicability to private establishments as well as the public sector.