Ombudswoman calls for review of requests for flexible Okypy working

Ombudswoman Maria Stylianou Lottides on Tuesday asked Okypy to re-evaluate the requests of four medical professionals asking for flexibility at work so they are able to care for their children with disabilities.

She said the three nurses and one doctor all work at state hospitals, and are mothers to children with severe disabilities.

Referring to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), she said there is an obligation on the part of the government to accommodate the complainants, as all four requests ask for arrangements to be made that would allow them to meet their children’s high care demands.

Specifically, three out of four are asking for a five-day working week so they can care for their children on Saturdays and on afternoons, while the fourth has asked to be relocated closer to home so she can respond to potential emergencies.

According to the ombudswoman, two of the women’s requests were rejected because they were already benefitting from other amendments to their working hours and conditions due to heath issues, and the hospitals said they were dealing with more serious requests.

“Without casting doubt on the above, it is obvious that the accommodations made had to do with the personal medical issues of the complainants and less with the increased obligations of caring for children with disabilities,” she said.

The impression given is that these increased obligations are not treated by the management of state hospitals with the same weight as the individual needs of the staff, and therefore not given the “necessary, distinct” importance, she added.

Stressing that while she acknowledges the concern and efforts of state hospitals for the equal and fair treatment of their staff, Lottides said that these concerns and efforts should not be exercised at the expense of the rights of employees who have these responsibilities, and at the expense of maintaining a work/life balance.

These efforts, she added, should not adversely affect the quality and adequacy of the care and support that the individuals themselves, and specifically children with disabilities, are entitled to receive.

Otherwise, efforts for equal treatment when talking about disparate situations underestimates documented needs arising from disability, and constitutes ableism, and in the case of the parents, discrimination by association, the ombudswoman stressed.