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Blind people no better off
From the Swindon Advertiser, first published Thursday 7th Mar 2002.
EMPLOYMENT opportunities for blind and partially sighted people are poor, with the chances of them getting work no better than they were ten years ago, says the Devizes-based Wiltshire Blind Association.
Chris Dawe, county secretary, commenting on shock figures published this week by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), said: "Exclusion on this scale is totally unacceptable. We are calling for a radical improvement in job opportunities for the large number of blind and partially sighted people in Wiltshire who are out of work."
Wiltshire Blind Association says it will be working closely with the RNIB and other agencies to ensure that more blind and partially sighted people in the area are able to gain and retain employment.
The top priority of the RNIB's Work Matters campaign is job retention. According to RNIB figures, more than three-quarters of those who lose their sight at work lose their job, a third of these within the first year. Very few ever work again. The sooner people get help with sight loss, the more chance they have of keeping their jobs.
The campaign is asking the Government to introduce disability leave, similar to maternity leave, to allow people losing their sight at work to get time off for intensive rehabilitation, mobility training and the chance to learn new skills.
The campaign is also seeking improvements to the Access at Work scheme, which pays for vital equipment such as adapted computers, CCTV magnifiers and specialist lighting.
RNIB's new report, also entitled Work Matters, shows that one of the biggest barriers to people with sight problems getting work is prejudiced and discriminatory attitudes from employers.
RNIB director general Ian Bruce said: "Blind and partially sighted people's battle to overcome practical barriers is made worse by prejudiced attitudes. It is disgraceful that half of all employers say that they would not employ someone who had difficulty seeing."
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