At a recently held meet at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosurgery (NIMHANS), Bangalore, the key issues deliberated were employment possibilities for Persons with Disability due to Mental Illness. Mr Amrit Bakhshy, President, Schizophrenia Awareness Association (SAA) who attended the session generously shares the proceedings of the meet.
Last month, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosurgery (NIMHANS) and Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS) organized a National Level Expert Consensus Meet at Bangalore on ‘’Disability Due to Mental Illness and Future Directions’’. The participants were the Director and the senior faculty members from NIMHANS, key IPS office bearers, experts from apex mental health institutes and other stakeholders. A senior official from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) also participated. Four themes deliberated were directly or indirectly related to employment related issues concerning persons with mental illness.
No Job Reservation
Although, mental illness was' officially recognized as a disability when it got included in the list of disabilities in the ‘’Persons with Disabilities Act 1995’’, there was no reservation of vacancies in government jobs for persons with mental illness as provided for other disabilities. Benefits such as rail and air concessions were also denied to them. Many in ‘’Disability Sector’’ and others believed that mental illness was an illness and not a disability and opposed benefits to them as available to persons with other disabilities. The employers in private sector were also disinclined to employ persons with mental illness and were averse to extending any flexibility in recruitment and in working conditions to them.
As user survivors of mental illness carry the burden of stigma and prejudices against them and remain without any paid work, suitable legal provisions are, required to provide supportive and less-competitive employment to them. Need for this is expressed in the United Nations’ ‘’Convention on Rights of Persons with Disability’’ (UNCRPD); its article 27.1 (g) enjoins state to take appropriate step including legal steps to employ persons with disabilities in public sector and article 27.1 (h) to promote their employment in the private sector through incentives and other measures. Similar provisions are made in sections 33 and 34 of the Rights of Persons with Disability (RPWD) Bill 2014 awaiting Parliament’s approval. The Bill provides for reservation of vacancies for persons with disabilities in government jobs, increased from three to five percent of which one percent is for persons with mental illness, autism and intellectual disability. The provision of reservation on the above basis is also in promotions.
Provide Incentive for Employers
The number of persons with mental illness in India is estimated to be about 80 million, six and a half percent of the population. This number is more than the combined number of persons with other disabilities. Though the reservation percentage for persons with mental illness is not in the same proportion as their numbers, one percent reservation is a good beginning and the effort should be to utilize it fully. The current provision of three percent reservations for certain disabilities in the Persons with Disabilities Act 1995 has remained underutilized all these years.
Employers in the private sector should be sensitized and encouraged to reserve vacancies on the same lines as are available in government departments, public sector and local bodies. They should be offered incentives such as priority in obtaining raw materials, import of components etc. The RPWD 2014 has a provision for such incentives for employers in private sector. The salaries paid to employees with disabilities can be adjusted against their CSR obligations.
Exaggerated Concerns
There are exaggerated concerns that unlike persons with physical disabilities, employees with mental disability will not be able to perform due to mood swings. This fear is indicative of stigma attached to mental illness. Work related problems can arise with employees living with other disabilities and even with employees who are not disabled. Each type of disability causes some constraints. Persons with mental illness might not be able to work for long hours at a stretch or might not be able to do work which causes stress. The same way a person with upper limb disability may not be able to type fast and a person with lower limb disability might not be able to do outdoor errands. A person with cerebral palsy might not be suitable for jobs which require verbal communication.
A broad range of less strenuous jobs need to be identified for employees with mental illness. The MSJE can constitute a committee consisting of clinical psychologists, HR Professionals, employers, caregivers, survivors and a representative from Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI). The committee can elicit views from public and arrange meets of stake holders and experts before making its recommendations. Based on the committee’s recommendations, identification of jobs under the reserve quota for persons with mental illness can be finalized by the Inter Department Committee in respect of government departments and by the federation of employers in the case of private sector. There will be need for periodic reviews keeping in view the advancements made in technology and medical science.
Employers should be Sensitized
Experience tells us that persons with mental illness do not last long in private jobs. Employers, who are not sensitized, expect such employees to give the same output and observe the same working hours as general employees. When this does not happen, it results in termination of their services. Often employees with mental illness stop going for work on their own as they find such jobs too strenuous to which they are not used to and which aggravate their symptoms. Voluntary reservation will ensure that such exits are minimized.
NGOs working for persons with mental illness, despite their limited resources, can promote supported self-employment. Their efforts can be supported by the appropriating government departments and by industrial houses by patronizing their products. At least one state government and a few private organizations have already taken such steps.
Due to bias and stigma, persons with mental illness remain unemployed causing severe financial hardships to the family. Many of them from poor families are abandoned and become homeless vagrants; others have to face humiliation of being labeled as ‘’parasites’’. The need is to try all possible avenues for their employment. Legal provisions will help provided the implementation is closely monitored.
(Some of the people who attended the day-long symposium were Dr. G.Prasad Rao, President Indian Psychiatric Society, Dr. B.N.Gangadhar, Director NIMHANS and K.V.S. Rao, Director, Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Mr Bakhshy is the chairperson of the Hospital Managing Committee of NIMHANS and member of their apex body, Institutional Board.)
