Buildings without disabled in mind

BUILDINGS continue to be erected in this country without the disabled in mind, says Consortium of Disability Organisations (CODO) vice president Bhawani Persad.

He was speaking Tuesday as CODO and trade-union groups met with the Joint Select Committee on Local Authorities on the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act at the Parliament building, Port of Spain. “We continue to see buildings built without due consideration, even places where persons with disabilities would frequent more than others...still we have some shortcomings and challenges there too.”

He said accessibility and lighting were crucially important particularly to those with visual impairment.

“As you, the (JSC) chairman (Ian Roach, who is disabled) would know, there are many buildings perhaps (you) cannot still enter.”

Persad said a national building code had been launched around 2015 but to date he had not heard anything more about it. He said over the last couple of years CODO has been focusing on inclusion.

“We are part of this society, (but) the society is not part of us.” On the OSH Act, Persad said it was voluminous and not available in formats accessible to the disabled, such as audio, Braille or large print.

He also said there was no working relationship between the OSH Agency and CODO. Roach said the act was silent on differently-abled people which was a big lacuna that needed to be addressed urgently.