Hinkson wants law to back building code for disabled

A call is being made for stipulations in the Barbados National Building Code related to the disabled to be enforceable by law.

It came on Thursday from Chairman of the Advisory Committee to Guide the Establishment of a Commission for Improving the Lives of Persons with Disabilities, Edmund Hinkson, during a town hall meeting on the disabilities policy and legislative proposals, at Solidarity House.

He was responding to a statement by Director of the Building Standards Authority Emil Troman, that although there were many provisions in the building code to address the needs of persons with disabilities, it was not clear if most had any legal teeth.

“Where are we at with this building code right now? Is it the law of Barbados? Can somebody carry this to the court of law and say ‘I am a person with a disability, this building does not conform to [the building code]’?” Hinkson questioned.

He said there was still uncertainty, even within the Department of Planning and Development, about what enforcement capabilities authorities had when it came to buildings that did not provide for persons with disabilities.

“I felt, for instance, that multi-storey buildings should have braille. The Chief Town Planner should be able to put in that condition in every multi-storey building that has elevators. The elevators should have braille or some audio-activated device for the deaf…,” Hinkson contended.

“The Chief Town Planner seems to feel like he could not put that as a condition…, like he did not have the legal authority.”

Meanwhile, Hinkson revisited the issue of a legislated quota for employing people with disabilities in the public sector.

“The question is, ‘are we prepared to say that a certain percentage of jobs in government be reserved for persons with disabilities?’. Are we prepared to accept that or are people who don’t have any disabilities going to get up and keep noise and say ‘man, they are stopping me from getting a job’?

“Jamaica, for a long time, had a policy – four per cent of all government jobs reserved for people with disabilities – and since their legislation has been in place, it’s now five per cent. Are we going to accept that if we make that proposal? This is what we are treating to, but we can’t continue to have 90 per cent of people with disabilities without any work,” Hinkson insisted. (SB)