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The deputy of the Civil Contract Faction Zaruhi Batoyan proposes to establish a mandatory access requirement for persons with disabilities for all transport means submitted to the tender on intra-community transportation with the amendments to the Law on Road Transport.

It is proposed to empower the Government to determine the minimum number of transport means submitted to the tender for the organization of suburban, intercity, intra-regional, inter-regional and inter-state transportation.

The amendments will regulate the process of transferring supportive means by persons with disabilities during the organization of routes. The obligations of drivers will be clarified during the organization of transportation of passengers with disabilities.

According to the author, accessibility of public transport for persons with disabilities is one of the most important issues. Person with disabilities cannot fully participate in public life without accessible means of transport.

The position of the Government was positive. The RA Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Armen Simonyan proposed to extend the entry into force of the law, as transport means and parking lots must be adapted to the needs of persons with disabilities. Highlighting the adoption of the draft, the member of the NA Civil Contract Faction, the Committee member Lilit Stepanyan noted that it will also give a positive solution to the existing problems of persons with disabilities from regions and communities.

The draft law on Making Amendments and Addenda to the RA Labor Code authored by the deputy of the NA Civil Contract Faction Zaruhi Batoyan was debated in the first reading. Its adoption is conditioned by the clarification of legal bases for the preservation of labor rights of persons with disabilities.

The deputy noted that the Labor Code prohibits discrimination on one side, including on the basis of disability, on the other side Article 118 of the Code stipulates that the job and position of an employee who has lost his/her ability to work due to an occupational disease or work-related injury shall be preserved until the restoration of work ability or a degree of disability is determined. The same Article stipulates that in case the employee’s ability to work is not restored and a degree of disability is determined, the employer may terminate the employment contract on the bases provided for in Chapter 15 of the Code.

The author proposes to harmonize the Labor Code with the RA Law on Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the provisions and vocabulary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as to establish the legal bases for providing affordable jobs and reasonable accommodations.

The RA Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Ruben Sargsyan noted that the proposals submitted by the Government were accepted by the author, and as a result of cooperation, the draft was improved.

The issues were debated and endorsed at the extraordinary sitting of the NA Standing Committee on Labor and Social Affairs convened on May 31.