Wednesday, February 02, 2022
Earlier this week, AMAPCEO submitted its recommendations on the Ontario Public Service (OPS) Employer’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan (MYAP). The union solicited feedback from the Disability Caucus at AMAPCEO, Workplace Representatives and AMAPCEO members with disabilities in order to craft recommendations to make the OPS a more inclusive and respectful workplace for employees with disabilities.
AMAPCEO acknowledges that the OPS Employer has taken important steps to reduce barriers for employees with disabilities. However, as the union notes, there is still significant work to be done to ensure people with disabilities can participate fully and meaningfully as OPS employees. Consultations with the Disability Caucus illustrated that accessibility is not prioritized as a core value of the OPS, and that the Employer’s approach to accessibility was reactive, not proactive.
In addition to providing a series of concrete recommendations aligning with the themes for the submission established by the Employer—clear and accessible communications, accessible employment, accessible government facilities, and inclusive public spending—AMAPCEO also recommended that the Employer be guided by the principle of building an integrated and holistic approach to building an accessible OPS.
Developing an integrated and holistic approach to building an accessible OPS would emphasize making the Employer’s Accessibility Plan part of a broader framework of workplace inclusion policies and programs that address accessibility. It would require that the Employer conduct an analysis of all accessibility policies—including the recently-completed OPS Third Party Review of Inclusive Workplace Policies and Programs and the resulting Leadership Pledge—to ensure they are harmonious and do not contradict one another.
AMAPCEO's submission emphasized the need for an intersectional approach to this kind of policy development.